HOW SOVEREIGN IS GOD?

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

“The Lord Reigns”  Psalm 96:10  NKJV

MALAK – To ascend the throne; be king

MELEK – from the primary root MALAK – a  king

In Psalm 93-99 this is a frequent and an important word.  It is found in 93:1; 95:3b; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6b; 99:1, 4.  In these several instances the word MALAK  or MALEK is used.  Always the intent is sovereign rule.

In Mark 1:14-15 the kingdom of God might as well have been translated as the “reign of God.”  Calvin commenting on Mark 1:14 states, “He urges the Jews to conversion, for the Kingdom of God is at hand: that is, that God takes His people into His rule”.

Psalm 96:3 states plainly the responsibility and it is especially important to clearly understand to whom the message is to go, “among the nations,” the “goy”.  This is the Gentiles.

The message to the Gentiles is stated in vs. 10, “Say among the nations, The Lord reigns.”  The gospel, vs. 2b, “the good news,” is characterized as the Lord’s reign.  This theme is not unique in this Psalm but it is the message of Scripture.

Isaiah as he defines the gospel and those who preach identifies this same truth. As you read Isaiah 52:7-10 you find this as central in the gospel “Your God reigns”

⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
⁸ Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
⁹ Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God. 

Lest it be said that is the message designed for Israel the New Testament quote is the actual application for this.  When we read Romans 10:15 this message is nothing less than, “The gospel of peace.”

¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

We, a democratic society, have problems realizing what a King means.  We have a poor concept of sovereignty.  But when Christians of all persuasion talk intelligently about God they freely admit that He is sovereign.

The application of God’s sovereignty is where it gets sticky.  It is admitted He is sovereign in weather; in the promotion of rulers; He even controls health to the extent of death.  Who is not willing to say that God is the Sovereign creator and dispenser of all things.  There is providence which we know is His rule.

It is at this point that many begin to have reservations for the issue is now Man.  To what extent is God sovereign over man?  And particularly is He, either by design or weakness, confounded by the human will?  Does man have free will to the extent that it limits God?  Can he resist God successfully?

I have stated often that the Scriptures never attributes free-will to anyone but those who are considered to be believers.  This I have confirmed again today in a search to find freedom applied in the sense of a response to God’s call to anyone other than believers.  I could not find a single instance where this is so.  I say this not to enter into a philosophical debate but merely what the Scriptures state.  John 8:34; 3:20; Romans 6:17-20.

They state two truths very clearly.  One is that man is in bondage to sin.  Secondly it is God alone who can intervene and break the chains of bondage.

Some years ago I taught a Bible class on the Texas Death Row.  Those men knew, and it was proven true by an attempted jail-break, that their bondage was unbreakable.  They seemed to, with one voice, know Psalm 146:7c, “The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners”.

Let us go back to Nebuchadnezzar when he became acquainted with God, best hear his testimony.  Daniel 4:34-35 ³⁴ And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

My New King James Version was given to me by a friend because he perceived a failing eye-sight.  It is a giant print bible.  It has very few references, but at the end of Daniel 4:35 it has two, Job 34:29 and Romans 9:20.  Please read these.

SURELY GOD HEARS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:8-9  NKJV

You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
⁹ Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.

In the worship of God there are three considerations to be examined.  Primary is the one who is worshiped.  In this Psalm, which should be understood as definitive for worship, our God who is holy is the object.  Then there is the worship rendered.  Worship is to the sovereign.  It is a fearful or awesome experience.  The person worshiped deserves and receives the praise that is presented.  His character of justice establishes the nature of the worship He receives.  This equity, justice, and righteousness are praised as guarantees of omnipotent love.

The third consideration is the worshiper.  Worship has a history.  Great saints of old have been in this holy fellowship.  They experienced His faithfulness.  They called and out of His place of Holiness He answered.  It is well to remember I John 5:14-15 ¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.  This is the confidence of those who come, they will be heard and He will answer.  Psalm 99:8 You answered them, O Lord our God.

At this point we find the essence of the relationship that is basic to the worshiper.  The “God-Who-Forgives is the One whom we are to meet.  The writer states “You were to them”.  The “I Am” answered their call.  At their best, these greats in faith were forgiven.  This too is “at His footstool”.

But this is no exemption from accountability.  “Deeds” encompass the whole of what we are before the “God-Who-Forgives”.  The Scriptures are replete with illustrations of this principle.  Surely the Psalmist is pointing us to Moses and Aaron and the sharp rod of reproof which they received.  But there is another, David who even more reminds of the vengeance of God on His own.

So it was with David (2Sa 12:10-14.): though he pardoned him as to the guilt of eternal death, saved his soul, and spared his life, which was forfeited to divine justice for the murder of Uriah; yet the prophet announced that sharp afflictions must come on him, the sword must never "depart front his house, "and the child begotten in adultery must die, and his wives must be given to his neighbours.  Treasury of David, Vol. IV, C.H. Spurgeon, pg. 395.

In true worship these, God who is worshiped, ‘comely Biblical Worship’, and the worshiped with the privilege of a full experience come together.  To this is added an unqualified exhortation.

Psalm 99:9

Exalt the Lord our God,            
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.

Finis.

SURELY GOD HEARS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:6-7  NKJV

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called upon His name;
They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.
⁷ He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;
They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.

As sincerity is the lustre of every grace in a Christian, so is purity the splendour of every attribute in the Godhead.  His justice is a holy justice, his wisdom a holy wisdom, his arm of power a "holy arm," Psalm xcviii.1; his truth or promise a "holy promise," Psalm cv.42.  Holy and true go hand and hand, Rev. vi. 10.  "His name," which signifies all his attributes in conjunction, "is holy."  Stephen Charnock.  Treasury of David,Vol. IV, C.H. Spurgeon, pg. 392

The three men named in verse 6 are the subjects of the remainder of this Psalm.  They are, in the first instance, illustrations of faithful worshipers and supplicants before God’s throne, vss 6-7.  Secondly, they illustrate God’s holiness in unfailing judgment on sin, even that of His favorites, vss 8-9.

Our interest for the moment lies in the statement, “They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.” 

A distinguishing feature of all who know God is that they “call on the name of the Lord”.

This has the twofold effect of reminding us of our need and the requisite faith to call.  We have One who welcomes us when we call and has given us repeated assurances He will answer when we call.

There is a matter to understand in the statement “He answered them”.  In Psalm 65 it is stated in the form of address, “O You who hear prayer,” as if this is His name.  This then is a great encouragement to know one of God’s names is that He hears His own when they call upon Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are illustrations of intercession, they being among others who call.  But there are certain truths that have to be recognized.  First is that His response is always from His Holy Place.  The Cloudy Pillar rested over the Ark of the Covenant.  This is between the “cherubims” and “at His footstool”.  Secondly His testimonies, the Holy Law of God, were a life commitment for them.

These three named are given to us that we are to understand the relationship of the worshiper, Psalm 99:5  Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His footstool—He is holy. It has an order that will not be transgressed, “They called, He answered” and, “He spoke”.

Psalm 97:12  Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. 

To be continued…

A FAIRNESS ISSUE

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:4  NKJV

⁴ The King’s strength also loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

Ezekiel 18:25

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?

“Equity – equal, even, level”

“1.  Justice, right.  In practice equity is the impartial distribution of justice, or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man, and of reason, give him a right to claim.

“2. Justice; impartiality”

“You have established equity.”

American Dictionary Of The English Language Noah Webster, 1828

It is not new that someone should accuse God of not being fair.  The people of Israel made this complaint to Ezekiel. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘the way of the Lord is not fair. Ezekiel 18:29.  But Ezekiel’s reply is the same today, “Hear now, O House of Israel, is it not my way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?”  Ezekiel 18:25.

If we change Psalm 99:4 in a permissible way and see it written, The strong King also loves justice, you have established that which is fair,  this equity or fairness which is the certain result of God’s justice must apply to our worship.

The “holiness Psalms” begin with 93 and continue through 99.  The reign of God, His justice, judgment, worship, and holiness are themes that continue through this section. 

The Lord is righteous because He is holy.  He is just because He is righteous.  His righteousness demands judgment and His judgment is everlastingly fair.  The Psalmist in 96:9 reminds us of His glory and the responsibility of worship.  It is at this point we again pointed to our attitude in worship.  It is to tremble before Him.

The Hebrew dictionary defines this, “to quiver, with any violent emotion especially anger or fear.”  We know this does not refer to anger so that leaves with us with the conclusion that this means fear or extreme awe.  Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9

What does this have to do with fairness?  The questions I have heard about worship are directed toward any formality that lends itself to dignity.  “It is not fair,” they say, “to require us to sing Psalms and those old hymns that you old people like.  We want the current music and words.  We don’t want to see someone dressed formally or with some preaching robe.  We want someone with whom we can relate.”

The issue remains.  What most imposes on us, “the beauty of holiness”;  what is most likely to make the participant, “tremble”?

This is the certain truth we have in Scripture, the culture of the age does not impress God nor is He in any way constrained by it.

Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

To be continued…

How Great Is Our God

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:2  NKJV

“Zion….represents, by a figure called a synecdoche, the city of Jerusalem or the entire Hebrew nation.”  “Zion” Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, pg 564, Wick Broomal

God’s greatness was known and admired in Zion.  There His person, His acts, His attributes, and His promises were the source of the continual admiration of all believers.  Spurgeon could say, “the ignorant forget Him, the wicked despise Him, the atheistical oppose Him, but among His own chosen, He is great beyond comparison.”  Treasury of David Vol. IV, pg. 385.

When the statement is made by the Psalmist, it is the objective reality that is his intent.  His greatness is not an experience, but an objective fact.  As He is holy, He is great.  But the location of the revelation of that knowledge is particular.  It belongs to Zion to be realized in their worship. 

God is high by contrast.  The highest mountains have been climbed.  Birds nest in the highest trees.  The heights of heaven have been mastered.  Man has looked down from the moon which is on high to see the earth as but a speck.  Yet those heights have in no way measured God.  “He is high above all the people” and His greatness is known in Zion.  The writer of Hebrews in 12:22-23 informs us of our participation as citizens of the “heavenly Jerusalem”.  But what says this writer as he finishes this passage?  Look well at his finishing remarks. 

Hebrews 12:28-29

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.

To be continued…

The Holy’s Dwelling Place

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:1  NKJV

“He dwells between the cherubim;”

1.      The cherubims. These were figures, or representations of angels, inclining their faces one towards the other, and touching one another with their wings. Ex 25:18. The use of these was to cover or overshadow the mercyseat with their wings, Ex 25:20, and from this seat God used to speak unto Moses, Ex 25:22; Nu 7:8-9. Which may be applied unto Christ, whose mediation was signified by the mercyseat; whence it is said, that he is a propitiation or covering mercyseat, Ro 3:25 1Jo 2:2 4:10, because by his obedience all our unrighteousness is covered. Thomas Wilson(-1621), in "A Complete Christian Dictionary, "1678.

2.      The Lord's people do not worship an unknown God, they know who he is, and where to find him; to wit, in his ordinances, on the throne of grace, reconciling himself to the world in Christ: He sitteth between the cherubims. David Dickson.

The Treasury of David, Vol. IV, C.H. Spurgeon, page 390

The Christian’s activity in worship is determined by his understanding of God.  His worship will always be about what he understands as primary.  If the holy Triune God is first, then He will be the sole object of worship.  If the one who worships seeks to satisfy himself the result will be some kind of personal experience.  There is a defining distinction.  One comes to worship to “get” or to “give”.  The true worshiper comes to “give”.

Exodus 25:18-22 describes the cherubim and their place in the holy place of worship.  Exodus 25:20 is the statement of the perpetual contemplation of the cherubim.  They are set before us that we understand, throughout all ages, the mercy seat is the supreme object of their concern.

Isaiah, in chapter six, tells of their activity, their concern, and their message.  Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.  The whole earth is filled with His glory.  It is enough for us to know this information. 

We are further informed in John 12:41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  We know the mercy seat is the single object of the cherubim’s interest.  We know the occupant of the mercy seat is the pre-incarnate Christ.

We can now say our worship of the Holy Triune God is directed, as was the cherubim in Isaiah, to Christ.  He who is the “image of the invisible God” is to be the object of our worship because in Him “all the fullness of the God-head dwells”.

There is a further bit of information on this matter in I Peter 1:12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.  These inquiring angels, it seems, have either a great mystery to interest them, or a truly wondrous subject to study.  We do well to appreciate the depth of the wonder that is their study, the preached gospel.

Worshipers are those who have heard and believed “the glorious gospel of Christ”.  They alone are alive to all the wonders of the mercy and grace of God revealed in the mercy seat where the Son of God dwells.

No worship will truly satisfy God or the worshiper but that which finds completion in the object of worship.  The subject is of consequence only as he finds himself among the myriads of saints and angels described in Rev. 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

To be continued…

TRUE WORSHIP

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99  NKJV

¹The Lord reigns;
Let the peoples tremble!
He dwells between the cherubim;
Let the earth be moved!
² The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is high above all the peoples.
³ Let them praise Your great and awesome name—
He is holy.

The beauty, equity, mercy, and love of God is so revealed in the Psalms with the human experience as the ground for the exercise of these Divine qualities that they, the Psalms, have been for all the ages since they were written the great consolation and encouragement for believers.  There can hardly be any new information given on them.

Luther, Calvin, Matthew Henry, and Spurgeon are only a few of the giants who have written on the Psalms.  But for the believer, of all places, the Psalms need the least comment.

Not only are the Psalms deeply devotional they are as important theologically.  To my knowledge, there is no Biblical doctrine that is not found in the Psalms.  And in Psalm 99 is found the beauty of God, His holiness, praised with some of the characteristics of it explained.

There is really no way to appreciate or understand the Psalms as you should unless the basic premise of Psalm One is realized.  Simply put, the “blessed” in Psalm One is the person to whom the Psalms are written, the one who will understand.  And he is the only one who will benefit from them.  The uncaring, ignorant, and wicked are not blessed and will not benefit from the message they communicate.  The description of the “blessed” is required to benefit in this Holy poetry.

The first stanza, 99:1-3, is a sovereign corrective to the light and silly exercise that is called worship in the present day church.  This Psalm in its entirety, describes the true worshiper.  The only worshiper of any account is the one who worships “in truth”.

The beginning of worship is a commitment to the sovereignty of God – “The Lord reigns”.  Or, He is King.  The truth of this is the understanding of what the King and His reign mean.  He was absolute.  His will was supreme.  He had the right to life and death.

Therefore, “the peoples tremble”.  Until our worship is entered under this standard, it is specious twaddle.

To be continued.