The Lord
reigneth. This is the watchword of the
psalm—Jehovah reigns. It is also the essence of the Gospel proclamation, and
the foundation of the Gospel kingdom. Jesus has come, and all power is given
unto him in heaven and in earth; therefore people are bidden to yield him their
obedient faith. Saints draw comfort from these words, and only rebels cavil at
them. Let the earth rejoice, for there is cause for joy. Other reigns
have produced injustice, oppression, bloodshed, terror; the reign of the
infinitely gracious Jehovah is the hope of mankind, and when they all yield to
it the race will have its paradise restored. To every willing subject Jesus
brings untold blessings. Let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. To
the ancient Israelites all places beyond the seas were isles, and the phrase is
equivalent to all lands which are reached by ships. It is remarkable, however,
that upon actual islands some of the greatest victories of the Cross have been
achieved.
2. Clouds and darkness are round about him. So the Lord revealed himself at Sinai; so must he ever
surround his essential Deity when he shows himself to us, or his excessive
glory would destroy us. There must be a veiling of his infinite splendor if
anything is to be seen by finite beings. It is often thus with the Lord in
providence; when working out designs of unmingled love he conceals the purpose
of his grace that it may be the more clearly discovered at the end. Around the
history of his church dark clouds of persecution hover, and an awful gloom at
times settles down; still the Lord is there; and though people for a while see
not the bright light in the clouds, it bursts forth in due season to the
confusion of the adversaries of the Gospel. This passage should teach us the
impertinence of attempting to pry into the essence of the Godhead, the vanity
of all endeavors to understand the mystery of the Trinity in Unity, the
arrogance of arraigning the Most High before the bar of human reason, the folly
of dictating to the Eternal One the manner in which he should proceed.
Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his
throne.. There he abides; he never departs
from strict justice and right, his throne is fixed upon the rock of eternal
holiness. Righteousness is his immutable attribute, and judgment marks his every
act.
3. A fire goeth before him. Like an advance guard clearing the way. So was it at Sinai;
so must it be: the very Being of God is power, consuming all opposition;
omnipotence is a devouring flame which burneth up his enemies round about.
God is long-suffering, but when he comes forth to judgment he will make short
work with the unrighteous; they will be as chaff before the flame. Reading this
verse in reference to the coming of Jesus, and the descent of the Spirit, we
are reminded of the tongues of fire, and of the power which attended the
Gospel, so that all opposition was speedily overcome. Even now where the Gospel
is preached in faith, and in the power of the Spirit, it burns its own way,
irresistibly destroying falsehood, superstition, unbelief, sin, indifference,
and hardness of heart.
4. His lightnings enlightened the world. In times of tempest the whole of nature is lighted up.
Jesus in the Gospel lights up the earth with such a blaze of truth and grace as
was never seen or even imagined before. The earth saw, and trembled. In
God’s presence the solid earth quakes; astonished by his glory it is convulsed
with fear. To the advent of our Lord and the setting up of his kingdom among
mankind these words are also most applicable; nothing ever caused such a
shaking and commotion as the proclamation of the Gospel. When the Holy Spirit
rested upon his servants their course was like that of a mighty storm, the
truth flashed with the force and speed of a thunderbolt, and philosophers and
priests, princes and people were utterly confounded, and altogether powerless
to withstand it. It will be so again. Faith even now sets the world on fire,
and rocks the nations to and fro.
5. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord.
Inanimate nature knows its Creator, and worships him in its own fashion. States
and kingdoms which stand out upon the world like mountains are utterly
dissolved when he decrees their end. Systems as ancient and firmly rooted as
the hills pass away when he does but look upon them. At the presence of the
Lord of the whole earth. His power is everywhere felt. People cannot move
the hills, with difficulty do they climb them, with incredible toil do they
pierce their way through their fastnesses, but it is not so with the Lord: his
presence makes a clear pathway, obstacles disappear by his mere presence, for
power goes forth from him with a word or a glance. Oh for the presence of the
Lord after this sort with his church at this hour! It is our one and only need.
With it the mountains of difficulty would flee away, and all obstacles would
disappear.
In the little world of our nature the presence of Jesus in
reigning power is as a fire to consume our lusts and melt our souls to
obedience. Sometimes we doubt the present of the Lord within, for he is
concealed with clouds, but we are again assured that he is within us when his
light shines in and fills us with holy fear, while at the same time the warmth
of grace softens us to penitence, resignation and obedience, as wax becomes
soft in the presence of fire.
6. The heavens declare his righteousness. It is as conspicuous as if written across the skies. It is
the manner of the inspired poets to picture the whole creation as in sympathy
with the glory of God, and indeed it is not mere poetry, for a great
truth underlies it; the whole creation has been made to groan through human
sin, and it is yet to share in the joy of his restoration. And all the
people see his glory. The glorious Gospel became so well known and widely
promulgated that it seemed to be proclaimed by every star, and published by the
very skies themselves; therefore all races of men became acquainted with it,
and were made to see the exceeding glory of the face of God which is
resplendent therein. May it come to pass ere long that, by a revival of the old
missionary ardor, the glad tidings may yet be carried to every tribe of Adam’s
race, and once again all flesh may see the glory of Jehovah. It must be so;
therefore let us rejoice before the Lord.
7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that
boast themselves of idols. They will
be so; shame will cover their faces; they will blush to think of their former
besotted boastings. Worship him, all ye gods. Bow down yourselves, you
fancied gods. If the false gods are thus bidden to worship the coming Lord, how
much more will they adore him who are godlike creatures in heaven, that is, the
angelic spirits? Paul quotes this passage as the voice of God to angels when he
sent his Son into the world. All powers are bound to recognize the chief power;
since they derive their only rightful authority from the Lord, they should be
careful to acknowledge his superiority at all times by the most reverent
adoration.
8. Zion heard, and was glad. While the heathen are confounded the people of God are made
to triumph, for they love to see their God exalted. And the daughters of
Judah rejoiced. In the first ages of Christianity the believing Israel
rejoiced to see Christ’s kingdom victorious among the heathen, and even yet,
though for a little while turning aside, the daughters of Judah will sympathize
in the widespread reign of Jehovah their God, through the Gospel of his Son.
9. For thou, Lord,
are high above all the earth.
And therefore do we rejoice to see the idols abolished and to see all mankind
bending at thy throne. Thou art exalted far above all gods. As much as
all is exalted above nothing, and perfection above folly. Jehovah is not alone
high over Judea, but over all the earth; nor is he exalted over mankind only,
but over everything that can be called god: the days are on their way when
everyone will discern this truth, and will render unto the Lord the glory which
is due alone to him.
10. Ye that love the Lord,
hate evil. For he hates it; his presence
shakes it out of its place. We cannot love God without hating that which he
hates. We are not only to avoid evil, and to refuse to countenance it, but we
must be in arms against it, and bear towards it a hearty indignation. He
preserveth the souls of his saints. The saints are the safe ones: they have
been saved and will be saved. God keeps those who keep his law. Those who love
the Lord will see his love manifested to them in their preservation from their
enemies, and as they keep far from evil so shall evil be kept far from them. He
delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. It is not consistent with
the glory of his name to give over to the power of his foes those whom his
grace has made his friends. He may leave the bodies of his persecuted saints in
the hand of the wicked, but not their souls; these are very dear to him, and he
preserves them safe in his bosom. This foretells for the church a season of
battling with the powers of darkness, but the Lord will preserve it and bring
it forth to the light.
11. Light is sown for the righteous. All along their pathway it is strewn. Their night is almost
over, their day is coming, the morning already advancing with rosy steps is
sowing the earth with orient pearls. The full harvest of delight is not yet
ours, but it is sown for us; it is springing; it will yet appear in fullness.
This is only for those who are right before the Lord in his own righteousness;
for all others the blackness of darkness is reserved. And gladness for the
upright in heart. Gladness is not only for one righteous man in the
singular, but for the whole company of the upright. In the furrows of integrity
lie the seeds of happiness, which will develop into a harvest of bliss. The
Gospel of Jesus, wherever it goes, sows the whole earth with joy for believers,
for these are the people who are righteous before the Lord.
12. Rejoice in the Lord,
ye righteous. The psalmist had bidden the earth
rejoice, and here he turns to the excellent of the earth and bids them lead the
song. If all others fail to praise the Lord, the godly must not. To them God is
especially revealed; by them he should be specially adored. And give thanks
at the remembrance of his holiness—which is the harmony of all his
attributes, the superlative wholeness of his character. This is a terror to the
wicked, and a cause of thankfulness to the gracious. To remember that Jehovah
is holy is becoming in those who dwell in his courts, to give thanks in his
presence. In reference to the triumphs of the Gospel, this text teaches us to
rejoice greatly in its purifying effect; it is the death of sin and the life of
virtue. God will fill the world with holiness, and so with happiness; therefore
let us glory in his holy name, world without end. Amen.
Excerpt from:
The Treasury of David
By Charles H Spurgeon
