Psalm 93: The Frustration of any Challenges
posted by Paul
“More than the sounds of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty.” The Psalmist is not worried about the challenges to the throne of God, because he knows that the world is firmly established in the strong hand of the majestic King. The Lord’s throne is “on high” and protected from the onslaught of the rebellious waves. This must have been reassuring to the nation of Israel; whether they were facing opposition or celebrating victory the Psalmist knew that God was the source of their strength.
Scripture consistently portrays God as a source of strength and refuge.
Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
It should not be hard for us here in Florida to gain a mental image of a place of
refuge in the midst of a storm. Here in Florida most of us have probably been through a Hurricane in our lives. Down here we know the drill. Get water, get gas, bring everything in that could turn into a missile, and most importantly hunker down. You have to find a safe place in your home, or the shelter, with no windows. Then you have to depend on the roof to hold. This is not all that different with God. He is our safest place of refuge in the midst of the most difficult storms of life. The strongest place to take refuge is His Word. When we are in His word we are receiving the full benefits of sanctification and are equipped with the tools to deal with trials (but more on this later).
As we have seen in vs. 2 the Lord will always reign. This means that there will never be a rebellion that succeeds. No one can usurp the throne of the Lord. We can be assured that ultimately God will defeat all rebellion. This should be frightening for all men because Romans 5:10 tells us that we were all at one point the enemies of God. Thankfully in this same verse we see that through Christ Jesus we can be reconciled to God. We can dessert our post on the side of the rebellion and be made a part of the people of God. Through Christ we can join the victorious army of God, and live to glorify God rather than fight against Him. This is no small thing. In Matthew 16:18 we see that upon the Rock, that is, Christ the Church will be built and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. So, even though we have rebelled against God through our sin God has sent His Son to die for us so that we can be reconciled to God. Through the Gospel God has chosen a people for Himself and taken them out of the rebellion.
But for those who continue to rebel against God judgment is coming. Revelation 12:8-12 makes it clear that in this last battle God will be victorious. God will win because he is God, and the rebellious will be eternally punished (Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10). When we recognize that the Lord reigns, and we submit to Him, we will enjoy the peace that comes from being in the place of refuge. As the
Hymn writer put it:
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
“More than the sounds of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty.” The Psalmist is not worried about the challenges to the throne of God, because he knows that the world is firmly established in the strong hand of the majestic King. The Lord’s throne is “on high” and protected from the onslaught of the rebellious waves. This must have been reassuring to the nation of Israel; whether they were facing opposition or celebrating victory the Psalmist knew that God was the source of their strength.
Scripture consistently portrays God as a source of strength and refuge.
Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
It should not be hard for us here in Florida to gain a mental image of a place of
refuge in the midst of a storm. Here in Florida most of us have probably been through a Hurricane in our lives. Down here we know the drill. Get water, get gas, bring everything in that could turn into a missile, and most importantly hunker down. You have to find a safe place in your home, or the shelter, with no windows. Then you have to depend on the roof to hold. This is not all that different with God. He is our safest place of refuge in the midst of the most difficult storms of life. The strongest place to take refuge is His Word. When we are in His word we are receiving the full benefits of sanctification and are equipped with the tools to deal with trials (but more on this later).As we have seen in vs. 2 the Lord will always reign. This means that there will never be a rebellion that succeeds. No one can usurp the throne of the Lord. We can be assured that ultimately God will defeat all rebellion. This should be frightening for all men because Romans 5:10 tells us that we were all at one point the enemies of God. Thankfully in this same verse we see that through Christ Jesus we can be reconciled to God. We can dessert our post on the side of the rebellion and be made a part of the people of God. Through Christ we can join the victorious army of God, and live to glorify God rather than fight against Him. This is no small thing. In Matthew 16:18 we see that upon the Rock, that is, Christ the Church will be built and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. So, even though we have rebelled against God through our sin God has sent His Son to die for us so that we can be reconciled to God. Through the Gospel God has chosen a people for Himself and taken them out of the rebellion.
But for those who continue to rebel against God judgment is coming. Revelation 12:8-12 makes it clear that in this last battle God will be victorious. God will win because he is God, and the rebellious will be eternally punished (Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10). When we recognize that the Lord reigns, and we submit to Him, we will enjoy the peace that comes from being in the place of refuge. As the
Hymn writer put it:Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
posted by Paul at 10:22 AM
2 Comments:
I would be interested in your comments on John chapter 17 and it relationship with John chapter 6
I may have to do a post on that in the near future. I am assuming that you are talking about my posistion on definite atonement.
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