Well, Psalm 93 is the passage that we've been assigned today.
I'm not sure who decided on that series, but that's where we're at.
Most churches, I think, have their favorite songs. Would you agree with that?
I think you go to a church and you'll hear them sing the same repertoire of songs often.
We came back from Canada, we sort of dropped in and out of a church,
and it seemed for a period of time, and it seemed that every Sunday that we went,
they sang the same song, so much so that my kids named that song, that church's theme song.
And even to this day, they'll say, oh, we're singing so-and-so's theme song today,
even if we're not even in that church.
It couldn't have been and wasn't any different in Old Testament temple worship.
There must have been psalms that were sung more frequently than others.
And during the second temple period, and we've heard this morning a little bit about the building of the first temple,
and then, of course, the Jews were carried off into exile, first by the Syrians and then later by the Babylonians.
And when they returned from exile, they rebuilt the temple.
And it was rededicated, and some of them wept because it wasn't as glorious as the first temple and so on.
But really, from that point onwards to the point of the Herod's temple,
that period is known as the second temple period.
And during the second temple period, there were set songs that were sung every morning.
For instance, on Sunday, the first day of the week, they sung Psalm 24.
Monday, it was Psalm 48 every Monday morning.
Tuesday, Psalm 82.
Wednesday, Psalm 94.
And Thursday, Psalm 81.
And on Friday, the day before the Sabbath, they sang Psalm 93, the psalm that we're looking at this morning.
So it would appear that Psalm 93 was a familiar psalm to anyone who spent any kind of time around the temple.
Not only was it a familiar psalm, but it's interesting that it's also part of a little series of psalms.
So it begins here in Psalm 93, and it runs through to Psalm 100.
It's a little block of psalms, a little question about Psalm 94.
Does it fit in?
Doesn't it fit in?
But that aside, a little block of psalms from Psalm 93 to Psalm 100.
And what this group of psalms does, really, is it celebrates, it affirms, if you like,
the fact that the Lord, Yahweh, the God of Israel, reigns.
If you like, it celebrates the fact that God is king, and that he rules over all.
And as God is king, he not only rules over all, but he watches over his people.
The structure of this little series of psalms is very interesting.
I should have brought a PowerPoint so that you could see it, but very quickly, Psalm 93, the Lord reigns.
And then you've got two psalms which begin with the word sing, sing.
And then Psalm 97 again, the Lord reigns.
So the Lord reigns, sing, praise him, sing, praise him.
And then the Lord reigns again in Psalm 97.
From Psalm 98 to Psalm 100, it's alternated a little bit.
And you've got sing, and then you've got the Lord reigns,
and then it finishes up with that great psalm, Psalm 100, sing to the Lord.
So a little bit about the structure and a little bit about what's happening in terms of these psalms.
But as I said, they are as a group.
And when you read them as a group, it gives you a little indication of what the psalmist's point is.
If you just read Psalm 93, you might miss it a bit.
But when you read the package, you get a sense of what the psalmist is trying to communicate
and what he is trying to express as he writes these songs and as they are recorded for us.
So this psalmist is really trying to affirm, celebrate the fact that God is king
and that he reigns over everything.
Now, that conviction is based on a long-term view rather than a short-term view.
Because if you just look at things from a short-term view,
sometimes it will be difficult to see how God could possibly be reigning
or how God could ultimately be in control.
But from time to time, we get glimpses of how God is at work.
But not all of the time.
Sometimes it's very difficult to see what God is doing
and how God is working things together for our good and for his own glory.
But in this group of psalms, the psalmist has come to the fresh conviction
that God is not only on the throne,
but he has come to the fresh conviction after the experiences that he has worked through
that God has always been on the throne,
even when he thought that God was absent,
even when he thought God was distant,
even when he thought that God had lost control.
He discovers afresh with renewed conviction that God has always been on the throne.
Now, it's hard to know what the exact context of this little group of psalms is.
If you read through it, you'll see that there are references to the exile
or to the exodus, rather, of the Hebrews out of Egypt.
But it's more than likely to be tied to the exile
and the return of the exiles from their Babylonian captivity.
Whatever the exact context and whatever the circumstances,
the truth is we can't be sure.
But we must camp on the thought of the psalmist,
that God, the God of Israel, that he is king.
Sometimes it's hard to see that God reigns, isn't it?
Have you found that in your life?
Sometimes it's hard to see that God reigns.
But he does reign.
We don't always perceive it, but we walk by faith and not by sight.
We cling to the fact that even when we can't see that God is in control,
that somehow he will yet work it out.
It's not easy when you stand with a couple who have just laid to rest their little two-year-old girl
and you hug them and feel them shake to the very core of their being.
It's not easy to believe that ultimately God is in control
if you only take a short-term view.
But the long-term view is that God is in control.
And the psalmist has come out of some huge and significant upheaval.
I don't know what they are.
Maybe it is the exile.
But he has seen God miraculously at work.
He has seen God intervene on behalf of his people.
He has seen God work for the salvation of his people.
And he responds now in praise.
And he announces and celebrates the fact that God, the God of Israel, is king.
That's what's going on here.
It always strikes me in the Bible that worship is never static.
It is almost always dynamic.
God draws near.
People respond in praise.
So God destroys the pursuing Egyptian army who are pursuing the Hebrews
as they make their way out of Egypt.
And God destroys them in the Red Sea.
And what happens?
Miriam gets out her tambourine and leads the congregation in praise.
So God draws near and tells Mary,
You are going to be the vehicle through whom God will enter the world.
And what does Mary do?
She responds, erupts with her great magnificat in praise and adoration.
Adoration.
When I was a pastor of a church,
I was aware that there were folks in our congregation
who came really just for the sermon.
And they couldn't be bothered with the first part of the service.
They thought that was the fluff that they had to put up with
until they got to the real part of the service,
which was the sermon.
Now, I agree with that in theory.
What we say to God is important,
but what God ultimately says to us through His Word is much more important.
And in many senses, the climax of a Sunday morning service
is the reading of the Bible as God speaks to us.
How awesome is that?
But I want to argue and want to just say as we begin to open up this psalm
that the praise of God is not fluff.
It is no less and no more than He deserves.
He is a great God.
And He is greatly to be praised.
And He is worthy of all of the adoration that we can give to Him.
And we will sing His praise for eternity.
So we best get used to it
whilst we're knocking around and rumbling around on earth.
I have just five points that I want to lift out of this psalm.
I'll be as quick as I can.
I want you to think, first of all,
that God reigns majestically.
That's what the psalmist wants to tell us.
Secondly, He wants to tell us that God reigns powerfully.
Thirdly, He wants to tell us that God reigns eternally.
Fourthly, He wants to tell us that God reigns emphatically.
He is mightier than the oceans or the floods.
And fifthly, He wants to tell us that God reigns over His people.
He reigns righteously.
So those are five things about the fact that the Lord reigns
that this psalmist wants to tell us about.
First of all, God reigns majestically.
God reigns majestically.
Verse 1,
The Lord reigns and He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed in majesty.
Again, He repeats.
The Lord reigns.
What does that mean?
If a king rules over a kingdom,
if he reigns over a kingdom,
it means that he is the final authority.
Doesn't it?
It means that that king is the one who is ultimately in control.
And that's what the psalmist is telling us about God.
God reigns.
Yahweh reigns.
The Lord of Israel, the God of Israel reigns.
He is the one who has ultimate control.
The one who is the ultimate authority.
It's not the king of Israel.
It's not the king of Syria or of the Persians or the Babylonians.
This writer is convinced that the ultimate authority
is none other than Yahweh himself.
That's comforting, I think, in this generation,
at this point in history.
We really don't know what the future will look like.
The one who is ultimately in control
the one who has ultimate authority in this world
is not Vladimir Putin
with all of his threats against the West.
And it's not Donald Trump.
And it's not even Theresa May.
The one who is ultimately in control of this world
is God.
I was talking to my wife yesterday
as we drove along somewhere
about the world that we now live in
and how different it is
from the world that she and I grew up in.
And I was just lamenting to her
about our children.
What kind of a world
will they have to navigate their way through?
And as I listen to them
talk about their experiences at school,
you wonder,
what will this world look like?
What will this country look like
in 20 or 30 years from now?
What will it be like to be a Christian
20 or 30 years from now?
And my wife just reminded me,
well, ultimately our children are in God's hands
and so is this country.
And indeed, so is this world.
And we'll just have to leave them there
and leave it there.
The Lord reigns, he says.
And then he says twice,
not once, but twice, he says,
the Lord is robed in majesty.
He really wants us to get that.
God is robed in majesty.
Now majesty,
it's not an easy thing to define.
When we think about majesty
from a human perspective,
we think about things like dignity.
We think about authority.
We think about power, grandeur,
glory, greatness.
We have visions of our own queen's coronation.
We have a picture in our minds
that golden carriage that she travels in.
That's the kind of her robes,
her crown,
the pomp and ceremony
that goes with the official events
surrounding our own monarch.
That's usually what we think of
when we think of majesty.
Even yesterday,
I don't know if you saw the news
of that cavalcade making its way
through the little tiny town of Mabel.
I drive through their lots
on the way to the ferry.
And it's interesting to watch
all those flashing lights
and black cars
and motorcycles
and outriders
and, you know,
sirens going,
policemen everywhere.
And you think,
well,
there's someone significant
passing through here.
Here the psalmist is telling us
that God is robed in majesty.
In the many visions
that are recorded,
in the many visions of God
that are recorded in scripture,
one of the things
that characterizes them
is this overwhelming sense
of the majesty of God.
So when Isaiah
receives his vision of God
in the temple
in Isaiah chapter 6,
the year that the king died,
the thing that strikes you
as you read through that story
is the sense of awe,
the sense of majesty
that is associated with God.
His train fills the temple.
There are creatures around him
crying,
Holy,
Holy is the Lord of hosts.
The sound of the creatures' voices
is like the sound
of many waters
making their way down a stream.
And you get this sense
that in all of the visions,
I mean,
think of the visions
in John chapter,
in the book of Revelation,
that John receives of Jesus.
His feet is like burnished,
his face is like brighter
than the sun
and I fell at his feet
as though I were dead.
Revelation 4,
that picture of God
on the throne
and before him
there's a crystal sea
and there's colors
and there's thunder
and lightning.
In all of the visions
and pictures we get of God
in the Bible,
it's consistently majestic.
It's consistently majestic.
And this is what the psalmist
wants us to see,
that our God is greater.
Our God is stronger.
Our God is higher
than any other.
He reigns majestically.
We sometimes see leaders
of countries
and the pomp and ceremony
that accompanies them,
but all of that pales
in comparison
to the majesty of God.
I think it might be fair to say,
I don't know if you'll agree with me,
but I think it might be fair to say
that people in a bygone generation
had a greater sense
of the majesty of God
than we have
now in the 21st century.
I don't know if that's a product
of the time
or what it is.
Now, I want you
not to misunderstand me.
I believe passionately
that God is our Father.
And Jesus told us
when we come to talk to God,
we are to come to Him
as children to our Father.
Our Father in Heaven.
That's the invitation.
That's the instruction
of our Savior.
We don't come to a tyrant
in the sky.
We come as children
to a Father.
But I just want to say
we also need to remember
this is no ordinary Father.
This is no ordinary Father.
This is the majestic God
of eternity.
This is the God
before whom
creatures veil their faces
and before whom
doorposts tremble.
This is the majestic God
that we come and call as Father.
How privileged are we?
The second thing is
God not only reigns majestically
but He reigns powerfully.
It says in the NIV
God is armed with strength.
He is armed with strength.
I can't just remember
how the ESV put it.
But whatever.
He is armed with strength.
The Hebrew word
that's behind the word armed
carries this sense
of being guarded for battle.
So the Lord is majestic
and He is guarded
with strength.
That's the belt
that He puts on.
It's a belt of strength.
Strength is like
garments that God wears.
Strength and power
are just really synonymous
with this God
that this psalmist
is telling us about.
And if you read
the whole series of psalms
you'll get a sense
that this psalmist
with his own eyes
or at least
with his own mind
has perceived
God's strength
at work in the world
working on behalf
of His people.
This is a God
whose power is infinite.
Can you even begin
to understand that?
I can't.
God's power
is infinite.
There is no limit
to God's power.
Don't ever think
that the church
the Christian church
is a lost cause
and don't ever imagine
for one minute
that prayer
to this all powerful God
is a useless
pointless exercise.
You talk to a God
who is girded
with strength.
In fact
God's power
is such that
He can do
whatever He wills
to do.
Whatever He wills
to do
He can do.
That is the nature
of the God
that we talk to
and have come
to worship.
This morning
many years ago
a friend of mine
was telling me
that he went
to a little prayer
meeting
for one of these
I think it was
European Christian Mission
one of those
prayer meetings
for one of these
European missionary
organizations
and they got a report
from Albania
that life was
very difficult
for Christians
under Enva Hoxha's reign.
So a little group
of women
not many
beginning of the summer
they weren't going
to be meeting
until the end
of the summer
I can't remember
the exact details
but what I do remember
is that they decided
well we better pray
for the removal
of Enva Hoxha.
I mean that's a bit
of a silly prayer
isn't it?
A few little women
praying in a place
called Dunmurray
in Northern Ireland
praying for the removal
of the leader
of a country
but do you know
that by the time
they came back
to meet
to pray again
for their missionary
friends
Enva Hoxha
had been removed?
See this is a God
who is girded
with strength
and can accomplish
his will
whatever his will
might be.
I don't know
what this means
for you
but for me
it means that
God can provide
for a college
as it builds itself
into a center
training people
for gospel work
across these islands
and across this world.
Like it's not easy
trying to sustain
a college faculty
on the income
from a handful
of students
but this psalm
has reminded me
that this God
that I come
and talk to
this God
that we've worshipped
together this morning
is well able
to provide
well able
to take care
of that college
because he is
girded with strength.
I don't know
what it means
for you
but I wonder
if it means
God could break
into the life
of your son
or daughter
who've kicked
over the traces
and now have
no time
for God.
Have you given
up all hope?
The God
that you pray
to is girded
with strength
can humble them
and bring them
to an end
of themselves.
Maybe it means
that God
can sustain you
through a difficult
illness.
Are you going
through difficulties
with your health?
The God
who overarches
your life
with his
providential care
is a God
who is girded
with strength.
Well
here's the third thing
God reigns eternally
that's what he says
at the end
of verse 2
isn't it?
The world
is established
it shall never
be moved
your throne
is established
from of old
you are
from everlasting
God reigns
eternally.
The world
is established
that's obviously
a reference
back to creation
God established
the world
it didn't come
into being
by accident
or by chance
it came about
by the divine
purposes of God
he spoke
we are told
in the book
of Genesis
and it was
and it is
established
that carries
the sense
that the world
is stable
it's firm
it's fixed
and that the earth
we're told
in the passage
the earth
will not be moved
which is really
interesting
because
maybe there
were pagans
who believed
that there
were sort
of
hostile
forces
arrayed
against
the world
and one
day they
would be
successful
in overcoming
the world
and maybe
the psalmist
is meeting
these kinds
of comments
and saying
no no no
the world
will not
be moved
the world
is established
now everything
in the world
changes
doesn't it?
I mean
the sun
is cooling
and will
eventually
burn itself
out
the resources
of the earth
that we use
to fuel
our motor
vehicles
that too
is finite
and will be
exhausted
species
that once
roamed the earth
no longer
roamed the earth
people even
change
I mean
none of us
were here
a hundred years
ago
probably
or let's
be on the
side of caution
and say
a hundred and
twenty years
ago
none of us
not one of us
were here
a completely
different generation
lived on this
planet
than us
a hundred years
from now
we'll be gone
and a new
generation
a completely
new generation
will live
everything
changes
in the world
but what we're
told here
is that
the planet
itself
the world
itself
will not
be moved
until God
deems that
it should
be moved
and even
then
it will be
swallowed up
in the new
heaven
and the new
earth
and there'll
be some
continuity
between
this earth
and the new
heaven
and the new
earth
but the
psalmist's
point here
is that
God has
established
the world
and that's
why it won't
be moved
it won't
be moved
because
the God
who established
it won't
be moved
he is
the one
who has
been from
all eternity
he's always
been around
there has
never been
a time
when God
was not
that's
what the
psalmist
wants us
to know
somehow
you get
a sense
that
he's
discovered
this
afresh
as he's
watched
God at
work
as he's
entertained
the thought
on occasions
maybe God
is absent
maybe God
isn't in
control
maybe God
isn't watching
over us
maybe things
are out of
control
you just get
this sense
that he's
rediscovered
actually God
is eternal
and if
God is
eternal
it means
he's always
been
and he's
always
been God
it's not
that he
always existed
in some
kind of
lesser
way
in the
past
he's
always
been
God
and he's
always
in
control
and this
has given
this writer
the psalmist
so much
encouragement
I think
this is one
of the great
bedrocks of
the Christian
faith
God never
changes
I mean
it's a
miracle
to me
that early
Christians
worshiped
the same
God
and rallied
around
the same
book
that I
worship
and that I
rally around
here in the
21st century
this book
has been able
to sustain
them
this God
has never
changed
not an
iota
he's been
the same
he's the
same now
as he
was then
you'll never
waken up
one day
and find
that God
has been
dislodged
from his
throne
or that
his reign
has come
to an
end
or that
he has
changed
in any
way
he will
always be
the God
that he
is
this God
that we
serve
is eternal
it's
interesting to
read just
recently a
little story
from Spurgeon
he went to
visit a
farmer
and the
farmer's
weather vane
had God
his love
on it
and Spurgeon
said that's a
strange phrase
to put on a
weather vane
what are you
trying to say
to people
that God's
love is
as
changeable
as the
weather
is that
what you're
trying to
say
oh no
says the
farmer
I'm trying
to tell
people
that no
matter what
way the
wind blows
God is
love
and that's
the point
of this
writer
God is
eternal
he's always
been
he always
will be
fourthly
God rules
emphatically
talks about
the surging
floods
I think it
says in
the ESV
in the
NIV
it talks
about the
seas
actually
literally
the Hebrew
word could
be translated
rivers
the roaring
surging
rivers
as they
lift up
their voices
and we've
all heard
the noise
of the sea
haven't we
I remember
being in
Cairnbulg
a few years
ago
way up
on the
northeast
coast
and just
got out
of my
car
one street
from the
shoreline
to visit
little lady
in one
of those
little
houses
in Cairnbulg
and the
roar of
the ocean
was just
deafening
I'd never
heard anything
like it
before
and I'm
an east
coast
boy
I love
the sea
but the
roar
that day
of the
sea
and he
says the
sea is
lifted up
his voice
as it's
roaring
and it's
surging
and it's
pounding
waves
haven't we
seen the
pounding
of the
waves
against the
harbor
wall
as it
hammers
and pounds
the coast
line
and then the
psalmist
says to us
well let me
just tell you
something
God is
greater
mightier
than the
surging
rivers
God is
mightier
than the
surging
rivers
no matter
what forces
are arrayed
against him
he is
mightier
than them
all
and there
is an
argument
that maybe
the surging
rivers
refer to
hostile
nations
whatever it
refers to
the point
remains the
same
God is
mightier
than
everything
that's
arrayed
against
him
finally
we could
say more
about that
but I
better
shift
on
God
reigns
righteously
that's the
last thing
he reigns
righteously
and that's
important
that this
little
conclusion
is in
this psalm
because
might
is not
always
right
Hitler
you could
say he
was mighty
powerful
and the
army behind
him
but he
exterminated
six million
innocent
people
you could
say that
Stalin
was powerful
and mighty
but it's
estimated
that he
was responsible
for the
deaths of
twenty million
people
might
is not
always
right
but this
God
who is
mighty
who is
majestic
who is
eternal
is also
righteous
his statutes
we are told
are trustworthy
they are firm
you can depend
on them
his statutes
are dependable
God's
guidelines
are always
right
and that
is challenging
in the
21st century
because
society
has arrayed
itself
against
the clear
teachings
of the
Bible
hasn't it
like I'm
not trying
to be
way out
there
I'm just
trying to
face facts
as I
listen to
my kids
talk about
what they
face at
school
I live
in a bit
of a
Christian
bubble
but as I
talk to
people
around me
I sense
that
as I
listen to
the news
society
has
you know
if you
believe
things like
marriages
between one
man and
one woman
you're
weird
in the
21st century
you belong
to the
age of
the dinosaurs
but what the
psalmist is
saying to us
is listen
God's
statutes
are true
they are
trustworthy
and we
will ignore
them
we will
sideline
them
at our
peril
God's
way is
the right
way
it's the
good way
and God
rules his
people through
his good
word
his
trustworthy
statutes
I mean
the Bible
when it
says the
Bible is
trustworthy
I think
the Bible
is the
most amazing
book in
the world
when you
sit down
with 66
books
written over
1500 years
39 books
in the Old
Testament
27 in
the New
written over
a period of
1500 years
written by
kings
scholars
historians
poets
statesmen
doctors
authors
all remotely
removed from
each other
they didn't
have the
chance to
sit in a
room like
this and
say what
will be
our
storyline
what will
be the
main plot
of this
book
and yet
each book
fits together
like a
hand in
a glove
and all
points towards
one climactic
conclusion
the Lord
Jesus
Voltaire said
of the Bible
and of
Christians
he said
that they
would be
swept from
the face
of the
earth
and would
fade into
history
what struck
me about
that was
when he
died
the Geneva
Bible study
bought his
house
turned it
into a
printing press
and from
his home
Bibles
poured across
Europe
anyway
the Bible
is trust
your statutes
are trustworthy
and holiness
adorns your
house for
endless days
holiness
adorns your
house for
endless days
God is a
God of
holiness
the presence
above the
ark of
the
covenant
in the
holy of
holies
that was
God's
presence
and it
was so
holy that
people couldn't
go in
there
only one
man could
go in
once a
year
and that
was something
around his
ankle so
that they
could pull
him out
if he was
consumed in
the presence
of God
God is a
God of
holiness
absolute
purity
and how
glad we
are that
God is
pure
how awful
it would
be
if God
was a
monster
how awful
it would
be if
God loved
sin
and delighted
in sin
and thought
things like
abuse and
rape were
fine
how awful
it would
be
God is
not like
that
this God
is not
only majestic
he's not
only powerful
he is not
only triumphant
he is not
only eternal
he is not
only the
one who
rules
emphatically
his statutes
are trustworthy
and he is
a God of
absolute
holiness
and goodness
we have a
great God
you know
to praise
I think
sometimes we
don't really
appreciate how
much
how good
he is
how powerful
he is
and how we
have every
reason to
praise him
thank you for
listening
sorry I
rambled on
so long
tell them not
to invite me
back and that
will be the
solution to
that
Alistair
you