Turn with me, if you would, to
First Chronicles chapter 16. 1 Chronicles 16. I have personally
enjoyed very much spending our time this weekend in 1 Chronicles
16. And I want to continue the morning
and continue this first day of the new year with this declaration
And this glorious thought, this is glorious, look with me if
you would at verse 31. It says, let the heavens be glad
and let the earth rejoice and let men say among the nations,
the Lord reigneth. What a way to start a new year.
What a declaration. What an announcement that is.
What a reminder of glorious news. The Lord reigneth. The Lord our God reigns. He reigns. Let the heavens be
glad. You know how glad the heavens
are over the fact that the Lord reigns? Let the heavens be glad,
let the earth rejoice. Verse 32 says, let the sea roar
and the fullness thereof. Let the fields rejoice and all
that is therein. Then shall the trees of the woods
sing out at the presence of the Lord because he cometh to judge
the earth. The Lord reigneth, the judge
of the earth reigns. Glorious news, what glorious
news. That's one of my favorite things
to declare. I say one of, it's one of my
favorite things to declare, along with things like, this man receiveth sinners. I love declaring that. This man. You know, I don't generally receive
sinners. Really, I'm, but this man does. Even though I'm the chief of
sinners. This man does. Along with things like, it is
finished. Don't you love declaring that? Hearing that declared, our salvation
is finished. You are complete in Him. I love telling people that. You
are complete in Him. Along with declarations like
that, I love to declare, the Lord reigns. The Lord reigns. The Lord, our
high and holy God, reigneth. He rules. He reigns. Over everything. Over everything. It doesn't matter what it is.
Over everything. Scroll with me through some scriptures
here. Turn to Psalm 47. Psalm 47 verse 1 says, Oh, clap
your hands. All you people shout unto God
with the voice of triumph for the Lord most high is terrible. He is a great king over all the
earth. He shall subdue the people under
us and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance
for us, the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved. God is gone up
with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises
to God, sing praises, sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the
earth. Sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen. God sitteth upon the throne of
His holiness. The princes of the people are
gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham. For the
shields of the earth belong unto God. He is greatly exalted. God reigns. He reigns. God sits upon the throne of His
holiness. And He reigns. Look at Psalm
93. Psalm 93 verse 1 says, The LORD reigneth. I love declaring this in a world
where this is not declared. He's trying. He's trying. If
you'll just help him and if you'll just let him and if you'll just,
in a world where this is not declared. Psalm 93 verse 1 says,
The Lord reigneth. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength. Wherewith he hath girded himself. The world also is established
that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of
old. Thou art from everlasting. The
floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their
voice, the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of
the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure.
Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever. O Lord, you reign forever. Look at Psalm 97. It's across
my page. It says, The Lord reigneth. Let the earth rejoice. Let the
multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round
about him. Righteousness and judgment are
the habitation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and
burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened
the world. The earth saw and trembled. The hills melted like wax at
the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the
whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the people see his glory. Confounded be all they that serve
graven images. that boast themselves of idols,
worship him, all ye gods. Zion heard and was glad, and
the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord,
for thou, Lord, art high above all the earth. Thou art exalted
far above all gods. Far above. Look at Psalm 99. Verse 1 says, The Lord reigneth. Let the people tremble. He sitteth
between the cherubims. Let the earth be moved. Let it tremble. Let it tremble. The Lord our God is sovereign. The Lord God is sovereign. This is so important
to declare, so important to hear, so important to know. Everything
that he does. Is sovereign. And that's because everything
that he is. Is sovereign. The name Lord, when we talk about
the Lord Jesus Christ, the name Lord means. Sovereign is what
the name means. That's who he is. Therefore,
that's what he is. He is sovereign. His will is sovereign. Man talks about his free will.
The only thing man is free to do is sin. That's it. God's will is sovereign. God's
salvation is sovereign. His grace is sovereign. Sovereign grace. His mercy is
sovereign. And to really enter into what
this means, let me quote to you a few of the verses we just read,
OK? Of all that I just read. Just listen to this. Psalm 47 said, God is the King,
the King of all the earth. And it said, God the King reigns
over the heathen. And it said in verse 4, let's
just see if you can focus in on this. It said in verse 4,
He shall choose our inheritance for us. Does that register with
us? He shall choose our inheritance
for us. That's a sovereign. We want to
know what does sovereign mean. It means he's the one who chooses
inheritance for people. A sovereign is not one who waits
to see what his subjects are going to do and then reacts accordingly.
That's not a sovereign. A sovereign is one who tells
his subjects what they are going to do. And that's exactly what
our sovereign has done to us and for us. He has declared,
I will, and they shall. That's a sovereign. Well, Gabe, you make it sound
like we're all just puppets on a string. Thank God that's exactly
what we are. I'm the one at the top. I'm the puppet on the string. I'm looking at a bunch of puppets
on strings. That's exactly what we are. Pawns and puppets on
the sovereign's string. And I tell you this, there is
no place I would rather be. If I wasn't on his string, I
know where I would already be. I know where I'd already be.
Thank God He chose my inheritance for me. I would not have chose
what He chose for me. Thank God He chose your inheritance
for you. Thank God He chose to conquer
us and quicken us. Thank God He
chose to subdue us and to call us to himself. Thank God he chose
for our inheritance. The inheritance of all of his
people, he chose to draw us to himself. That's what he chose
to do. Of his own sovereign will and
purpose and thank God. Because had he not chosen us.
We would have never chosen him. We would not have chosen him.
Here's the glorious news of his sovereignty. The fear goes out
to all the world. This God we're dealing with is
sovereign. He does what he wants with whom he wants. The glorious,
wonderful, good news of the gospel is this God is sovereign. And
he does what he wants with whom he wants. And the glorious news
of his sovereignty is he chose our inheritance of being brought
to Christ for us. He chose that for his people. Now, who did that for us? The
king did that for us. That's what we read. Who is the
king? Jesus Christ the Sovereign. He's the King. Listen to this
verse. We read it just a minute ago.
Psalm 93 verse 1 said, The Lord, this King, the one who reigns,
is clothed with majesty and strength, wherewith He hath girded himself. I love that. Girded means belted
up for war. That's what girded means. It
means he strapped on his sword. Why would he do that? Why would
a man strap on a sword? It's because he intended to fight. Well, who was he at war with? What did he have to fight against?
He fought against our sin. He went to war with our sin on
Golgotha's hill, on Calvary's tree. He girded himself for that
war by himself. And he fought that war by himself. And he won that war by himself
because he's the Sovereign. He's the Sovereign over man.
He's the Sovereign over man's sin. He's the Sovereign over
death, hell, the grave. He's the Sovereign over the resurrection. He's the Sovereign over life. And not only is he the Sovereign,
thank God he's our Sovereign. Thank God. We can glory in who
he is. And what we have in him, because
Psalm 99 right here says this sovereign, this Lord who reigns. Who causes the people to tremble?
He right now sits, it says he said it. between the cherubims
for us. We can glory in who he is and
glory in what he's done for us. Because right now he sitteth,
he sits right now between the cherubims for us. What is between
the cherubims? What is the place between the
cherubims called? On the ark of God's covenant,
he called that place the mercy seat. That's where he sits. That's good news, isn't it? That's
where the sovereign who can do anything he wants, when he wants,
with whom he wants, he can sit anywhere he wants to sit. Where
did the sovereign choose to sit? On the mercy seat. That's where our sovereign right
now sits for us. That's where he meets with us
on the mercy seat. The blood-stained mercy seat
is where blood would be brought in and sprinkled on the mercy
seat. The blood-stained, sin-paid,
wrath-appeased mercy seat. That is such good news for sinners
against a sovereign God. There is sovereign mercy and
sovereign redemption. because of the sovereign love
of our sovereign Savior. What good news that is. Turn
with me over to Isaiah 52. Isaiah 52 verse 7, it says, How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation
that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth. There is nothing I
would rather hear than the fact that my God who's in control
of me is reigning and ruling over everything concerning me. Everything. How beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.
That's the gospel, good news. that bringeth good tidings, that
publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth." Your God reigns. The song says, hail sovereign
love that first began the scheme to rescue fallen man. Hail matchless,
free, eternal grace that gave my soul a hiding place. Against
the God who rules the sky, I fought with hand uplifted high, despised
the mention of His grace, too proud to seek a hiding place,
but thus the eternal counsel ran. Almighty love, arrest that
man. Hail, all hail, sovereign, arresting
love. I love the song that says, dark
the stain that soiled man's nature, long the distance that he fell,
far removed from hope and heaven into deep despair and hell. But there was a fountain opened
and the blood of God's own son purifies the soul and reaches
deeper than the stain has gone. Praise the Lord for full salvation. God still reigns upon His throne. And I know the blood still reaches
deeper than the stain has gone. Praise the Lord. God still reigns
upon His throne. Oh, how beautiful and how glorious
is the peaceful, precious declaration of our God and our King, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Our sovereign, he's our sovereign.
His sovereign love in his sovereign salvation, this declaration will
be the declaration for all eternity. This is what's going to be cried
for all eternity. You don't have to turn to this.
But Revelation 19 verse 6 says, speaking of glory, it says, I
heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the
voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings saying,
Hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah, the Lord
God Omnipotent reigns. All of eternity will be crying
that. Hallelujah, He reigns. He reigns
in creation. He reigns in salvation. He reigns
in providence. He reigns in everything concerning
His people. Whatever this year you're going
to set out into the year. I tell you this, in the year,
in the world, you're going to have tribulation. Be of good
cheer. He reigns. Things are going to
come. You're going to go through things.
Some of it will appear to be good to you. Some of it will
appear to be bad to you. Some of it you're going to say,
I can't believe that happened. Why did that happen? Here's the
reason why. He reigns. No matter what it is. He reigns. He reigns. He reigns over His
people. Everything concerning His people. And this is what David said in
our text. We've been reading it all weekend. He said, All
glory be to Him for that. All glory be to Him for that.
Go with me back to 1 Chronicles 16. Let me read a few verses
and I'll close. 1 Chronicles 16. Verse 26, it says, and this is
so, this is so right here. Verse Chronicles 16, verse 26
says, For all the gods of the people are idols. If it's not
the true and living God of scripture, it's an idol. It's no God at
all. All the gods of the people are
idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and honor are
in His presence. Strength and gladness are in
His place. Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds
of the people. Give unto the Lord glory and
strength. That's saying ascribe it to Him. Acknowledge that it's His. Verse
29 says, Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name. Bring
an offering. What offering can we bring to
Him? Well, Christ brought the only offering He would accept,
and that was His own blood. The only offering we have is
the offering of thanksgiving. Thank you. Verse 29 says, Give
unto the Lord the glory due unto His name. Bring an offering and
come before Him. Worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. Fear before Him all the earth. The world also shall be stable
that it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad. Eternity
is going to be a glad place. We're going to be so glad. Let
the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice. And let men say
among the nations, the Lord reigneth. Let the sea roar and the fullness
thereof. Let the fields rejoice and all
that is therein. Then shall the trees of the woods
sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge
the earth. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And say ye,
save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver
us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name,
and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. And all the people said amen
and praised the Lord. Amen. All glory and praise be
unto our sovereign Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, both now and forever. Amen.