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The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice (Psalm 97:1, ESV).
A magnificent theme of the Bible is the sovereignty of God. As Psalm 103:19 reads…
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all (NASB1995).
If God is in charge, we have nothing to fear—world events, natural disasters, people who oppose us, money troubles, and injustice. The sovereignty of God means everything will be made right.
Anxiety is the plague of this age. All of us need a good theological dose in our faith that God rules. During a time of persecution, the writer of the Book of Hebrews concluded…
He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
To bolster our steadfast belief in God, Psalm 97 provides us a glimpse into the realm of the Spirit with these statements about the sovereignty of God:
The ways of God are a mystery…
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him (v. 2, ESV).
Justice and righteousness are a priority…
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne (v. 2).
God will take up our cause…
Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around (v. 3).
The power of God will be revealed…
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles (v. 4).
All strongholds will be overthrown…
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth (v. 5).
If we believe in the sovereignty of God, we know that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, and eternal. God knows everything and controls the universe.
A.W. Tozer, in his book Knowledge of the Holy, says…
Were there even one datum of knowledge, however small, unknown to God, His rule would break down at that point. To be Lord over all the creation, He must possess all knowledge. And were God lacking one infinitesimal modicum of power, that lack would end His reign and undo His kingdom; that one stray atom of power would belong to someone else, and God would be a limited ruler and hence not sovereign.
But a sovereign God without love would be unimaginably harsh when we fail.
S0 Psalm 97: 6, 10, 12 indicates…
“The heavens proclaim His righteousness, and all the people see His glory … O you who love the Lord hate evil! He preserves the lives of His saints… Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.”
God loves us and has chosen us for His purposes. Only a sovereign God who controls all things and in whom all the sins of the earth ultimately offend—only this God can totally and completely forgive and heal us.
As the Apostle Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).