Jonathan Edwards loved the truth
of the sovereignty of God. He called the doctrine of the
sovereignty of God, quote, that noble doctrine. He loved to preach
this truth and he sought to uphold the sovereignty of God with all
of his might. And I believe that the hand of
God rested upon Jonathan Edwards to shake this American continent
because at the very heart, Jonathan Edwards was a guardian of the
glory of God. And Jonathan Edwards was a man
who sought to uphold the supremacy of God in all things. It was not always that way with
Jonathan Edwards and we have from his own testimony that,
quote, from my childhood, my mind had been wont to be full
of objections against the doctrine of God's sovereignty in choosing
whom He would to eternal life and rejecting whom He pleased.
And then he adds, quote, it used to appear like a terrible doctrine
to me. It's the way the carnal mind
always understands the doctrine of the sovereignty of God because
fleshly man wants to be in charge and to be in control. He wants
to be the master of his own ship. and the captain of his own soul.
And it is a terrible doctrine until you have spiritual eyes
with which to see. For Jonathan Edwards, things
changed regarding his understanding of the sovereignty of God and
what changed is Jonathan Edwards changed because Jonathan Edwards
became saved. And after he graduated from Yale
undergraduate school, Jonathan Edwards was regenerated by the
Spirit of God and he was converted and he had the mind of Christ
and he was illumined by the Holy Spirit and he began to read the
Bible with new eyes and new insight and he discovered this towering
doctrine of the sovereignty of God and how differently Edwards
saw this truth. He writes, quote, I have often
since not only had a conviction but a delightful conviction. The doctrine of God's sovereignty
has very often appeared an exceeding pleasant, bright and sweet doctrine
to me. Now listen, Edwards said, an
absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. This morning I want to ascribe
absolute sovereignty to God. And we will look into this psalm
this morning and we shall see the unrivaled, unconditional,
supreme authority of God to reign over all the works of His hands. R.C. Sproul calls it God's favorite
doctrine. As Pearl says, it would be your
favorite doctrine if you were God, that you are large and in charge
and that you tower over the world. John Piper has called the truth
of the sovereignty of God the continental divide of theology. Meaning one drop of water on
one side of this issue will take you and will flow in a direction
down tributaries into rivers and will empty into an ocean
of man-centered thinking, man-centered ministry, man-centered worship
if you understand different from the sovereignty of God. but one
drop of water on the other side of this continental divide of
theology by which you truly understand who God is as He is enthroned
in the heavens and does whatever He pleases These thoughts will
rush down the side of this mountain and will flow ultimately into
an ocean of God-centered living and God-centered worship and
God-centered ministry and God-centered proclamation. Every one of us
must understand in this continental divide of theology that God is
sovereign and that He is in control. A. W. Pink has defined the sovereignty
of God as God does as He wants. when He wants, with whom He wants,
always as He wants. And then Pink says, the sovereignty
of God is very simply this, God is God. It is the godness of
God. It is a doctrine by which God
would not be God if He was not sovereign. And so this morning,
I love this psalm and I want you to see with me the declaration
of the sovereignty of God. Let me give you the overview
of this psalm. The teacher in me wants to survey this psalm
before we look at it. The first two verses stand together. It is the sovereign reign of
God. And then verses 3 and 4 cluster
together, the sinful rebellion against God. And then finally
in verse 5, the sure revelation from God. So first the announcement
and the proclamation by the psalmist of the sovereignty of God and
then the response of the carnal mind and the fleshly mind to
this truth, the sinful rebellion against God. And then finally
it will come full circle back to God in the administration
of His sovereignty in the midst of His people as He will mediate
His reign and His authority in the midst of His kingdom by the
ministry of His Word that will produce holiness in the lives
of His people. Let's look first in verses 1
and 2 at the sovereign reign of God. It's at the very outset,
it's unmistakable, the central theme of this psalm cannot be
missed. The first three words of this
psalm, the Lord reigns. I want you to know that this
is the most foundational truth in all of the world. This is
what undergirds everything. that God is and that God reigns,
that God exists and that God controls everything for the honor
of His name. This is the cornerstone of our
theology. This is the first article of
our faith. This is the ultimate reality
in the universe. that God is and that God reigns. It is pointless to have a God
who is, who does not reign. This is the central thrust of
these enthronement psalms. You'll notice in Psalm 96 and
verse 10, say among the nations, the Lord reigns. This is at the
heart of our message to the world. Sorry about your God, our God
reigns. Psalm 97 verse 1, the Lord reigns,
let the earth rejoice. Psalm 99 verse 1, the Lord reigns,
let the peoples tremble. The fact that the Lord reigns
means that He has absolute authority over all His creation and that
God uses and exercises that authority every moment of every day. To look up the word sovereignty
in the dictionary reveals this definition, above or superior
to all others, chief, greatest, supreme, supreme in power, supreme
in rank, supreme in authority, upholding the position of ruler. independent of all others. This is the sovereign reign of
God. Now as you're jotting notes, I want to give you eight qualifying
words that describe out of these two verses the sovereign reign
of God. I want to give you eight words
that are just lifted right out of these two verses by way of
observation. I'm not going to take you to
Genesis through Revelation, I'm going to look at these verses
and I'm going to give you eight key words that describe the Lord
reigns. Number one, the Lord reigns exclusively. Look at this again in verse 1,
the Lord reigns. It's not Satan who reigns. It
is not the Lord and Satan that reigns. It is not circumstances
that reign. It is not man that reigns. It is not God and man that reigns. It is not luck or fate that reigns. But the Lord reigns and He reigns
exclusively. First Timothy 6 verse 16 identifies
God as the blessed and only sovereign. By definition, there can only
be one sovereign, and that is God. The Lord reigns exclusively. Second, the Lord reigns continually. Look at verse 1, the Lord reigns,
it's present tense. He is presently reigning this
very moment. We do not have to wait for the
Second Coming of Christ for the Lord to reign. He will establish
His Kingdom upon this earth for a thousand years and then usher
in the eternal state, but that will only be a greater manifestation
of the reign of God. But presently at this moment,
the Lord reigns. Notice this does not say in the
past tense, the Lord was reigning, but now things are out of control,
things are chaotic, things are subject to random occurrence. No, the Lord does continually
reign. There is never a moment in all
of history nor in eternity past, neither in eternity future when
the Lord does not reign. Third, the Lord reigns actively. Notice it says, the Lord reigns. He is not passively watching. He is actively reigning. He is
dynamically reigning. It is not as the deist would
have us believe that God as the master watchmaker has created
the universe like a watchmaker would create a watch, set the
time, wind the clock and then take steps back, take his hands
off the watch and allow the clock to run on its own. No, God is
not like the watchmaker having created all that there is and
now passively observing and watching all that comes to pass. Every
moment of every day His hand is sustaining creation and the
invisible hand of God is ordering all the affairs of providence. Ephesians 1 verse 11 says that
He works all things after the counsel of His will. Did you
hear that word, works? He works all things after the
counsel of His will. Romans 8 verse 28 says, and we
know that God causes all things to work together for our good. Not only does the Lord reign
actively, fourth, the Lord reigns absolutely. Notice it says, the
Lord reigns. There are no boundaries placed
upon this. This does not give designated
areas where the Lord reigns, implication being there are other
areas that are off limits to God. No. The Lord reigns in an
absolute way in every place, in every person, whether that
person recognizes the reign of God or not. He reigns in this
absolute way over nations and over nature, over events and
over circumstances, over good people and over evil people,
over prosperity and adversity, Over it all the Lord reigns. Number five, the Lord reigns
majestically. Notice in verse 1, line 1, the
Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty. There is a regal splendor
about the reign of Almighty God. There is the revelation of His
glory through the...through His reign over all creation. He is clothed with majesty which
speaks of regal splendor. Ancient monarchs used to seek
to enhance their appearance before others who would come before
their throne. And so they would have their throne raised up so
that when people would come before them, they would have to look
up at ancient monarchs, and they would have attendants all around
them. And there would be the blowing
of trumpets and the fanfare, and they would be adorned with
beautiful robes. And all of this was to give the
impression to all who would peer before their throne of their
majesty and with this pomp and with this circumstance. Peace. infinitely beyond this is the
majestic reign of Almighty God who is high and lifted up, who
is enthroned in the heavens. There are myriads and myriads
and myriads and myriads of angelic beings and redeemed saints surrounding
His throne, crying out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven and earth is full of Your
glory. There is this regal splendor
that is no empty show of sovereignty but is a true reflection of the
authority that He possesses over every particle and every molecule
upon this earth. Sixth, He reigns powerfully. The Lord reigns powerfully, meaning
all that He chooses to do, He has omnipotence to carry it out. Look at the second line of verse
3, the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength. This means that God is omnipotent
and there can be no resistance to His sovereignty. And no matter
what the conditions are, no matter what man may choose to do against
this God, Our God is in the heavens, He is clothed with strength and
power and He has all of the ability to bring all of His plans and
to bring the entirety of His will to realization and fulfillment. Psalm 115 verse 3, but our God
is in the heavens, He does whatever He pleases. Psalm 103 verse 19,
the Lord has established His throne in the heavens and His
sovereignty rules over all. Number seven, the Lord reigns
immutably. Look at the third line of verse
1, the Lord reigns immutably, indeed the world is firmly established,
it will not be moved. All that God has done to establish
His creation, He has put everything into its rightful place, the
planets, the galaxies, the sun, the stars, the earth, the dry
land, the seas, the laws of gravity, the laws of morality, His Word,
everything that God has put into place. It will never be altered. It will never be moved. God never
has to go to His backup plan. He never has to scrap plan A
for plan B and somehow work His way down based upon different
contingencies in the universe. Know all that God has purposed
and all that God has planned from eternity past, He has put
it into place, He has set it into motion and His supreme authority
is carrying it forward. It will never be moved. God is not second-guessing Himself.
Psalm 33 verse 10 and 11, the Lord nullifies the counsel of
the nations. He frustrates the plans of the
people. The counsel of the Lord stands
forever. The plans of His heart from generation
to generation. God has had one plan from all
eternity past. And it moves forward with divine
deliberation from generation to generation to generation. And that leads finally to number
eight, not only does the Lord reign majestically and powerfully
and immutably, but the Lord reigns eternally. Look at verse 2. Your
throne, and throne here represents His sovereignty. Throne here
represents His right as the one who is seated upon the throne
of the universe who has the right to rule. This is not a figurehead
monarch. This is one who is enthroned,
who has all authority. Now notice, your throne is established
from of old. Question, for how long of old
has God been enthroned and is exercising His will to reign? Next line, you are from everlasting. That means from before the foundation
of the world, before time began, before God created anything,
God was King and the Lord reigned. I want to take you back to eternity
past right now. I want to take you back to a
time before there was time. I want you to turn to the book
of Ephesians with me. to Ephesians chapter 1 verse
11. I want to take you back to that
point when there were no angels, when there was no created matter,
before there was even a heaven and all that existed was God
the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And in verse
11 we read, I want to begin the
sentence in verse 9, but verse 11 is what I'm targeting right
now. He has made known to us the mystery
of His will according to His kind intention. which he purposed
in him with an administration...with a view to an administration suitable
to the fullness of the times." That is the summing up of all
things in Christ. That's the bottom line, that
is the point towards which God is moving everything, that everything
would be summed up in the Lord Jesus Christ and that all honor
and praise and glory would be given to Him and that every knee
would bow to Him. for the pleasure of the Father
and the Son, things in heaven and things on the earth in Him.
Also we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according
to His purpose." who works all things after the counsel of His
will. Now there are four key words
in verse 11 that I...in my Bible I've drawn a box around all four
of these words so that my eye is always drawn to these four
key words, predestined, purpose, counsel and will. Before God created heaven, before
God created the angels, before God created Adam and Eve, before
God created anything, there was predestination, there was purpose,
there was counsel and there was will. Now let's line these up
in the right order because sequentially there is a flow. Number one is
His counsel. In eternity past, there was an
inter-Trinitarian meeting. like a board meeting as they
counseled together and they counseled within the Godhead and they counseled
among themselves. Number one is counsel, it's the
Greek word boule which speaks of a divine deliberation. They consulted with each other
and they considered every conceivable possibility. They could have
created twenty billion galaxies. They could have created one galaxy.
They could have created no galaxies. They could have created the sky
to be purple and for the grass to be blue. They could have created
us to walk on our heads. Every conceivable possibility
with the infinite mind and the infinite genius of Almighty God
the Father, the Son and the Spirit, there was this counsel. And after
deliberating, and after consultation, and after thinking through every
conceivable possibility, number two is the word will, thalema,
will. which speaks of a divine decision. Out of the council has come the
will and there is the one choice by God of all of the many vast
infinite number of plans that God could have chosen A plan
that is all-inclusive of everything that would come to pass. Notice
in verse 11 again, it says He works all things after the counsel
of His will. This will is so minute, this
will is so attention-oriented to detail that it includes everything
that comes to pass. such that God would be micromanaging
the universe. Not a sparrow would fall from
the tree apart from God. Not a hair would fall from someone's
head apart from God. Proverbs 16.33, even the casting
of the lot into the lap, it's every turning up is from the
Lord. And where you're sitting here
today is ordained of the Lord. Where you're staying, the influences,
where you were born, who your parents were, your time in history. All of that a part of God's will. Look across the page in verse
4, a part of this will is He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world. And at the very epicenter of
this will that God chose was the choosing of a people who
would become the bride of Christ, who would give glory and honor
to Christ throughout all of the ages to come. If you are a believer
in Jesus Christ this morning, I can tell you that God drew
a circle around your name in eternity past and said, you are
mine. It was done with extreme love,
having mercy upon whom He would have mercy and showing compassion
to whom He would show compassion. And not only did He choose His
elect, but He also chose the very work and the ministry and
the successes that would be marked out for their life. In Ephesians
2 and verse 10, just turn the page, Ephesians 2 verse 10 says,
for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. The we referring to those whom
He chose before the foundation of the world, we are His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus for good works. Now watch this, of these
good works which God prepared beforehand. so that we would
walk in them. You see, there's a sense of destiny
about our lives. Every moment of every day, God
has already gone before us and He has prepared good works for
us to walk in that will bring glory to His name. Now come back
to Ephesians 1.11. Number one is counsel, the divine
deliberation, the inter-Trinitarian meeting, the consultation. Number
two is will, the divine decision from among these many possibilities. God chose all that would come
to pass and it was a plan that included Satan, it included sin,
it included the fall of Adam and Eve, it included His curse
upon the world and all of even the presence of evil, yet Yet
God is not the author of sin, yet He is the architect of a
plan that does include sin that it would be the black velvet
backdrop upon which the diamond of His glory would shine forth
the greatest. The third word in verse 11 is
the word purpose. Do you see it? We have obtained
an inheritance having been predestined according to His purpose. Purpose
here speaks of divine determination. It speaks of this word right
here, resolved. It says that in eternity past,
God was resolved with purpose to execute His will. God is so determined. God is
so resolved. to carry out His will that it
can never be thwarted and it can never be resisted and it
can never be turned back. And then in verse 11, the last
word is the word predestination which speaks of divine decree,
proridzo in the Greek which comes...the English word horizon. that as
one would look while on a journey, you could see the destination
on the horizon. And predestination means that
the destination is determined before the journey begins. and
that God from all eternity past has marked out on the horizon
of time and has predestined to occur all that His sovereign
will chose in eternity past." Now trust me on this. You can
trust Him that the choice that He has made is the one best choice
for your life that will bring ultimate honor and ultimate glory
to Himself. And so, from all eternity past,
The Lord reigns and His throne is from everlasting. He is God
and there is none other. He does what He pleases throughout
all of the unfolding of time. Daniel 4.35, all the inhabitants
of the earth are accounted as nothing. But He does according
to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of
earth and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, what
have You done? Job 42 verse 2, I know that You
can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Isaiah 43 verse 11, even from
eternity I am He and there is none who can deliver out of My
hand. I act and who can reverse it? Isaiah 14 verse 27, for the Lord
of hosts has planned and who can frustrate it? And as for
His stretched out hand, who can turn it back? And the answer
is no mere mortal man. This psalm begins with the announcement
of the sovereign reign of God. And I want you to know that presiding
in heaven this moment is the God of heaven and earth, the
God who was and who is and who shall be forever. And He is ushering
forward the affairs of human history and the very specifics
of your life and there is...there are no random events that are
taking place and even the adversity and even the trials and even
the difficulties are a part of the tapestry of God's life that
He is weaving together to promote the honor and the glory of His
Son. among those whom He has chosen
from all eternity past. Come with me to the book of Proverbs
just for a moment, to Proverbs chapter 16. I want you to see
that the unfolding of this sovereign purpose and plan of God now is
carried out with extreme practicality in our life that God is so involved
in the details of our lives that He in a mysterious, inscrutable,
incomprehensible way is carrying out His will that He has purposed
for us. Proverbs 16 verse 1, the plans
of the heart belong to man and man is told in the Word of God,
especially in Proverbs, we must make our plans. It is wise, it
is prudent for us to consider the steps that we should take
and to make appropriate and even take consultation. There is victory
in a multitude of counselors. But the answer of the tongue
is from the Lord. And mysteriously down in our
heart, even after we have made our plans, God is re-channeling
and God is redirecting. And by the time the answer comes
out of our tongue, God has so inclined it to carry out His
eternal purpose in our lives. Verse 4, the Lord has made everything
for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. And even
those who are the non-elect and have been passed over by God
fulfill a purpose with...designed by God to carry out His glory. Verse 9, the man of man plans
his way but the Lord directs his steps. And God is redirecting
and re-channeling our steps according to the way that it pleases Him.
Verse 33, at the end of this chapter, the lot is cast into
the lap but its every decision is from the Lord. Even the casting
of a lot which is almost like casting of dice into the lap,
every turning up of that cubicle The invisible fingers of God
are turning it up according to His purpose. Proverbs 19 and
verse 21...Proverbs 19 verse 21, many are the plans in a man's
heart but the counsel of the Lord it will stand. You see, there is the overriding
sovereignty of God. that overrides even our plans
to fulfill His own purposes. One last one, Proverbs 21 verse
1, the heart's king is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord,
He turns it wherever He wishes. Even the human heart is not off
limits to a sovereign God in heaven. Even an unsaved king
like Cyrus or Darius, or even Pharaoh is not off limits to
God. And as a farmer would channel
water to irrigate his field where the farmer would lift up a board
so that water could gush in, or put down another board to
direct the flow of water into another portion of that field,
so God is putting His hand down into the hearts of men and women
even unsaved kings that He, the Lord, might redirect their heart
to fulfill His eternal purpose and counsel and will from all
eternity past. Let me tell you, this gives honor
and glory to God in our lives. And there is a lifting up higher
and higher and higher of the Lord in the understanding of
this and there is a shrinking and a shrinking and a shrinking
of us and that is what produces humility and dependence and worship
in our lives. Do you recognize the sovereign
reign of God over all of the affairs of your life? If not,
you are a practical atheist. For you have created and conjured
a God of your own making that does not reflect the true God
of heaven and earth. Let us acknowledge His sovereignty.
and let us humble ourselves before His throne and let us acknowledge
His right to rule and preside over our lives. Now come back
to Psalm 93 and the shorter part is what follows. We have seen the sovereign reign
of God, that God is God and it is the godness of God. and that
He reigns over all. Second, I want you to see the
sinful rebellion against God because the carnal mind does
not like to hear this. I did not like to hear this until
God pinned me to the mat when I was twenty-eight years and
reveal to me the truth of His Word that I am not in charge
but that God is over the circumstances and direction of my life. So,
look at verse 3, the floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods
have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding
waves. Three times the psalmist says
this, it is to take something to the superlative degree, as
if to say, good, better, best. The floods have lifted up, past
tense. The floods have lifted up, past
tense. The floods lift up, present tense.
The floods have always lifted up against Almighty God and the
floods do now in this hour, in this moment, lift up against
Almighty God and there will be no alteration until the time
of the end. The floods will always lift up. What are the floods that are
represented here? Some would say that it refers
to the...to the aspects of creation, of nature, of literal floods
like the sea, like the rivers, like the oceans and like the
weather. And we acknowledge that God is sovereign over all of
the affairs of weather. But there is more that is going
on here as the psalmist is speaking in poetic language and the floods
here represent chaos and restlessness and disorder among the nations. Isaiah 17 verse 12, alas, the
uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas. and like the rumbling of nations
who rush on like the rumbling of many waters. And here the
unconverted and the unregenerate nations are pictured as the angry
waves and the angry floods of the sea that are rising up against
Notice the Lord in Revelation 13, in the last days the beast
will come, the Antichrist will emerge onto the scene of human
history in the last hour as we know it and he will emerge from
the sea. Not literally coming out of the
ocean, but coming out of the chaos of the nations of the last
day, there will emerge the devil's superman who will pull together
the forces of this world in their rebellion against Almighty God,
hence His name, the Antichrist. Franz Delitzsch, the great commentator,
writes at this point, the sea with its mighty mass of waters,
with the constant unrest of its waves, with its ceaseless pressing
against the solid land and foaming against the rocks is an emblem
of the Gentile world alienated from God and at enmity with God
like the waves that are pounding against the coastline seeking
to move it back and the jugged rocks that are standing there
and the waves are smashing against that rock, so this world and
its furor is pounding against the sovereign reign of God. But
the rock of His reign will not move. and it is dashing into
small drops the angry floods of this world. No, the sovereignty
of God cannot be overrided. The authority of God cannot be
checked. The floods do rise up against
the Lord. but they cannot touch the sovereignty
of Almighty God. So he says in verse 4, more than
the sounds of many waters. So something is greater than,
more than the sounds of these waters, these floods, these waves
pounding against the rocks. more than the sounds of many
waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, picturing the proud
efforts of man to resist and to overcome God, more than that
at the end of verse 4 it says, the Lord on high is mighty. The Lord cannot be moved in His
sovereignty as He presides. with inscrutable wisdom to move
His will forward. He will not alter His plans.
He will not augment His will. From generation to generation,
the counsel of the Lord will stand. Turn back to Psalm 2 just
for a moment. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are intentionally
placed at the very beginning, they were not written first,
but the compiler placed them here. They are the two doorkeepers
that stand on both sides of the entrance into the psalter giving
this message to everyone who again and again and again enters
into the temple of worship in the book of Psalms. And Psalm
1 says, there is the way of the righteous and the way of the
godly, it is the most evangelistic Psalm of them all. It says, to
every worshiper who enters into the house of God that there are
the saved and there are the unrighteous and you must give your life to
God. Then Psalm 2 speaks of what of
those who are on the way of the ungodly, what of...what of those
who are of the unrighteous? And in verse 1 we read, why are
the nations in an uproar? It pictures here even the floods
and the pounding of the waves in an uproar. The nations representing
the unconverted masses of the Gentiles' peoples and the nations
devising a vain thing as they conspire against God to put away
His moral law, to undo His order for the family, to undo all that
God has set in motion. Why are the peoples devising
a vain thing? The kings of the earth, the mightiest
upon this planet, take their stand. And the rulers take counsel
together against the Lord and against His anointed. And this
is a snapshot of all of human history from the dawn of history
until the very end man in his total depravity resisting the
reign and the authority of God to reign over them and they say
in verse 3, let us tear their fetters apart. They will not
come under the authority of God, they will be like the ox that
will not give its neck to the yoke, it will resist the master
and cast their cords from us." We don't want to be restricted
by the Word of God. We will resist the Holy Spirit.
We will not follow the purpose and the plan of God. I will exalt
myself, which is exactly what Lucifer said. Now what do you
think God's response to this is? Look at verse 4. He who sits in the heavens laughs and the Lord scoffs at them. You puny man would resist my
omnipotent sovereignty? I who have created you, I who
have formed you, you would resist me? That I would alter my plans? That I would fulfill your counsel? The Lord laughs and the Lord
scoffs. And He laughs and He scoffs this
hour at any who would think they could rise up against Him and
chart their own course contrary to what He has purposed. So, we come to the last verse
of Psalm 93. It comes back to the Lord, we
must there as the people of God in light of this come into the
house of the Lord and ascribe to Him the honor and the glory
that belongs to Him alone. We must come into His house and
humble ourselves before Him and lift up our voices to Him and
hear His Word being preached. and come under the sanctifying
power of His Word, for God mediates His sovereign rule in the midst
of His people through the ministry of His Word. And so he says in
verse 5, your testimonies are fully confirmed. Holiness befits
your house. And so the picture here is of
the people of God coming into the house of worship. Understanding
that the Lord reigns and that they desire not to be numbered
about among the pagan unbelievers who would resist the Lord, they
come into the house of God knowing that the Lord is opposed to the
proud, He gives grace to the humble. They come to hear the
preaching and the teaching of the Word of God. And in verse
5, your testimonies are fully confirmed, the word testimony
is a synonym for the Word of God and it is a word that means
the outspokenness of Scripture, that God speaks frankly and God
speaks directly and God speaks to the point. How powerful it
is when someone stands up and gives their testimony. There
is a living reality about hearing a testimony as if the authenticity
and the genuineness is confirmed as it comes through the life
of the one who is giving testimony to God and here it says, that
the Word of God is God's own testimony to us. It is God speaking
to us. It is the voice of God trumpeting
His own glory and declaring Himself to us. And His testimonies are
fully confirmed, meaning they are fixed, they are unalterable,
not one jot, not one tittle of His Word will be changed and
the effect that it produces upon us, holiness befits your house. And it is the ministry of the
testimonies of God that produces holiness among His people as
God mediates His sovereign rule in the lives of His people top
to bottom as His Word, His testimonies come down and control our lives. And it produces in us that which
is eternal. Last line, O Lord, forevermore. Only that which is rooted and
grounded in the Word of God as you come to church, whether it
is the singing of the Word, whether it is the preaching, or the reading,
or the teaching of the Word, or even a testimony that declares
the Word, it is only the ministry of the Word that will produce
that which is forevermore in the lives of God's people and
everything else is fluff. So let us hear from God, His
testimony as we come into His house, this Lord who reigns. Let us do away with entertainment. Let us come under the exposition
of the Word of God as it will produce holiness forevermore. and the lives of God's people
as His sovereignty reigns over all. We must recognize this. We must rejoice in this. And we must rest in this. that the Lord reigns, He is King
over heaven and over earth. Let us pray. Lord, we would not be as the
floods and the angry nations and its turmoil that would rise
up against You. Lord, we would desire to be a
people who would clothe ourselves with humility and come into Your
house that we would hear Your Word and that we would behold
Your glory. and that we would understand
the sovereign majesty of Your reign. We praise You that Your
counsel is all wise, that Your will is unchanging, that Your
purpose is resolved. and that You have predestined
us unto the adoption of sons by Your sovereign grace. We bless
You, Father, this day that You have not usurped Your reign or
that You have not stepped off the throne, but that You continue
to preside and to carry forward all of the details and all of
the events of our lives to be woven together to form that which
is pleasing for you to produce, for you are at work within us
both to will and to work for your good pleasure. We give you
honor. And we give you praise in this
house today, for you are God and there is none other. We pray this in the name of your
anointed Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.