A Song of Praise to the Sovereign Lord
“The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.
Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O Lord. For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”
“The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” These are the opening verses for one of the loveliest psalms of praise ever written. God’s glory is so magnificent that even the tiniest of islands rejoices. Many times, it seems that clouds and darkness do surround God; we don’t understand why good people suffer and why God doesn’t intervene immediately. Righteousness and justice must be the foundation of God’s throne; if God is not righteous and just, nobody is.
“A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.” Many times, we feel God is asleep and not paying attention while His enemies are triumphant; yet, ultimately, every one of God’s enemies will fall. God’s strength is so enormous that He can literally vaporize mountains. All people may see God’s glory, but there are many refusing to acknowledge it.
“Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O Lord. For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.” There is no idol or demonic deity that can compare with God. When God judges, He judges righteously and all who are righteous are thrilled.
“You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.” There are times when we see wickedness multiplying and wonder if God is really paying attention. But God continues to preserve the souls of His saints. Even if the worst happens and we are martyred for our faith, God will still deliver our souls from Satan. When we need guidance, we can turn to God and count on Him to give us light and gladness. Remembering God and His holiness relieves burdens and restores our spirits.
APPLICATION: I am writing this while dealing with something very difficult. A patient who has had multiple complications continues to suffer despite my best efforts. I have prayed, I have wept, I have operated, I have manipulated medications and diet; yet, the problems remain. Finally, I have had to do something I have rarely done with any patient during my long medical career; I have had to inform the patient and his family that only God can heal him and that I have exhausted every aspect of my resources. Referral would be useless and a needless expense. Is God “sowing light for the righteous” in this situation? Not so far, but yet I remain confident that God will move and I am trusting Him to do so.
Within 48 hours of this conversation with my adult patient, we lost three children on the Kid’s Ward. In all three cases, we had done our best but that wasn’t sufficient. Again, we must trust God and beg Him to comfort these families.
Sometimes a walk of faith seems more like trying to cross someone else’s sitting room in the dark while stumbling over the furniture, barking our shins, and stubbing our toes. But I remain confident that God can redeem any situation, no matter how grim.
Holidays are tough times for anyone who has been bereaved. This year I have at least five sets of friends facing their first Christmas without their mother or father or a sibling. But keep praying and keep praising, even when you don’t feel like it. God can still give gladness and light when you least expect it and in the strangest places.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we want to praise You but frankly, we are hurt and exhausted. Please give us the strength and courage to continue to praise You, knowing that You will meet us and help us as we do so. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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