One of the clearest
biblical truths is that God reigns. He is sovereign, the only
ruler of the cosmos. He is the great Creator of all things and
governs all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to
the least. There is nothing outside of his sovereignty, even the
remotest particle is under his Sovereign sway.
God reigns and He
is robed in majesty. That is his Sovereignty is clothed with the
greatest conceivable beauty. God reigns but not like the most
despotic of rulers, or Kings who are bent solely on destruction, but
he reigns magnificently and efficiently administering his mercy and
grace to all creation, kissing all his works with the soft kindness
of his tenderness. O to have seen the universe before the fall, to
have beheld that uncorrupted creation! Men could almost be justified
in worshiping her, but our uncorrupted reason would have prevented
such a catastrophe.
God reigns but many
scoff at this truth. They deny him his basic right namely his
absolute sovereignty over the cosmos he himself established. Yes,
the world is established and it shall never be moved. They deny
his personal involvement and attribute the cause of this fine world
to a force that cannot be known, or they established it upon
nothingness. But the truth remains, namely that God reigns and he
has put on strength as his belt. Only God has the power of being
in Himself. He alone exists necessarily and all other things exist in
him and move and have their being. The psalmist understood this
simple truth, the simple truth bellowed by nature which was subjected
to futility, not willingly, but because of him (God) who subjected
it, is tortured with frustration at those who seek to attribute to
her what they should attribute to the one who reigns, whose throne
is established from of old; who is from everlasting.
God reigns and
nature knows it. She knows her maker, the kind One who fashioned her
from nothing and established her to be what she is. She understands
her part in his universal plan of him who has worked all things
according to the counsel of his own personal will. She adores the
Sovereign loving hands that moulded her. That is why the floods
lift up, yea they rise up in praise, even that flood which
once a time destroyed the earth. She lifted her voice in praise
delighting in the obedience of her maker’s will, but not in the
destruction itself because her maker does not take delight in the
death of the wicked, but does take delight in vindicating his
justice, the floods delighted in obeying his will and thus lift up
the gloriousness of his name declaring that the Lord on high is
mighty.
The psalmist, yea
the inspired psalmist in the last verse comforts himself with the
application of this grand truth. Your decrees are trustworthy.
That is his promises, his verdicts, rulings, judgements, declarations
are upright, truthful and trustworthy to himself so he takes great
delight in Yahweh’s Sovereignty. God is for him, God is working all
things together for his good.
Man never needs doubt his God but there are many who find him
suspicious. Some like Adam think that he withholds the greatest
happiness from them when he commands them not to do a thing. Others
are blind and are in that cave of unbelief and will not gather
themselves to come out into his light to see that he really is good.
But if they had a personal relationship with him, they too would have
soon come to the same conclusion as the psalmist who says holiness
befits your house, O Lord forevermore. God is clothed in majesty;
He is eternally clothed in sweet holiness and righteousness and what
sweet relaxation this is for the righteous. The sinner can take
refuge in God’s goodness for it was Him who sent forth his Son, yea
that prophesised Messiah that was to come to his own people and
justify the ungodly. His saving work now clothes all who would come
to him with that unique righteousness, that all who say they are his,
yea his precious sheep can say they are covered with the holiness of
God, and this being so God is for them forever. Holiness befits your
house, O God, Holiness befits his people forever.
K.Oni
