chapter 52 of Isaiah. This is a passage that you and
I have looked at so many times, and let's look at it maybe just
a little bit different tonight. But sometimes there are portions
of Scripture, just a few words in Scripture, that I need to
be reminded of. And this is one this afternoon. In verse 7, and
I just want to look at the last three verses, the last three
words in that verse, but listen to verse 7. Isaiah 52, verse
7. The Apostle Paul was speaking
of this when he quoted it of the preachers. 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, that saith unto Zion. Here's
what the prophet says to Zion. Here's what the apostle says
to Zion. Here's what the preachers say. Here's what I'm saying to
you this afternoon, to you believers, to the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thy God reigneth. I hope you and I study this passage,
think upon this passage. The Lord opens our heart and
keeps our heart open to this whole concept to the meaning
of these three little words, Thy God reigneth. There is but
one God. That's Zion's God. There's many
that are called gods, but there's only one true and living God.
And that's the church's God. That's the church's Savior. And
that God reigns. Now this word reign means to
rule. It means to control. It means to determine. It means to dispose. It means
to prevail, to gain victory, to succeed. Now, that's what
that word means. Now, that said a lot, Ed. That
said a lot. Brother David Pledge wrote an
article that I read the other day that was concerning the church
sign. Some words that he saw out in front of the church. And
it says, God reigns. Would you let Him have His way?
Now, see why this needs to be taught of. God reigns. Let Him have His way. Why is it so important here? Why is it so critical that God
reigns? Because this truth, now see if
this ain't so, this truth is the foundation upon which everything
else rests. What is secure? If God doesn't
reign. If He doesn't rule. If He doesn't
control. We talk about God's decrees.
God's eternal purpose. But why do we put value upon
those? Because God reigns. If God doesn't
reign, the decrees aren't fixed. God's purposes aren't sure. This
is the foundation of those decrees and His purposes. I have purposed
it. What about it? Yeah, and I'll
bring it to pass. Why? Because thy God reigneth. What about the promises of God?
If He doesn't reign, they fall. They're not yea and amen if God
doesn't reign. How dependent is the truth of
God and the trustworthiness of God if He is weak and if He is
frail. These words are the foundations.
And I'm telling you, Solomon said, if the foundations be destroyed,
what can the righteous do? We're at a loss. Therefore, God
instructs these prophets and the preachers to say unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth. Now, I've never read anything,
I guess, in my life that when you think about it, that has
a tendency to dispel my fears more than this. When you begin
to think, as we will here in just a second, about all the
areas in which God reigns, it has a tendency to dispel our
fears. And God knows we have a thousand
and one fears. The people that He was writing
this message to had a thousand fears. And some of us have fears
that we can't shake. Maybe this fear will shake them. Fear has torment. He that fears
is not made perfect in love. God has not given us the spirit
of fear, but of love and of faith and power and of a sound mind. The only legitimate fear, as
someone said this morning, is to fear God. That's the only
legitimate fear. We should never fear anything
else. At least never fear it above
our God. Sanctify the Lord. Let Him be
your fear and let Him be your dread. Be thou in the fear of
the Lord all the day long. Serve Him with fear and rejoice
with trembling. Let us have grace whereby we
may serve the Lord with reverence and godly fear. Fear not them
which kill the body. Brother Larry quoted that this
morning. But fear Him, reverence Him, that has power to destroy
both soul and body and to death. Isaiah 35 says, say to them who
are of a fearful heart. Do you ever have any fears that
you can't shake? You've tried it and you can't
shake it. Some people have a nature to fear. They're just fear. And the Lord describes them here,
and say to them, He said, Say to them who are of a fearful
heart, be strong, be strong. Your God will come and save you. Be strong. But what comfort and what strength
and what hope would all these instructions be and all these
promises be? And how would they ever dispel
any fears if God didn't reign? Let Him promise what He will.
Let Him instruct however He will. Let Him encourage us as if He
will. But if He doesn't reign, these things mean nothing. They
mean nothing. Thy God reigneth. How important
it is. Take your Bible and look at some
scriptures. Read some scriptures with me. And mark these and look
at this. Look in Isaiah chapter 41. This was a people, as the Lord's
people sometimes are, that the Lord was constantly writing to,
to dispel their fears. And look what He says in Isaiah
chapter 41, in verse 10. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. Behold, all they that are incensed
against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. They shall be
as nothing. They that strive with you shall
perish. Thou shalt seek them and shalt
not find them. Even them that contended with
thee, that war against thee, shall be as nothing, and as a
thing of naught. For I, the Lord thy God, will
hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and
ye men of Israel, I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Look at the shouts. But what
would that mean, brothers and sisters, if thy God did not reign? What makes these promises here
so effectual and these shalls meaning just what they really
mean is because our God reigns. Look in chapter 43. Look in verse
1. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that farmed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When you walk through the fire,
you'll not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for thee,
since thou wast precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable,
and I have loved thee. Therefore I will give men for
thee, and people for your life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring your seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west, I will say to the north,
give up. To the south, keep not back.
Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the
earth, even every one that is called by my name. For I have
created him for my glory. I have farmed him, yea, I have
made him." You know when this scripture becomes effectual to
us? When we know God means it. When we know He means it. You
let me write something like this to you, and under your breath,
you'll have to chuckle. But when God says to the North,
you give up my sons, says to the South, you let go of my daughters,
I've redeemed them. Now you bring them. You know
they're coming. They're coming. Why? Because
God reigns. Look in chapter 44. Just read
the book of Isaiah. Brother Clarence has been reading
the book of Isaiah. Just read it and look what great things
he says. And here's the foundation, here's
the undergirder of all these wonderful things that he says.
He reigns. Look in chapter 44. Look in verse
1. Yet hear now, O Jacob my servant,"
this is the church, Zion, the believers he's talking to, "'and
hear, Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus saith the Lord that made
thee, that farmed thee from the womb, which will help thee. Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
and thou, Jeshua, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water
upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground, I
will pour my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon thine
offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows
by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord,
and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another
shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself
by the name of Israel. Thus saith the Lord the King
of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of Hosts, I am the first
and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. And who as
I shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me,
since I appointed the ancient people, and the things that are
coming and shall come, let them show them. Fear ye not, neither
be afraid. Have not I told thee from that
time and have declared it? Ye are My witnesses. Is there
a God besides Me? Yea, there is no God. I know
not any. One more Scripture. Look in chapter
54 of Isaiah. Go back at your leisure. Mark
these and go back at your leisure. Look what some wonderful things
He said. Look in verse 4 of chapter 54. Fear not, for thou shalt
not be ashamed. Neither shalt thou be confounded,
for thou shalt not be put to shame, for thou shalt forget
the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of
thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thy Husband,
the Lord of Hosts is His Name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel, the God of the whole earth, shall He be called. Call thee as a woman forsaken,
and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused,
saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken
thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little
wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. Look in verse 13. And all thy
children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the
peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be
established, thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt
not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near thee.
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me. Whosoever
shall gather together against you shall fall for thy sake.
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the
fire. and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work. And
I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is farmed
against thee shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise
against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of
me, saith the Lord." Wonderful words, ain't it? And you know
what they all rest upon? Thy God reigneth. Brothers and sisters, you and
I need to learn this. We need to believe this. And
then when we read the Scriptures, when we read these blessed Scriptures,
it will change our attitude. It will change our attitude.
When we read a promise, we'll believe it. Because we know who's
behind it. We know who said it. We know
who promised it. What do we have in these three
little words? Thy God reigneth. Well, we have
this. We have a declaration of our
faith. Here's a declaration of our faith. Here's a declaration
of the truth that you and I believe. Thy God reigneth. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. We have in this little statement
the reign of God that tells us that it's absolute. He reigns
at all times and all places. How widespread is God's reign? Let me read that to you. You
mark these Scriptures now. Look here in 1 Chronicles 29. 1 Chronicles 29. Look in verse
10. 1 Chronicles 29, look in verse
10. God reigns over all things. at all times and in all places. Now that's a mouthful. Look in
verse 10. Here's David praying under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit. 1 Chronicles chapter 29 and verse
10. Wherefore David, standing here
before the congregation, and he blessed the Lord before all
the congregation, and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of
Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the
greatness and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and
the majesty, all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord,
and Thou art exalted as head over all." Who's the head over all? God
is. The Lord God. He's the head over
all. Listen to this in Psalms 135,
5 and 6. This is where the heathen asked
David, where is the Lord? Where is your God? David said,
I know that the Lord is great and that our God is above all
gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, in earth, in the seas, All these places. You'll find that in Psalms 135,
in verse 5 and 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased. This is what distinguishes him
from all other gods. He doesn't just desire. He does
it. That's how far range in his rule
is. Listen to Daniel chapter 4 and
verse 35. Very familiar scripture. All
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed, they're counted,
as nothing in His sight. And He doeth according to His
will in the armies of heaven among the inhabitants of this
earth, and no man can say unto Him, What does that? He does
whatsoever He pleases. Secondly, the reign of God is
very detailed. It's very minute. It's very technical. Listen to these passages. Matthew
10, verse 30. The very hairs of your head are
all numbered. That's pretty detailed. For all
your hair to be numbered. Who numbers it? Luke 21, verse 18. There
shall not one hair of your head perish. He knows your hair, not
a one of them perishes apart from the knowledge and the will
of God. Mark 10, verse 29. Not a sparrow
falls into the ground apart from your Father. Now that's pretty
minute, isn't it? When He numbers our hair, not
a one perishes. When He follows the little sparrow
as she flies through the air, and does not fall by any means
whatsoever until God wills it to be so. God reigns. God reigns. I'm telling you,
if there's a particle of sand out of His control, it could
be very dangerous. But there's not. God reigns in
creation. Look in chapter 40 of Isaiah.
Look at this. A couple of places. Isaiah chapter
40 and Isaiah chapter 45. He reigns in creation. Look in
chapter 40. Look in verse 25 and verse 26. To whom then will you liken Me? Or shall I be equal, saith the
Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high And
behold, who hath created these things, and bringeth out their
hosts by number, he calleth them all by their names." How does
He do that? By the greatness of His might.
And He is strong in power, therefore not one of them fails. God reigns
in creation. Look in chapter 45 and verse
12. Chapter 45, verse 12, I have
made the earth, I created man upon it, I even my hands have
stretched out the heavens, and all the host of them have I commanded. Does it surprise you that the
sun comes up? Why does it come up? Our Master
says the Father causes the sun to come up. Why does the rain
come down from heaven? Our Master said the Father sends
the rain on the just and the unjust. I am not at all surprised,
and you're not either, when the Son of God spoke to that fig
tree and it immediately dried up from the roots. We believe
it when He spoke to the wind and the sea and they obeyed Him. What manner of man is this that
nature obeys Him? He's nature's Creator. And He
reigns in creation. He speaks to the world. And it
obeys Him. Who is He? He's Zion's God. And He reigns in creation. He
reigns in salvation. He reigns in salvation. I think
we'd only have to read almost anywhere in the book of Proverbs. This is a book that speaks of
the coming of the Messiah. The coming of Christ. And how
He's going to redeem His people. And how He's going to call them.
And make them new. Look here where we took our text
from. Look here in chapter 52. And
look in verse 3. Thus saith the Lord, Ye have
sold yourself for naught, ye shall be redeemed without money. And over in verse 6, Therefore my people shall know
my name. They shall know in that day that
I am he that doeth speak. Behold, it is I. They shall be
redeemed. They shall know. You know why
he can say that with such certainty? God reigns. Brothers and sisters,
you know this big experience, don't you? Brother Larry said
this morning, there's some things we know big experience. We may
not go to the Word and be able to put it together as some of
the theologians can, but you know what you know big experience.
It may take you a while of growth in grace, But after a while,
you're going to see that salvation's of the Lord. It proves out in
your experience. You know if He hadn't have come
to you, you'd have never come to Him. If He hadn't have called
you, you'd have never called upon Him. You realize that. You
went too long without Him, didn't you? God reigns in salvation. He already
chose His elect. He reigns in election. He redeemed
His sheep upon the cross. He reigned there. And He reigns
in the calling and regeneration. He reigns in salvation. And He
reigns in providence. I jotted this little portion
of verse down this morning when Larry quoted it from Psalms 139. This proves, among a whole bunch
of other scriptures, that God reigns in providence. He is acquainted
with all my ways. He knows them all. He knows them
all. And nothing harms His children.
It doesn't harm them. He turns it all to their good. He sets up nations. And in time,
he pulls down nations. He sets up governors and presidents,
and in time, he pulls them down. Our president is not fair, brothers
and sisters, because we voted him in. And he won't get out
when we vote him out. Do you know who put him there?
God put him there. He rules over the kingdom of
men and sets over it. Whomsoever He will." Daniel 4,
16 and 17. And what these Scriptures teach
to you and I, God reigneth, we're to teach to others. The Scripture
teaches us and we're to teach to others. And how do we teach
them? I'm going to take a big burden off of you now. How do
you teach people? that God reigns. You know how
you teach them? Just tell them. Just tell them. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. You say, well, I can't understand
that. Did He tell you to understand that? We're not theologians. We can't
explain these things away. This is not a profession of knowledge,
it's a profession of faith. Thy God reigneth. I was talking with one of the
neighbors this week and the little girl that got killed with tailgate of the trailer. A few
back, Marsha worked with her mom. Her relatives are my neighbors. We were talking about it and
he says, do you believe God caused that? Do you believe God caused that? What would you have said? What
would you have said? Boy, you have to be careful,
don't you? You have to be careful. You have to really be careful.
God didn't crush that little baby's head. The tailgate did. God didn't pull the pins out
of that tailgate. Her little brother did. As far
as you're concerned, and I'm concerned, there's dreadful things
that happen. And when that guy said, do you
believe God caused that? Here's my answer. Here's my answer. You can present all of these
scenarios to us, And we can't answer them. We don't know the
details and we don't have knowledge to discern these things or how
to explain them. But here is the answer. Thy God
reigneth. That's it. That's it. But explain that to me. I can't
explain that to you. And nobody else can explain that
to you. You see Joseph being hated of his brethren, put in
a hole, taken out and sold as a slave down into Egypt. You
see him accused of rape, put in prison, his feet swollen in
the stocks, crying like a little baby, and go there and tell him,
God caused that. But I'll tell you what you could
tell him. Joseph, in all these things that you're suffering,
all these things that you're going through, it won't be long
until you see and you'll experience and you'll prove God reigns. I can't explain it, Glenn. Theologians
can't explain it. But we can proclaim it. And that's
enough. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigns. And you'll find out sometime,
that's enough. When we try to go into detail
and explain it, it's when we offend people. Or when we bring
reproach on God. Adam sinned against God. Did
God cause that? Judas betrayed the Savior. Did
God cause that? I don't even want to go to some
of those places. But I will go here. I will go here. You get
down on this level, you debate all of these things, the ins
and the outs. And all this confusion comes.
But step up here on this higher level and say, here's the way
I answer that. And soon, all of us will see
it too. God reigns. He reigns. Adam sinned. God sent the Savior. Judas betrayed
and he went to hell, but his betrayal led our Savior to the
cross of redemption and reconciliation. Just say it. Just say it. Say
unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. I had a pastor one time, and
he said, I just don't understand that. I don't say anything about
all that because I don't understand it. It wasn't because he didn't
understand it. He didn't believe it. He didn't believe it. There's a vast difference. One
more passage and I'll close. Two more passages. Look in Psalms
96. Look in Psalms 96, verses 1.
Begin in verse 1. Look at this. Sing unto the Lord
a new song. Sing unto the Lord all the earth.
Sing unto the Lord, bless His name. Show forth His salvation
from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen,
the Gentiles, His wonders among all people, for the Lord is great. He's greatly to be praised. He
is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations
are nothing but idols, but the Lord He made the heavens. Honor
and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the
Lord the glory and the strength. Give unto the Lord glory that's
due His name. He's not wanting anything that's
not His, just what's His. bring an offering, a sacrifice,
and come unto His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness, fear before Him all the earth, and say among
the heathen that the Lord reigneth." Just say it among the heathen. Just say it. And brothers and
sisters, those who have any spiritual sense at all, We'll be glad for
it, and they'll glorify Him. Because if He doesn't reign,
who does? If He doesn't reign, then what
does? Does man reign? When you see
man reigning, you see tyranny. Does the devil reign? When you
see the devil reign, there's destruction. Does man reign? Does the devil reign? Does sin
reign? If sin reigns, what follows sin? Death. If death reigns, what
follows death? Hell. Aren't you glad the Lord
reigns? Aren't you glad He reigns in
creation and providence and salvation? Aren't you glad He reigns over
everything and in every little detail of your life? Do you want
anything out of His control? Do you want to say, let me drive
for a while? Do you want to say, let me stare,
I think I can make it through this? No, you don't, I'm thankful, brothers and sisters.
I give honor to Him. Glory to Him. Bow my heart. Lord, reign. Reign over me. Reign
in me. Reign through me. One more Scripture
in closing. Revelation 11. In verse 16 through verse 18. He reigns not only over everything
in every detail, but He reigns from first to last. From first to last. Look in Revelation chapter 11.
Look in verse 16. And the four and
twenty elders which sat before God on their seats fell upon
their faces and worshiped God saying, We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, which art and was and art to come, because
thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. And how did the saints feel about
that? We give you thanks. We glory, we take great comfort
and courage. How does the nation feel about
it? How does the world feel about it? In verse 18, the nations
were angry. And thy wrath is come, and the
time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou should
give rewards unto thy service through profits. and to the saints,
and to them that fear your name, small and great, and should destroy
them that destroy the earth. God bless these words.