Psalm 103. The name of the message
is, God rules over all. God rules over all. We will read the whole of Psalm
103. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Oh, let us
remember all his benefits to his people, who forgiveth all
thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth
thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness
and tender mercies, who satisfy thy mouth with good things, so
that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord executeth
righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made
known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous
in mercy." We looked at that not long ago. He's plenteous
in mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." Just a quick
note on that. Look at that. He hath not dealt
with us after our sins. We who believe have obtained
mercy. For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As
far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions
from us. Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For he knoweth
our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his
days are as grass, as the flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passes over it and it is gone. and the place thereof
shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and
his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep his
covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom
ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels,
that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his
hosts, ye his ministers that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord,
all his works, in all places, of His dominion. Bless the Lord,
O my soul. Now there's enough sermon material
in this one psalm here to last a long, long time. To last a
long time. But we'll be looking at verse
19. The Lord hath prepared His throne
in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. Now, as I mentioned
earlier, we've seen some unrest in our nation. And think of this. A lot of folks who don't believe
in God, they don't believe that God rules
over all. They don't believe it. And there
was a time when I didn't really even think of that. And it's
probably so with you who believe that there was a time when we
didn't even really ponder it. We didn't even think about it. But just because we didn't believe
it, Or just because folks don't believe it, doesn't mean it's
not true. Because the Bible distinctly
declares that our God rules. Our God reigns, whether people
believe it or not. Whether they believe it or not.
And it says here in our text, the Lord hath prepared his throne
in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over, A-L-L, all people
who believe, And people who don't believe. He rules. He's a ruler. He's king. And
remember this, too. He didn't just become king. He
was king. He was king in the glories of
heaven. Before he became a man, he was king. When he became a
man, the God-man, he's still king. He's born king. That little
babe in the manger? Born king. Born king. And now he's ascended to the
right hand of power and majesty. He's still a king, beloved. He's
still a king. He rules over all. We saw this
morning that he has all power, doesn't he? He has all power.
And look, the psalm ends as it begins. The psalm is speaking
to his soul, saying, Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul. And when we think about his majesty,
when we think about his sovereignty, we cry out. Oh, bless the Lord,
oh my soul. When we think of what he's done
for us as believers, that he's redeemed us from all our sins,
don't we cry out, bless the Lord, oh my soul. It just overwhelms
you. It just overwhelms you with gratefulness
of what the Lord has done for his people. And throughout, the
psalmer mentioned many of his benefits. And for the benefits
alone, we should bless the Lord, right? We should bless him because
he's king, but look at the benefits that the believer has. Oh. And it's difficult to get past
the first benefit. Look at verse 3. Who forgiveth
all thine iniquities. Again, A-L-L, that little word. I like to call them hinge words.
They're little hinge words. All. Who forgiveth all thine
iniquities. Now that's a place that I can
rest. That's a place that the believer can rest. We can come
there and go, the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven all my iniquities. All. And on Calvary's cross, we must
remember, where and how do we receive this forgiveness? How
was it obtained? It was purchased at Calvary's
tree. It was purchased at Calvary's
tree by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He obtained
salvation. Having obtained eternal salvation,
he obtained it for his people. But it cost the precious blood
of Christ. God is satisfied. We know that
in Adam we all fell, dead in trespasses and sins. And Brother
Neil brought out the Holy Spirit, regenerates us, makes us alive,
draws us to Christ. We who were unwilling are made
willing. And we run to Christ. We run
to Christ. who forgiveth all thine iniquities.
And because of what Christ did on the cross, God forgives his
people of all thine iniquities, and all who come to him, all
who come to him. And that alone, beloved, is cause
for us to bless the Lord, to say, bless the Lord, O my soul. He's forgiven me for all mine
iniquities, all of them, all of them. Oh, my. Think of the great expense on
His part. Again, the great expense on God's part, that He might
forgive all thine iniquities is the giving of His Son, is
the propitiation for our sins. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So tonight, let us ponder and
consider the truth that's set forth in verse 19, in which we
would say, bless the Lord, O my soul. Look at God's sovereignty
proclaimed in verse 19. The Lord hath prepared his throne
in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. This verse boldly
proclaims God's absolute sovereignty. He is absolutely sovereign over
all things. And he hath prepared his throne
in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. So as we look at these points tonight, let
us remember the statement, Bless the Lord, O my soul. Bless the Lord, O my soul. So let's read verse 19 again.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom
ruleth over all. Now the Lord's throne is above
all. Look, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens. In
the heavens. The word translated here, prepared,
is elsewhere in the Psalms translated established. Set. Fixed. Man, it's a throne that cannot
be moved. It's a throne that no one can
usurp. It's in the heavens. It's set. It cannot be shaken or disturbed.
by anyone or anything cannot be moved. Now, that's unlike
the thrones of government, isn't it, that we have here on earth
where governments can be toppled, presidents can be replaced, and
they are every four years, right? The Lord's throne is prepared,
beloved. It's fixed. It's established. And it shall not be moved. Now
what great comfort God's people can draw from that. The very
one who holds us in his hands has a throne that's set and fixed
and established. The very one who's redeemed our
eternal souls sits upon a throne that's set and fixed and established. Brings the believer great peace,
doesn't it? In the midst of all the turmoil
that happens in our lives and in the world, he's the same yesterday,
today, and forever, beloved. And he sits upon a throne that
is fixed, established, and it will not be moved by anything
that man does. It will not be moved. In Daniel 2.22 it says this,
He removeth kings and setteth up kings. In Proverbs 21.1 it
says the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers
of water, He turneth whatsoever He will. That brings us peace. That brings
us comfort. And so His throne is in the heavens.
It's far above all other thrones, far above all other governments,
far above everything. It's in the heavens, beloved.
And His throne is above everything. But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Psalm 115.3. Oh, may
we burn that one into our hearts. Psalm 115.3. I'll read it again.
But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath
pleased. Someone ever questions you where
your God is? I remember hearing Brother Henry Mahan after his
son died in Vietnam. Someone came up to him and asked
him, well, where's your God now? And he quoted that verse. My
God's in the heavens. My God's in the heavens. And
he'd done whatsoever he had placed. Oh, our God's throne is above
all powers and principalities, who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist. He's King. He's King. He's absolutely sovereign. He rules and reigns as He's pleased. And the throne is prepared. Turn,
if you would, to Isaiah 14. The throne is prepared in the
heavens, far above all the confusion and turmoils of this world, far
beyond the reach of man or devils. Look at Isaiah chapter 14 verses
12 to 15. Here is one who thought he would
exalt his throne above the stars of God. He thought that at His throne,
He thought that He would exalt Himself. Look at this. Isaiah 14, 12-15, How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou
cast down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations? For
thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit
upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like
the Most High. Notice, I will, I will, I will.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit.
He could not overthrow this throne, beloved. Our God's throne is fixed, and
His rule is over all. Satan is bought down. There's
only one throne that is prepared. Only one throne that is fixed.
Only one throne that is eternal in the heavens. And it is far
above all that would question or disturb. And it is God's throne. And seated upon that throne is
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's King. He's King. The Lord hath prepared His throne
in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. Now look in
our text. The Lord's rule is what? Over
all. Over all. In Psalm 47, verse
2, it says, For the Lord Most High is terrible. He is a great
king over all the earth. In the word terrible, when it
relates to God, is to bring forth awe and reverence. Awe and reverence. It calls us to consider who God
really is. Not who we think He is, but who the Bible declares He
is. A king. The ruler over all. He rules over all those events
that we call great and even all those events that we call insignificant.
He rules over. He's absolutely sovereign. He's
a king. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
99. Just a couple of psalms over
from where we're looking. Psalm 99, look at verses 1 to
3. Now, think of this too. We don't
have kings like that. Now, back in the days, when they
had kings, what he said went. And if you went against the king
and you went before him, you're liable to lose your head. Because they were absolutely
sovereign over whatever area they were in. So we have to remember
that our king, he's a king. And He's absolutely sovereign.
Look at it. It says, "...the Lord reigneth.
Let the people tremble. He sitteth between the cherubims.
Let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion, and
He is high above all the people." His thoughts are not our thoughts,
beloved. His ways are not our ways. "...Let them praise Thy great
and terrible name, for it is holy." Our God is holy. He is holy and he is righteous.
And he is absolutely sovereign. And this is the very one who
became a man and died on Calvary's cross for his people. Boy, did he come down, didn't
he? You talk about humility. This is the One who has redeemed
my eternal soul. And if you're a believer, He
has redeemed your eternal soul. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
17. Acts chapter 17. When the Apostle
preached in Athens, he introduced his message by the inscription
which he had seen on the altars. It was being to the unknown God. And the Epicureans and the Stoics
encountered him. Look at verse 18. And certain
philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered
him. And some said, what shall this babbler say? Some other,
he seemeth to be a settler forth of strange gods, because he preached
unto them Jesus and the resurrection. So among the two philosophies
taught here, we see Stoics, which is a type of fatalism, and then
we see the Epicureans that believe that God was too big to be concerned
with this creation, kind of like how the Gnostics were, very similar
to the Gnostics that way. And the apostle Paul had said,
That this God that you call the unknowing God is both greater
and Lord of heaven and earth. And He rules over all. Let's look at Acts 17, where
we were, verses 23 to 31. Here's Paul standing in the midst
of Mars Hill. For as I passed by and beheld
your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to the
unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship. Him declare
I unto you." Now Paul's going to preach. God that made the
world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of Heaven. Lord of Heaven. And earth dwelleth
not in temples made with hands, neither is worship with man's
hands, as though he needed anything." God doesn't need nothing. I remember reading A.W. Pink
one time on the solitariness of God, and he brought out how
before God created anything, He was perfectly content being
God. He just created to manifest His glory. We don't need anything. We don't
add anything to God. Neither is worship with man's
hands as though he needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life
and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations
of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined
the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation,
that they should seek the Lord. If happily they might feel after
Him and find Him, though he be not far from every one of us.
For in him we live and move and have our being. As certain also
of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring. For as much then As we are the
offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is
likened to gold or silver or stone graven by art and man's
device. See, in this time, they would
carve out of metals and sometimes out of stone and sometimes out
of trees the gods of their imaginations. And think of this, they would
go and cut down a tree and then they would find the part that
they wanted to use, and then they would take the rest of the
wood and use it to cook their fires and use it to burn things
and heat the house, possibly. And then they would take that
other piece of wood and they would carve out a god. It's a
piece of wood. And they would carve out whatever
they want, and then they'd bow down before it. Blind, spiritually blind. And
they would bow down before the very wood that they cut down
with their hands. It's incredible. So Paul says,
for as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not
to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone,
graven by art and man's device. In the times of this ignorance,
God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.
We are commanded to repent. We are commanded to repent. Because
he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness
by that man. Look at that. He will judge the
world in righteousness by that man. That's Christ they're talking
about. Whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised
him from the dead. Paul preaches to them the unknown
God. The unknown God. He must reveal Himself or He
will remain the unknown God. And it's amazing how many people
talk of luck and chance and fortune as if there was no God. But our God, He ruleth over all. He ruleth over all. Look at our
text again. The Lord has prepared His throne
in the heavens and His kingdom ruleth over all. Now, two reasons why folks often say
and speak of luck and chance and fortune as if there was no
God is unbelief. Unbelief. Maybe they're not sure that things
are quite safe in God's hands. That somehow things would be
better if sinful, mutable man were somehow in control. And ignorance. Not aware of what
the Bible teaches about God. Not aware that the Lord reigns.
Now, we were at a point one time, I know I was, I didn't have a
clue. that God reigned. But the more I read this Word,
the more I study the Scripture, the more and more I see the absolute
sovereignty of God. The absolute sovereignty of God. The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. We have religious services nowadays
in some so-called churches that are more like a circus act than
worship service. They're doing all kinds of crazy
things. And this great and terrible God
of the Bible is the unknown God even in our day. Even in our
day. Folks are not in awe and reverence
of Him because they don't know Him. They don't know who He is. When you hear a preacher preface
any remark that he's going to make about God with, cannot, he's either going to do one or
two things. Now turn, if you would, to 2 Timothy 2.13. Let's turn there. When you hear a preacher preface
any remark that he's going to make about God with cannot, listen. Perk your ears up. Because he's
either going to magnify the character of God or he's going to malign
it. One or the other. Look at 2 Timothy 2.13 here. If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful, he cannot deny himself. He cannot deny himself. He cannot
act contrary to his nature. He's holy and righteous and he
rules and reigns sovereign upon the throne. What's the nature
of water? It's the flow downhill. Water will always flow downhill.
It may be acted upon and caused to flow contrary to its nature.
Beloved, God cannot be acted upon and caused by anything outside
of himself to act contrary to his nature. And let us think about God's
rule. In his kingdom ruleth over all. In light of this truth,
he cannot deny himself. If God could deny himself, then
his sovereignty would be a cause it wouldn't be a blessing. If man could somehow, as religious
folks say, you know, they say, well, you've
got to keep praying, you've got to keep praying, like you're
going to change God's mind. Now, we do pray, don't we? But
we pray, Lord, if it's Your will. If it's Your will. We're not
trying to twist God's arm. We can't. We wouldn't want to.
But some folks talk like they can twist the arm of the Lord.
No. No. Let's look at seven truths
about God's rule quickly. It won't take us long, but let's
look at seven truths. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
145, 17. Seven truths about God's will. Now our text tells us that
God rules, right? He rules and reigns. He rules
and reigns. So let's look at seven truths
about... I'll read our text again. The Lord has prepared His throne
in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. So let's look
at seven truths about God's rule. Psalm 145, 17. His rule will
be holy, beloved. Holy. God is holy, therefore
His rule will be holy. Psalm 145, 17, the Lord is righteous
in all His ways and holy in all His works. Our God is a holy
God. He's holy, pure. So since He's
holy, His rule will be holy. His rule will be holy. The second
will be His rule will be just. Look at Genesis 18, 25. His rule
will be just. Our God rules, therefore His
rule will be just. Out of His holiness must flow
His justice. He's a holy God. Therefore, He
is just. Look at Genesis 18.25. And then
put your finger in Revelation 15 as well. Look at Genesis 18.25. Shall
not the judge of all the earth do right? His will will be just. And in
Revelation 15, verses 3 and 4, it says this, And they sang the
song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,
saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are Thy ways. Oh, His will will be just, beloved.
Thou King of saints, who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify
Thy name. only art holy, for all nations
shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made
manifest." So his rule will be holy and his rule will be just. The next point is found in Psalm
145 again, verse 9. His rule will be kind. The Lord is good to all. 1 Corinthians
1.45, verse 9. The Lord is good to all. And His tender mercies are over
all His works. And then the next point is, His
rule will be wise. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
104, verse 24. His rule will be wise. And remember, He rules over all. Everything. He's King. Supreme. Supreme. Psalm 104, verse 24. O Lord,
how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them
all. The earth is full of Thy riches. There's no mistakes, no oversights,
and no gaps in His rule. He rules supreme. He rules wise. Next is His rule will be irresistible.
And if you would, Isaiah 44, 28. His rule will be irresistible. What He has purposed shall come
to pass. There's no doubt. Think of this. He says, Scriptures declare that
he came to this world right to redeem his people from their
sins. And what did he do? What did he do? He redeemed He
redeemed us. Oh Praise God What our King says
shall come to pass Last week we looked at we looked at that
when we saw when we we looked in scripture And and he would
say I will and that came to pass Look at Isaiah 44 28 That saith
of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure.
He even saith unto Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built into the
temple, thy foundations shall be laid. Now the word concerning
Cyrus was spoken some two hundred years before his birth, and yet
God called him by name, and called him His servant, who shall perform
all my pleasure. Oh, His rule will be irresistible. Now His rule will be sure. Turn,
if you would, to Psalm 119, verses 89-91. His rule will be sure. He rules
over all. As I've often said, you hear
people talk sometimes, religious folks, Boy, you think that God
is... He can't do anything. Not our
God. Not our God. He rules and He
reigns and knows He sets out. He said He came to save His people
from their sins and He did it. He did it. He did it. Look at
Psalm 119, His will will be sure. Psalm 119, 89-91, Forever, O
Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. Thy fullness is unto
all generations. Thou hast established the earth,
and it abided. They continue this day according
to Thine ordinances, for all are Thy servants. His will is
sure. What He says will come to pass.
Will come to pass. And the last point is, His rule
will be all-powerful. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
62, verse 11. And we've looked at this several
times in the New Testament, how our great King, the Lord Jesus
Christ says, I have all power. I have all power. And this gives
us comfort as we see things spinning all around, right? Our God reigns. Our God rules. He rules. Look at Psalm 62, 11. God has spoken once, twice have
I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. He is all powerful. Let man shake their fist. Let
scoffers scoff. Our God reigns, whether they believe it or not. One day, they will know its truth. Every knee shall bow, and every
tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. Oh, think of this too. If God
were not all-powerful, then in spite of all his other attributes,
he would not be able to rule as he does. But our God rules. And think of this again. This
one who we've looked at, this one who we've looked at, humbled
himself and became a man. And if you're a believer, He
did it for you. And He did it for all who will believe on Him.
But we who have been saved, we know what we were. We know where
we were. We had hewed out those broken
cisterns, not knowing they were broken. Thinking they were fine. I was thinking even more about
that. The cistern of self-righteousness. There's all kinds of them. Oh, but our God. The Lord hath prepared his throne
in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Our Savior is King. Our Savior is King. Those he
saved here bring him to heaven. Not by anything we done, but
by his glorious power, beloved. by His glorious power. Oh, He plans and purposes. His rule is planned and purposed,
but it also operates, doesn't it? That which God has planned
and purposed comes to pass. It not only sees how evil may
be prevented, it also prevents evil. And it is so powerful that
it brings good out of evil. And nowhere is this more evident
than at the cross. Man meant it for evil. God meant
it for good. Look at Psalm 103 again. Look at verses 3 and verse 10.
We'll look at verse 3 first. On Calvary's cross, our Lord
Jesus Christ purchased our redemption. And look at this. Who forgiveth
all thine iniquities? Who healeth all thy diseases? God's people. have had all their
sins forgiven, all of them, who forgiveth. May this just burn
into our hearts, beloved, who forgiveth all thine iniquities,
all of them. And then look at verse 10. And
let us remember this. Let us remember this. That the
redemption we have was purchased by Christ. But look at this.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according
to our iniquities. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. We don't get
what we deserve. Mercy. We receive mercy.