Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm 97 and verse 1. In fact, the word of our text,
it comes in each of the Psalms that we read. The first three
words of Psalm 97, Also the first three in Psalm 99, and also you
have them in Psalm 93. But I'll read from our text,
Psalm 97 verse 1. The Lord reigneth. Let the earth
rejoice, let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. But specifically these words,
the Lord reigneth. If there is a king, then there
must be a kingdom. The two, they go together. Now in this armistice, Coming
just after, we might say, Israel had desired a king. In Samuel's day, they wanted
to be like the nations that were round about. And Samuel was very
distressed. The Lord was their king. And the Lord said to Samuel,
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me. And the Lord appointed them and
showed them how great their sin was when he sent thunder and
lightning and heavy rains in the time of their harvest. But
he charged them that he would give them a king but they were
to serve him. And that if they served him and
their king served him, then he would bless them. But otherwise,
then he would visit their transgressions and their sins with the rod. Well, King Saul did not obey
the Lord himself. God says that he gave him, and
his anger took him away in his wrath. Then David was raised
up, the sweet psalmist of Israel. Though these psalms don't have
the name of David over them as part of the inspired psalm, yet
certainly they come amongst those psalms that are the psalms of
David and It is really to be noticed at such a time in Israel,
really the first time they had an earthly godly king, a king
of which God himself said was a man after his own heart. That it should come so much in
the Psalms, not David reigns, not Solomon reigns, not Saul
reigns, but that the Lord reigned. Those kings were under the Lord. The Lord was still Israel's king,
still his people's king. The Lord still reigned. The Lord
reigneth was the theme here in many of these psalms. And we may say the Lord still
reigns, His throne is an everlasting throne, an eternal throne. He reigns over the world. He
reigns in the earth. He reigns over his people. He reigns in heaven. The Lord
Jesus Christ is he that is spoken of and set forth here. we have
in the first chapter in Hebrews. Of the angels, or when he bringeth,
in verse six, he bringeth in the first begotten into the world,
he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. And of the
angels he saith, who maketh his angels' spirits and his ministers
a flame of fire. But unto the sun, he saith, thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A sceptre of righteousness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom. the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son,
the Eternal Son. In our text it speaks of the
Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You cannot divide
between the Godhead, the triune God reigns, and here very clearly
in Hebrews, we have the Son reigning. Not as opposed, but the same. Unto the Son, he saith, thy throne,
O God. The Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus
of Nazareth, is truly God and truly man. He is the eternal
God, and he reigns. When our Lord was to depart from
this world, his disciples had the idea, or they thought, that
the Lord would again set up a kingdom on this earth. But our Lord was
very clear, and he said that, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight. With the dying thief, the dying
thief believed and saw. He said, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom. And the Lord said, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise,
that kingdom which is above. When our Lord was to be taken
up into heaven, He was asked by his disciples, will thou at
this time restore the kingdom unto Israel? And our Lord said
it was not for them to know the times and the seasons. No, it was not to be an earthly
kingdom. It was to be a spiritual kingdom
on this earth, a kingdom of grace, a kingdom of those that were
born into it, by being born again of the Holy Spirit. They were
to be part of this kingdom over which the Lord reigns in a special
way. In one sense, the Old Testament
is again a type of this. We think of the Lord over Israel,
And the prophets, they spoke by the Lord to Israel, and Israel
was their special people. They were his people. He was their God. But the Lord
still did have jurisdiction over the other nations. The prophets
did speak about them, even though they were foreigners and strangers
to the law and to the kingdom of our Lord. It wasn't just that
the Lord was over Israel alone and the rest of the world just
did what they liked, no. They had their earthly kings,
but the Lord still was the King of kings and Lord of lords. And
in that sense, It is that way in the day of grace. The Lord
is specifically king in Zion. He reigns over his people. But
we must never think, well, because of that, then he doesn't reign
over the heathen and that he doesn't have jurisdiction. and
the nations of the earth can do like they want, and it is
only God's people which the Lord reigns over. No, he reigns over
them in a very special way, and they are willing that he reigns
over them. They desire that his kingdom
come, that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. They
pray as he bids them pray, but the Lord still has that jurisdiction
over those who say, we will not have this man to reign over us. Depart from us, we desire not
the knowledge of thy ways. Another thought is this, what
a profound effect the kings had over Judah and over Israel. Israel's kings were all wicked
kings. Judah's kings, many of them were
very godly kings, but some were wicked also. But we think of
the great effect of those kings, the most solemn effect of Manasseh,
so vital a link, and given in those 15 years that Hezekiah,
a godly king, had his life lengthened out. And yet still a vital link
unto Christ, and one that was shown mercy to, Manasseh, brought
to repentance and godly sorrow. And yet, though he was king,
Many of the people of land, of course, must have willingly participated
in that wickedness. But when you contrast that with
the kingdoms of David, of Solomon, we think of Josiah, we think
of Hezekiah himself, Asa, those kings then feared the Lord. And when the kingdom was a godly
kingdom, Then those ordinances were set up, the worship of God
observed, and the people served the Lord and not idols. And so how important it is that
there should be a godly king, that there be a king that reigns,
that reigns in righteousness and holiness. What a mercy then to realise
that in this world, in this world over the heathen and over God's
people, the Lord does reign. Who is he that saith, and it
cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? All of the
history of the world, all of the kingdoms that come and go,
many of them with great sorrows and distresses, all the effect
of sin and conflicts between men. And yet God is ordering
these things, turning it about for good, ordering the course
of the world. And he is in control. And it
is good for the people of God to be reminded of this, especially
when everything seems chaotic, when men seems to have the sway,
when there's troubles and tribulations and trials and afflictions, to
be reminded of this. It's easy to read over the accounts
of when Judah was taken by Babylon or read the account of the book
of Daniel and not realise what Daniel and his friends would
have gone through as young people in their teens to have seen no
doubt their loved ones slain and taken captives, taken away
from their own land made into eunuchs, castrated, brought to
learn another language, be amongst a people that are completely
different and complete idolatrous, to realize what they actually
went through. Many times we can read the scriptures
and we don't realize, well, what is told us is what is needed
for our faith. but to realize the reality of
what they actually went through. Because you and I, we do. We
must walk out the same as they did, their paths. We think of Joseph and what that
must have really meant to him. Could he really realize that
in what his brothers did, that what the Ishmaelites did in selling
him, the false accusations, the imprisonment, the forgetfulness
of the butler, that in all these things the Lord was reigning.
We read in Psalm 105 that until his time came, the word of the
Lord tried him. He was tried about it. But later
he could say so clearly to his brothers that It was not them
that sent him hither. Not their wickedness. Not what
they'd done. No. God had sent him hither. And he was able to see that.
And may we be helped to see this evening that the Lord reigns,
not man. And that he is in control. And
be reminded as This psalm is sought in song, in praise, in
the psalms, to remind the children of Israel, not once, but again
and again, four times just in the psalms that we have read
this evening, that the Lord reigneth. Now it is faith that believes
that. We might look at all outward
things, And we think, how can that be? But the Lord says, the
Word says, the inspired Word says, the Lord reigneth. And that is true, he does. May we be helped to hold on to
that, to cleave to that, to rest in that. But more than that,
May we desire that he reigns over us, that we be part of his
spiritual kingdom, a kingdom which comes to full fruition
beyond this world when the Lord comes again. I just mentioned,
just briefly, some people obviously believe a thousand years on this earth. I'm not intending to go into
all of the different beliefs in that now. Suffice to say that
scriptures, comparing scripture with scripture, the words of
our Lord and that which the Apostle Paul sets before us in Thessalonians,
only know of one coming, and that is hastening in the end
of the world. not coming twice and a thousand
years between. It speaks of the people of God
passing through great tribulation, not escaping it, as it were,
in a rapture. When the Lord comes again with
power and great glory, every eye shall see him. He shall come
with his saints, those that have died in Christ, And we which
are alive and remain, Paul says, this bright word of God says,
we shall be caught up with them in the air, so shall we be forever
with the Lord. And our Lord speaks of that great
coming where many shall call upon the rocks and from him that sitteth on the
throne, or as he says to his people, which shall also be alive
when he comes. When ye see these things begin
to come to pass, look up, for your redemption draweth nigh. There is a kingdom of grace.
There is a kingdom of glory. He shall give grace and glory. The two go together. and very quickly he entered into
glory. The Apostle Paul, he says, for
me to live is Christ, to die is gain, absent from the body,
present with the Lord. The Lord is enthroned in light,
a lamb as it had been slain in the midst of the throne, ascending
up on high. But the word, the Preaching of
the gospel is termed as preaching the kingdom. That is what the
apostles were doing. They were preaching the kingdom
of God. And our Lord testified in John
3, that except a man is born again of the Spirit, he shall
not see the kingdom of God. The entrance into that kingdom
is by birth, a new birth, being born again, and the Lord then
ruling and reigning in the hearts of His people. He reigns over,
over His people, over their lives. He is their protector, preserver
and keeper. He is their hope in the day of
adversity and trial and trouble, and He is their everlasting comfort
and expectation to be with him forever. The Lord reigneth then
is a very precious word, a very precious truth, the truth of
the people of God here below. I want to look just briefly at
the Psalms that we have read and we see there the Lord's reigning
and a message for us in four different ways. I'll begin with
Psalm 93. We are drawn to his majesty. The Lord reigneth, he is clothed
with majesty. We are directed to look upon
Him and to view Him as He really is. If it could be said of Solomon,
an earthly king, that the Queen of Sheba said that only but the
half of His glory and majesty was told to her, she had to come
and see for herself. And she saw his going up into
the temple. She saw his train. She saw his household. How he ate at his table. Everything
concerning his kingdom. It was so full of glory and of
majesty. And there remained no strength
as it were in her. It was so great what she beheld. The apostle says, we beheld his
majesty as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Our Lord Jesus Christ, his glory
was a veiled glory here below. But those times when He wrought
the miracles. He raised the dead. He cured
the sick. He fed those with the loaves
and the fishes. His glory is shown on the Mount
of the Transfiguration. His glory shone through. His
majesty, His greatness. Even without that, by faith,
His dear people, they saw His glory. Simeon, when he was but
a babe, took Him up in His arms. Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The testimony of Anna, speaking
of him to all them that look for redemption in Jerusalem. The majesty of our Lord, as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth, not
with the trimmings of an earthly monarch, but the glory and majesty
of the only begotten of the Father. The glory that is due to Him
as the Saviour, the Redeemer, the garments of salvation that
He is clothed with. greatness that he appears before
his people on the Mount of Transfiguration, the glory of Moses must go, the
glory of Elias, the prophets must go, and Jesus only is seen. And the Apostle, they spoke of
that glory that they saw there upon the Mount. And so when we
have in Psalm 93, the Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty. We think of the majesty, especially
belonging to that work of which he accomplished here upon the
earth. When Joshua, Joshua's a type
of Christ to bring the children of Israel into the promised land,
But when he was going in, then there appeared the captain of
the Lord's host to go before them. Not there for us or for
our enemies. He was the captain of the Lord's
host. And he was then to fight their
battles. He was to go before them. He
was to be their strength. And our Lord Jesus Christ, is
greater, greater than Joshua. He is the one that through his
death, through his sufferings, shall bring his people into that
promised land above. The majesty and glory of the
Lord is the captain of our salvation. His garments are all the garments
of salvation. The grace of truth, of righteousness
and holiness of His precious blood, of all that He has that
sinners do not have, the fullness that it is pleased the Father
that should dwell in Him, they all make up His majesty and His
greatness, told in so many different ways throughout the Scriptures.
And unto you which believe, He is precious. Isaiah says in Isaiah
53, that he is as a root out of dry ground. There is no form
nor comeliness that we should desire him. And yet in that prophecy
is spoken all what he shall accomplish at Calvary, what he has accomplished
there. All he is standing in the place
of sinners and bearing their transgressions. Those that are
given faith see that beauty. They don't see him as the root
out of the dry ground. They see him as the saviour,
the redeemer, the promised seed of the woman. They see him in
his majesty to bruise the serpent's head, to lead forth a company
of captives and to save them with a great deliverance. What
a picture we have. The kings, the Old Testament
kings, they went through in front of their armies. They went in
all their robes. But our Lord, he goes forth and
goes before his people and bids his people that they be followers
of him. The Lord reigneth, he is clothed
with majesty. When we think of the Lord reigning,
May we never forget what the Lord has accomplished at Calvary,
what he has done, and what he is able to do and will do, and
will accomplish right unto the end. The Apostle Paul, when he
writes to the Corinthians as he finishes the first epistle
to them, He speaks of the victory that shall be accomplished and
shall be done, and of the glory that shall ensue. He says in the rising up of Christ
from the dead, if in this life only we have hope in Christ,
we have all been most miserable, Now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. And he speaks of the resurrection
and the end. As in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order
Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ that is
coming, then cometh the end. when he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put
down all rule and all authority and power, for he must reign
till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy
that shall be destroyed is death. And the apostle says before them
this, bound down in the resurrection of our Lord, and the certainty
of his reign and accomplishment of all that he came to do. It is with that majesty he is
clothed. The second point to bring before
you is the words of our text in Psalm 97 and verse 1. The Lord reigneth, let the earth
rejoice. Let the multitude of the Isles
be glad thereof, all the Gentiles. It always was the purpose of
God, and it's beautifully foretold in the prophecies of Isaiah,
that it should not be the Jews only, but also the Gentiles shall
see and come to the light of the Lord, and that it shall be
a cause of rejoicing. what a mark really of truly knowing
the salvation of the Lord, that there is rejoicing and gladness. You read as the gospel went forth
in that early church that there was much joy in that city where
the gospel was received and where the blessing was. Our Lord said
to his disciples before his crucifixion that you now therefore have sorrow
but I will see you again and your hearts shall rejoice and
your joy no man taketh from you. It is not going to be the whole
earth as it were rejoicing. Often think of that message of
the angels to the shepherds. It was not peace on earth, there
will not be peace on earth, but on earth peace. On this earth
there shall be known peace, and the Lord explains it like this,
he says, in me you shall have peace. In the world you shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. God's dear children do not have
to wait to heaven to have the peace. They do not need to wait
to heaven to rejoice in the Lord. The Apostle Paul clearly seeing
the Lord's sovereignty and reigning and making every trial work for
good, he even rejoiced in tribulation. He could see the Lord's overruling
hand in it and know the grace of God that was sufficient for
him. Let the earth rejoice, that is,
in every nation, kindred, and tongue. Wherever the gospel comes,
it is good news. It is good news of salvation. And we're received by faith and
realizing that the Lord has blessed my soul, he's opened my eyes,
he's visited my soul with his salvation, he has passed by me
and bid me live, he has put me amongst his children, he has
blessed my soul, he has saved me by grace, he has loved me
with an everlasting love, and therefore with loving kindness
hath he drawn me, that he hath had mercy upon my soul, he has
died for me, he has bled for me, shed his blood for me, a
realisation of that, and that we have heaven before us, a hope
beyond the grave, will cause that soul to rejoice. Sweet the
moments rich in blessing which before the cross I spend. It may not be long that we have
in the sweet feeling and realisation of it, but that is a sweet thing
to rejoice. in fully realising and believing
that the Lord reigns and we are part of his kingdom and because
he reigns, we shall get safe home to glory at last. Where the true blessings of the
gospel come, it cannot but cause rejoicing. When the Lord came
into Jerusalem, Then they spread their garments in the way. They
cried, Hosanna to him that cometh in the name of the Lord. And
they said to his disciples, the people ought to be forbidden.
But our Lord said, if these should hold their peace, the very stones
should cry out. They couldn't but. praise in
this people have I formed for myself they shall show forth
my praise and a knowledge of being a partaker of that salvation
the greatest blessing that this world can ever know or ever bestow
upon a people no greater blessing than a sinner saved by grace. The Lord reigneth, let the earth
rejoice. And countless millions of the
Lord's dear people have rejoiced in his dear name, have been glad
when they saw the Lord. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. The third word to bring before
you is in Psalm 99 and verse 1. And you might say it balances
the previous. The Lord reigneth, let the people
tremble. He sitteth between the cherubims,
let the earth be moved. We read in another place, God
is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, to be
had in reverence of all them that are about him. There is
something so necessary, especially today. The Word says, Thou thoughtest
I was such a one as thyself. Those that truly feared the Lord,
those that knew him, they did fear him. The language of the
hymn writer, my soul, stands trembling while she sings the
honours of her God. There's a realisation of his
majesty, might and power, we sung of his ability to dash the
millions down to hell, but then to save a people that he'd chosen,
loved and suffered for. The children of Israel, as they
sang the song of Moses, on the shores of the Red Sea, could
see the Egyptians dead on the seashore, but realised that they
had been saved and they'd been brought through. Sometimes it
gets even closer than that. You know, I think of two of the
Lord's people that Well, one, a dear sister in faith over in
Australia and she spoke once of her brother who had no fear
of God at all. He'd gone on a coach holiday
and all over the Lord's Day he'd stood up to tell some jokes in
the coach as they were going along. He sat down and he died. Sudden as that. And dear Alice,
I assist him in faith. She did not have a hope of him. He showed no evidence of faith,
no evidence of any desire for the Lord at all. But you know
her response was immediate in the words of the hymn writer,
O may my name be found recorded in some humble place beneath
my Lord the Lamb." And you might say, well, is not that perhaps
a bit selfish just to care for yourself and pass by even a natural
brother? But you know, when you realize
the worth of a soul, and you realize if God would mark iniquity,
you'd be just like that one. You deserve the same, and that
it is all a mercy. And that same response, I spoke
many years ago to Mr. Burroughs, minister. And he said he was the only one
in his family that was called. And again, his response, why
me? Why me? Why was I called? Why
was I saved? Instead of dwelling, as it were,
on those that were lost, his wonder was how he was saved,
why he was saved. Why did the Lord save him, but
not others? The word says, the election hath
obtained it. The rest were blinded. If there
was no election, if there was no sovereign God able to save
unto the uttermost and sovereignly, none would be saved. None of
us would choose the Lord. None of us would walk in His
ways. None of us would desire Him to
reign over us. All of us would say, depart from
us, we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways. And is it in that
way when you realise the sovereignty of the Lord, His mercy, His greatness,
that there is that, as it were, trembling before Him. Trembling before Him, there's
much easy familiarity, as it were, in many churches today,
as if God was not a holy, sovereign, great God. as if he did not have
any majesty. And he's spoken of, as it were,
just as if he was a man. However great and wonderful salvation
is, however condescending our God is, he is still the great,
the true, the eternal God. David knew something of this,
and I know I've spoken of it many times in the bringing up
of the Ark. On one hand, there is other Uzzah
slain before the ark, and David fears to bring it up. He sends
it to the house of Obed-Edom, and then the Lord blesses all
the house of Obed-Edom, and David sees those two sides of the Lord. One is severity, sovereignty,
and the other side is mercy, and really you can think in the
work done at Calvary, there is the wrath of God, there is the
hiding of God's face from His beloved Son, and there is mercy
as our Lord Jesus Christ so willingly lays down His life. Another mark
then, really, of the people of God won't be lightness, won't
be carelessness, a familiarity that is almost contemptuous,
but a real evidence that they have seen the King. They have
truly seen His Majesty. They know something of His mercy,
His sovereignty, and they, as it were, tremble before Him.
My soul stands trembling while she sings the honours of her
God. Well lastly, the word in Psalm
96. And this is not at the beginning,
but in verse 10. And it's a message, a message
for the heathen. Say among the heathen that the
Lord reigneth. Say among the heathen. Of course, in these days, the
psalmist is pointing to the time when the gospel would be preached
among the heathen. It would not just be Israel.
Our Lord says, other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them
also I must bring. He charged his disciples that
they should first go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
But when they rejected him, the Jews rejected him, then they
turned to the Gentiles. And they had the same message,
the Lord reigneth. And the Lord does reign, still
reigns. And countless millions in every
nation, kindred, and tongue have been brought into that kingdom
of his grace. And this really is the message.
of the apostles, the message of the Lord's servants today,
the kingdom of God's grace. There is a kingdom. There is
a people saved by the Lord. He is their king. He does reign
over them. It is the day of grace and we're
to testify and say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth. There is another aspect to this,
a testimony to God's people. The world doesn't like to hear
it. They will say, and the rulers will say, just like Pharaoh did
when Moses came to him, who is the Lord, that I should obey
him? But Moses testified who the Lord
was, and by and by, Pharaoh was to know that. that we are to
be a salt and light in this world. The world thinks, well, if the
Lord reigns, then surely we will actually see the evidence of
it. Satan will speak in the same
way he tempted the Lord. If thou be the Son of God, do
this, do that. You tempt the Lord's people too.
So if the Lord reigns, we'll let him do this and let him do
that. But we don't dictate to the Lord
in prayer. And we believe the Lord reigns
even though things go against us. Even though it seems the
hand of the Lord is against us. Yet the Lord still reigns. It's
a big test, isn't it? Whether we can say to those round
about us who do not believe the Lord reigns. And they might look
at our life and they say, yes, but look at what's happening
to you. And look at the trials you're
going through. But you say the Lord reigns. They
say, how can you say that? Because the word declares it
and I believe it is so. And the world takes notice, and
they think this is a people, strange people. These are people
that things are going wrong with them, and they still say the
Lord reigns. And men will take notice of that. When it is like Naomi, she's
lost her husband and her two sons, but she's still Though
she feels the Lord's dealt bitterly with her, he still reigns. And she goes back to Bethlehem,
and then she sees a real change. She sees the Lord going out in
providence, and she sees Ruth married to Boaz. And before that,
those signs in how he gave her the corn, that he'd taken knowledge
of her. He was a near kinsman. May we
not be ashamed to testify before the world that the Lord reigns,
even though we may have many struggles in the closet, many
wrestlings with the Lord, many pourings out of our heart. That's
where it is to be taken, to the throne of God. You know, Ezra,
when he went back with the treasures from Babylon, he testified to
the king that the hand of the Lord was over all of those that
served him and feared him. And then afterwards, he thought
of all the bandits and robbers that were likely to rob them
of the treasures. But he couldn't ask of the king's
soldiers because he'd already professed that the hand of the
Lord was over him. So by his own words, he then
had to walk so trusting in the Lord, not saying that we don't
use means. Now at times we would, but Ezra
obviously very clearly saw if he asked a band of soldiers,
the king would have said, Ezra, didn't you tell me you'd got
a God that watched over you? Sometimes the heathen can be
a real help to us in our faith. There have been many times in
secular employment where previous testimonies before them of my
faith or what the Lord would do have been a way of shepherding
and helping when trials have come. And the world does take
notice when the people of God say, though he slay me, Yet will
I trust in him. And so we are to say, we are
to speak among the heathen that the Lord reigneth. Or may we
be given grace and strength and faith to hold on to this. It will be tried. I know it will
be tried. And it may be, that's why The
word must be here this evening, for it is all here. The Lord
reigneth. By the Lord and his blessing.
Amen.