The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
“Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He look on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.
No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.”
“Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.” David was a harp player and a singer, but what about those of us who are not musicians? God is wonderful; He hears the cries of our hearts, including any sour notes we might hit and is thrilled anyway. God hears the love. God wants OUR praise, not somebody else’s.
“For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.” When the psalmist says that God LOVES righteousness and justice, it means that those who do justly and walk righteously have God’s full and complete approval. God is looking on with pride, saying, “That’s my son! That’s my daughter!”
God’s creation is amazing in its infinite variety and its complexity. The astonishing thing is that nature works well, as long as people don’t mess it up by trying to fix things. Even the events that we consider tragedies such as hurricanes or tornadoes follow precise rules. As a surgeon, I am amazed daily at the beauty of the human body and all its elements.
“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.” There is a saying that if you want to hear God laugh, make plans without asking Him for guidance. Ultimately, God is the One who directs things.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He look on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.” God knows the thoughts of our hearts better than we do ourselves. Even though God fashions our hearts individually, we still have free will and can choose to behave righteously or wickedly.
“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.” No weapons, no matter how sophisticated, can protect us from all threats. Each time a nation invents a new weapon, an opposing nation will invent a new weapon to counter it. Even in the days of the ancient Egyptians and the Hittites, there were arms races involving chariots and compound bows. Only God is sufficient for all threats.
“Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” The psalmist concludes by encouraging all believers, reaching a helping hand out to us from across the centuries. But is God’s mercy really working when thousands of civilians die from terrorist attacks and rockets in Israel and Gaza? Sometimes we must trust God, even when all looks dark and nothing appears to make sense. Our view of things is limited, we have no idea of where and we only stand on the human side of death while God knows the end from the beginning.
APPLICATION: For many believers, Biblical prophecy appears to be coming to fulfillment right now. But what can we say about the thousands of innocents who are dying apparently needless deaths? These most recent attacks are forcing mainstream media pundits who have opposed Israel for years to reevaluate their positions. Nothing less than the horror of these attacks could possibly force mainstream media to speak out against such terrorism.
Has God forgotten Israel? NO! All of God’s promises regarding Israel are still working. The more urgent question is this: Has Israel forgotten God? Again, the answer must be NO! There are millions of believers trusting in God in Israel. Were these attacks in God’s perfect will? No, God forbade killing millenia ago. But God is sovereign and He knows human hearts. When these attacks were being planned, God was there watching. God has always had to use fallible humans to carry out His purposes, and recent events are no different. Are we on the brink of World War 3? We cannot tell. But one thing is certain: God is still on the throne and God will not allow His purposes to be thwarted. We can still pray with the psalmist, “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.”
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