Psalm 96:13

Psalm 96:13

He will judge the world in righteousness

At the introduction to this Psalm, we described it as a song of praise for the whole world. Psalm 96 has turned out to be a call to all nations on every continent to proclaim God’s glory and honour. We have seen that the praises of God are not just limited to mankind but that all creation joins in acclaiming the honour and glory of its Maker. But the Psalm ends on a sombre note for those who do not or will not believe in Him. 

While all living things that honour the Lord will rejoice at His coming, we are warned that this tumultuous event will bring about His judgement. For if He comes to reign then He must reign in righteousness and with faithfulness. He will not be able to turn a blind eye to or ignore those who are in rebellion against Him. The world will have a ruler who reigns without corruption or partiality or bias, every man and woman will be treated alike, and all will be called to bow the knee to the Lord. 

Later Biblical texts suggest that it is the reign of Jesus Christ that will bring peace and order to our world and that His government will be the fulfilment of the final thousand years of human history. At its end there will be yet another uprising when the Satan’s full fury is unleashed, and mankind will have its final choice to obey or rebel. Note that the final judgement will always be characterised by righteousness and faithfulness, God has never dealt with us all any other way! Follow the way of righteousness now for it is God’s way. Live in the light of His faithfulness and allow Him to embrace you in His love. That is what He has always purposed for His people, for Israel and for His chosen ones today. In so doing we know that we have nothing to fear from Him and we will join with all creation in worship and acclaim when He comes to reign. Hallelujah! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more