Psalm 93. We're going to finish the Psalms one day. We hit them from time to time, a
few here and a few there. Before you know it, we'll be at the end of the book. Psalm
93. This is a relatively short Psalm. We don't really know who wrote this Psalm, but it's
a good Psalm. So let's pray and we'll get started. God, we come to you. We thank you
for the freedom to come into this place tonight to worship you. I pray, God, that your Holy
Spirit would be among us. I pray that you free the distractions of the world from our
minds tonight, dear Lord, that in these few moments we would gain strength from your Word.
I pray that you would help us to stay focused, dear Lord, and that your Holy Spirit would
speak to us and that we would listen to your Word, gain strength from it, and live by it.
I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Psalm 93 verse 1. The Lord reigns. Now, we can stop
there for a moment. Just the first three words of this Psalm are a good reminder to us in
our life that the Lord is the one who reigns. The Lord is the one who is in control. Sometimes
we need to be reminded of that. Sometimes life is difficult. Sometimes life is tough.
Sometimes we wonder how we're going to make it. We wonder what's going to go on in our
world and in our lives, whatever it may be. But we need to remember that the Lord reigns,
that no matter what we see in this world, no matter what occurs, the Lord reigns. He
is robed in majesty. The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength. Now, this is a beautiful imagery
here. We think about the Lord being strong in this language here, that he is robed in
majesty, that he is enveloped in strength, which is good for us because a lot of times
we are weak. We go through life and life is very difficult. We go through hard times and
we just wonder how we're going to make it through, how we're going to get through these
difficulties we may be up against. But we need to remember that it is the Lord's strength
that will help us to overcome whatever we are up against. So there may be things in
your life that you say, I don't know how I'm going to make it through this, or there's
no way I'm going to make it through this. And if we were left to our own strength, that
would be true. There would be some things in our life that we simply could not make
it through. But I suspect for probably most of you in here, if not everybody, you can
probably think back to a time in your life where when something occurred, you thought
to yourself, I don't know how I'm going to make it. I don't know how I'm going to make
it. But through prayer, through you seeking the Lord, through brothers and sisters in
Christ praying for you, you were able to make it. And you're still able to make it through
things that you never dreamed that you could make it through. And that is because the Lord's
strength is great. So the Lord is enveloped in strength. He's robed in majesty. He is
the one who reigns. He is the one who we come here to worship tonight. And it's important
for us to ask this question, is the Lord reigning in your life? Is the Lord the Lord of your
life today? Is he your source of strength today? Because if he's not, then there is
no strength because it's only the Lord's strength that can help us to overcome those things
that we come up against. The world is firmly established. It cannot be shaken. Now, this
is a good verse for us to consider. But at the same time, we look around at our world
today. And sometimes it seems as though the world is shaken. Sometimes we see things go
on that are really bad and that are really horrible and that are really painful. And
we may wonder what's going on. Is God aware of what's going on? Is God paying attention?
Does God care? But we need to be reminded of the fact that there is nothing that occurs
that God does not allow to occur. And we need to remember that, that nothing occurs that
God does not allow to occur. Now that brings up another question that may be hard for us
to wrap our heads around to. And that is, well, if everything can only occur because
God allows it, then why does God allow some of the things to occur that he allows to occur?
Well, that's a question that may not have an easy answer, but we just have to trust
in the Lord with all our heart and not rely on our own understanding. And what we can
know is that everything that the Lord allows, it is for the good of his kingdom. That everything
the Lord allows, it is to maximize those who are going to enter into his kingdom. So while
we may say if only good happened all the time, then certainly that may result in more people
coming into the kingdom of God. Well, that's likely not the case because when do we seek
God the most? We usually seek God the most when we're in the most difficult times. We
seek God the most when there is no hope in anything else. And so maybe God allows things
to happen in our lives and in our world to get people's attention, to remind people that
he is the one who reigns, that he is the one who is in control, that he is the only one
who has the strength to deliver us. Nonetheless, there are still difficult things that go on
in this world, but what we must remember is that God is in control and there is nothing
that happens apart from God. There is nothing that happens that God does not know about.
And one day all this whole world is going to be said and done for us. And one day we're
going to stand in the presence of God and that's going to be a good day. But until that
day comes while we live in this world, we must know that we serve a God who is the ruler
of everything that takes place. He is the one that allows everything to take place and
he is the one who is in control. Verse two, your throne has been established from the
beginning. You are from eternity. So God has always been, he will always be. He has always
been on the throne. He has always been the one who is ruled. He has always been the one
who is in control. That is the Lord that we serve. So no matter what happens in this world,
God has always been and God will always be. God is the only thing that is eternal, that
has always been, that will always be. Now you and I, we will have eternal life when
we leave this whole world and one day when we leave this whole world, one day this whole
world will be gone, but God will be eternal. We need to not forget that truth. Verse three,
the floods have lifted up, Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift
up their pounding waves greater than the roar of many waters. The mighty breakers of the
sea, the Lord on high is majestic. Now we see this language about floods and you know
oftentimes we may talk about storms in our life. We use that kind of language. We understand
that when floods come or waters raise, we understand the power of water, floods in a
raging sea and waves that are tossing and turning. That is a powerful force, maybe one
of the most powerful forces on this earth. I mean, you think about the millions of tons
of water that are in the ocean or that flow through these big rivers that we see around
the world, the Mississippi River being a prime example and rivers are a powerful force so
much so that rivers go where they choose. Rivers can't be stopped. If you go back and
you study and you look at rivers, you will see that rivers change their course pretty
often. Some rivers change their course very rapidly and anybody that's lived by a river
even for maybe 30, 40, 50 years, you can look and you can see that that river's course changes
course from time to time. Water is a powerful, powerful thing. You ever been out on a boat
or maybe some of you have been in the ocean when a storm blows up and those waves are
tossing and turning. It's a powerful force when storms come, when waters come. But what
does it say here? It talks of the floods and the power of the floods, but what does it
say? God is more powerful than that. So even the most powerful things that we come up against
in this world, God is more powerful than that. Whatever we are up against in our life, no
matter how difficult it may be, no matter how much we may question, I don't know if
I'm going to make it through this. I don't know if I can make it through this. We have
to remember that God is more powerful than whatever we are up against. Verse five, Lord,
your testimonies are completely reliable. Holiness is the beauty of your house for all
the days to come. Your testimonies are completely reliable. So everything we see in God's Word
is completely reliable. Every word that was spoken, every word that was written is completely
reliable. We can trust in every word that God gives us, every testimony of every event
that God has done throughout the scripture, every miracle that's occurred, whether it's
the parting of the Red Sea or the healing of the sick or restoring the sight of the
blind, whatever it may be, these are testimonies time and time again of the works of God and
the goodness of God and the way that God has delivered his people time and time again.
We see example after example after example. And so we have in God's Word these testimonies
that testify to who God is, that he keeps his promises, that he protects his people,
that he delivers those who are his, that he comes to those who would seek him. And so
we need to realize that. We need to look at those moments in God's Word where God worked
mightily for his people and know that the same God that worked in scripture is the same
God who works in our life. The same God who heard the prayers of his people in scripture
is the same God who hears our prayers. The same God who healed those people in scripture
is the same God that we pray for healing for in our lives or the lives of those that we
love. The same God that led the people of Israel through the Red Sea and they crossed
on dry ground when he parted the waters is the same God that we serve today. He's the
same God that works miracles today. He's the same God who reigns today, who reign then,
and who will reign forevermore. And he is our eternal source of strength if we would
seek him. And so does the Lord reign in our life today. Because if he doesn't, when those
flood waters come, when the seas begin to toss and turn, and the waves begin to crash
in, we will be beaten down and there's nothing we can do about it. But if we allow the Lord
to reign in our life, if we seek him, if we trust him, if we praise him, if we allow his
strength that envelops him to envelop us, then God will give us the strength to make
it through this world. And his word promises us that and shows us the truth of that time
and time again. So let us trust in the Lord today. Let's pray. Father God, we come to
you, we thank you for your good word. And I pray, dear Lord, that we would never forget
that you are in control. God, we don't understand why you do things the way you do. It doesn't
make sense to us. But even your word tells us, God, that your ways are higher than our
ways and your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God, we can't comprehend all the
things that we see, but God, we can know for a fact that you are in control. And there
is nothing that occurs in this world, dear Lord, that is not according to your plan.
So God, even when we are walking in accordance to your plan and the things that you allow,
dear Lord, even the tough things, God, I pray that we would trust you and that even in those
things that you would use them to draw us closer to you. I pray, dear Lord, that we
would trust you, that we would trust your word and the truth of your word and the testimonies
of your word. God, as we've seen your power and your deliverance time and again, God,
I pray that we would see it in our own lives. God, that we would continue to testify about
your goodness. That, God, our lives would be a testimony of your power to those we come
into contact with. And I ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen.