(The Royal Psalms) Part 1 — Ed Miller

Reliance on the Holy Spirit in Bible Study

So all of you, as we come to the study of God's Word, I'll remind you of a principle of Bible study that is absolutely indispensable, and that is total reliance upon God's Holy Spirit. It's so amazing when we come to this book, no matter how much we know it and how many times we hear it, sometime we get the idea that we can understand it if we study hard enough or if we read the right books or if we do the right research.

And it's just not so, unless we come as little children before God Himself and just call out and ask the Lord to teach us, the book will be closed. He's promised that He would meet with us and minister unto us if we would come as children.

And so, with that suggestion in mind, I'll ask you to bow with me and we'll look together in the Lord's Word. Let's trust Him to show Himself. Let's pray together. Our Father, we do thank You so much for Your Word.

We thank You for the resident Bible teacher who lives in our hearts, always delighting to put the spotlight on the dear Lord Jesus. We pray this evening and this weekend that in a special way You would turn the eyes of our heart unto the Lord Jesus.

We thank You, Lord, that we can be turned to You in so many ways, in our fellowship, in our music, in our singing, in the Word of God. We just pray that this would be a glorious time of seeing Christ.

Now take Your Word and show us the living Word, the Lord Jesus. May that Word change us into His likeness. We ask, we pray, in Jesus' name. I'll ask you to open your Bibles, please, to Psalm 93, if you would.

I think you already know the little series we're doing. Those notes I handed out pretty much cover these psalms. We'll not refer to them again, so you can just take them home and maybe you want to glance at them from time to time.

I just thought it would be helpful if you had those, I think, after we're all finished and then you read over the notes. It might refresh your mind. Like us to look at these seven or eight or nine psalms designated as royal psalms.

I say seven or eight or nine. You've got to figure out how to use your pulpit here, Booth. Seven because some say Psalm 94 doesn't belong as one of the royal psalms. I say eight because some say 94 does belong as one of the royal psalms.

I say nine because some folks think the royal psalm begin with Psalm 92. We're going to just take the traditional route and follow the Jewish rabbis, 93 through 100. They call those the times of the Messiah.

That's what the Jews call these psalms. These are psalms of the theocracy. By the way, the word theocracy was coined by Josephus. In the Old Testament, they didn't use that word to describe themselves.

And that was sort of a Johnny-come-lately. Anyway, what I'd like to do is look at these marvelous royal psalms, sort of introduce them tonight and give you a taste for what the message of these psalms is.

And then as the Lord guides us, we'll look at them one at a time. Glance, if you would, at Psalm 93, verse 1. Psalm 93, 1, the Lord reigns. 96, 10. 96, 10, the Lord reigns. 97, 1, the Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice.

99, 1, the Lord reigns, let the people tremble. Now, many psalms refer to the Lord Jesus as King. But these psalms don't only refer to the Lord as King. The theme of these psalms is the kingship of Christ.

And so they're a little bit different. And every one of these royal psalms has to do with the truth, the Lord reigns. Some folks call these the sovereignty of God psalm, the lordship of Christ psalm, the rule of Jesus, the King and His dominion.

But you get the idea. One of my prayers as we go through these psalms together is that the Lord will make the kingship of Christ a burning reality in our hearts. I call attention to that because sometime we have the kingship of Christ sort of as a sectarian truth.

We have it as part of our creed. We say, yes, I believe in that. I believe that Jesus is King. But maybe this weekend, if God graces us, it'll become a living truth, not just part of our creed, but that God will make it burn in our heart that the Lord Jesus Christ reigns.

One of the prayers I'm praying as we go through this is that God will deliver us from the futility of the dead letter where we just go through, yes, la, la, la, that God is King and Christ reigns and He's on a throne and all that kind of thing.

We can look at those facts, but oh, if God, if He blesses us and He begins to make that real unto us, then our prayer will be fulfilled. Now let me put this Old Testament expression, the Lord reigns, the Lord reigns.

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice. The Lord reigns, let the people tremble. Let me put that in New Testament language. You see, these royal psalms, like so many of the other psalms, are quoted in the New Testament.

We won't look that up now, but Psalm 9411 is quoted in 1 Corinthians 320. Psalm 95, 7 to 11 is quoted in Hebrews 3, 7 to 15. Psalm 97, 7 is quoted in Hebrews 1, 6. Let me call attention to that one. Psalm 97, 7 says, it's talking about Jehovah, and it says, worship Him.

Now that's quoted in Hebrews 1, 6, and it's applied to Jesus. Let all the angels of God worship Him. That's another illustration that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.

Now why am I calling attention to that? Because sometimes we just say, the Lord reigns, and that's just sort of, you know, way out there. What's the New Testament expression of the same truth? The Lord Jesus reigns.

And somehow that brings it close to home. And so we're going to be looking at these psalms, royal psalms, the Lord reigns, the Lord Jesus reigns. It's sort of like, who art in heaven? That's way far away.

Our Father, who art in heaven. And that sort of brings it right into our heart. And so we'll look at these as the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. We sing songs, in fact, I appreciate that tonight, singing those songs of His royalty, and we sing of His kingship, we memorize verses on it, and now may God make this thing a burning reality in our hearts.

Psalm 103 and the Sovereignty of God

Now if you'll glance for a moment at Psalm 103, you say, well now that's not one of the royal psalms. So what? Humor me. There's a verse in there that summarizes the royal psalms, and I'd like us to take Psalm 103, 19, as sort of a key verse for the weekend.

Psalm 103, 19 says, The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Isn't that a glorious verse? Let me give you sort of an overview of the eight psalms before we actually home in on the particular message of each of the psalms.

The Songs Produced by the Royal Psalms

Follow along please. Glance at Psalm 95, and I'm going to read the first two verses. O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalm. That's how Psalm 95 begins. Now look at Psalm 96. Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord. Bless His name. Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

So thrilling is the truth that in these psalms, all nature is invited to join in the song. For example, Psalm 96, 11, Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and all it contains.

Verse 12, Let the field exult and all that's in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy. Now you say, well now, isn't it true that all the psalms are songs? Yes, all the psalms are songs.

No question about that. But Psalm 95 and 96 is a different kind of song than Psalm 93 and 94. Now what's the difference? You see, in Psalm 93 and 94, you have sort of a principle. You have a message. You have a teaching.

And it's almost as if God is saying, when you see this truth, you're going to sing this song. Okay? So if you can see the message in Psalm 93 and 94, you will sing the song in Psalm 95 and 96. You have a new song there.

And then it's almost as if God says, now, take a look at Psalm 97. No song. Now, of course, it's a song because it's a psalm, but it's a message. There's a tremendous truth in Psalm 97. And then Psalm 98 begins, sing to the Lord a new song.

He's done wonderful things. His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. And it's almost as if God is saying, if you learn the message of Psalm 97, you're going to sing the song of Psalm 98.

And you have the same idea at the end of Psalm 98, verse 7 and 8, let the sea roar, all it contains, the world, those that dwell in it, let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains sing together for joy.

And as you'd expect, Psalm 99 is another message. And Psalm 100 begins, shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth. There's another song. Let me sort of make it as a package for you. I think you get the idea.

We've got to see what truth this is that produces this song. And then what truth this is that produces this song, and what truth this is that produces that song. They're all about the kingship of Christ.

And I have an idea if God blesses us, that what we're going to do is we're going to learn this message. And then we'll sing this song. Let me label it for you so that you have logical connection. The first song that is sung, actually it's a song with two verses, Psalm 95 and 96.

Psalm 95 is the song of rest. Psalm 96 is the song of worship. And so it's a song of rest and worship. Now what truth do I need about the kingship of Christ that will fill my life with the song of rest and worship?

After you've learned that, He says, all right, now you need another message that will put in your heart the song of victory. That's the next song. And then the climax of the whole thing is the song of service.

Now there's a paradox there, but you'll see that when we come to the end. I pray when we leave that as never before, my life, my heart will be singing the song of rest and worship. That my life, my heart will be singing the song of victory.

And I'll be singing the song of service. But in order to sing that, I have to learn three truths, three glories. So it's not a difficult weekend. We're just going to look at these glorious psalms. And we don't have time.

Now in those pages that I handed out, I've made other references and you can get in a little bit deeper. But for this weekend, since we only have several meetings, I just want to touch on the great truth of each psalm and then the songs that are produced.

And I trust that God will make that so real in our lives. You know, it's interesting that I could be wrong, but I have an idea. Not only do these psalms, these royal psalms, all teach on the kingship of Christ, but I have an idea, in your experience, this is exactly the order in which you'll experience.

In other words, you can't sing the second song until you've learned to sing the first song. And you can't sing the third song until you've learned to sing the second song. So maybe as we go through this together, you'll be able to see where you are in terms of the glorious truth, the Lord reigns, the Lord Jesus reigns.

We're going to be describing what our life will look like if Christ reigns in our heart, Christ reigns in our life. Again, as a living reality, not just some creed, not something that we have in our catechism, but something that's been real in our heart.

And so that's basically what we're going to look at. You see, these songs, you can't fake it. You can't drum up the song. Say, well, I can just obey God, I'll do His will. You don't do God's will when you do God's will.

You don't do God's will until you delight to do His will. And that's the part you can't fake. You can't fake the delight. You go through the motions and all, but you can't put the delight in it. These are psalms of His kingship, songs of His kingship.

And it's a joyful thing to have Christ as king of your life. And these are the songs that He wants to write in our heart this weekend. And I just trust that God will help us as we go through this. It's wonderful that God has put rejoicing all through the book of Psalms.

But I'm so amazed when I read these royal psalms how much rejoicing there is in these psalms. You know, for years in my life, when someone said, King Jesus, or talked about the throne of Christ, that just didn't register joy for me.

The Joy of Submitting to Christ's Kingship

I was a student for some time at Moody Bible Institute. And I almost got expelled from the school. I wasn't a good student. And I was so afraid that God was going to call me to some mission field that I refused to go to chapel when a missionary was speaking.

And that was required. You had to go to chapel. And I just didn't want to go because I knew God was going to call me to Africa or something. I had to learn some language I didn't want to learn or something.

And I just knew that if I went to that conference, we had to sign in and honesty and all that. And I just refused to go. So they called me down. Dr. Culbertson was the president at the time. Called me into the big white throne office, you know, and there he stood.

And scared me to death. And told me about the kingship of Christ. But to me that wasn't joy. I thought, oh my goodness, kingship of Christ? That's just authority and obligation and duty and rules. And the only reason he wants to be lord is he wants to lord it over me.

And that was my idea of the lordship of Christ. And I was terrified. I thought, oh boy, there goes my liberty. There goes my future. I'll never be able to get married. I'll never be able to have children.

That was my idea of the lordship of Christ. And may I tell you now, things have changed through the years. And God in His grace has taught me a little. I'm not saying there's no ground to be possessed.

I'm not pretending in any way that I've arrived in this whole idea of the kingship of Christ. But oh my, I'll tell you one thing, submitting to His kingship is the safest thing that you can ever do. It's the most wonderful thing in the world.

It's the very spring and source of the most dignified and healthy joy any person could ever have. I get choked up a little when I think of this because my girls are sitting here. And nothing I would long for more than my children would bow before the Lord Jesus Christ as king.

I'm not suggesting they haven't. But I'm just saying, oh, I long for my girls and for my sons. I've got four boys too. Just to know the royalty. And there's a song in that. There's a glorious song. And so may God help us as we go through this weekend.

In this connection, listen to Luke 19, 42. Our Lord Jesus, when He came into Jerusalem, He wept, remember? And He made this comment. He said, If you had known in this day, even you, the things that make for your peace, but now they're hidden from your eyes.

The things that make for your peace. When you reject the kingship of Christ, you become an enemy to your own peace. And He wept because they were rejecting His kingship and so they were standing against their own peace.

Now listen to Isaac Watts, one verse of his wonderful hymn, When Jesus shall reign. This is one of the verses that we leave out. Okay, now let's leave out this verse. Blessings abound where 'er He reigns.

The joyful prisoner bursts his chains. The weary find eternal rest. And all the sons of want are blessed. Oh, exactly so. So that's where we're headed. And in our introduction lesson, I hope you get a taste for this, so that your heart will say, Oh, I long to sing those songs.

I long that He reigns in my heart, in my life. Well, with that as sort of an overview, turn now to Psalm 93. As the first of the Royal Psalms, this is not only the first, but it becomes then the foundation.

Everything rests on Psalm 93. Everything flows from this. Everything is built on this glorious psalm. Follow along, please, as I read. The Lord reigns. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord hath clothed and girded Himself with strength.

Indeed, the world is firmly established. It will not be moved. Thy throne is established of old. Thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their pounding waves more than the sound of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea.

Psalm 93: Christ's Absolute and Irresistible Throne

The Lord on high is mighty. Thy testimonies are fully confirmed. Holiness befits Thy house, O Lord, forevermore. Now, the first words actually give the message of the psalm. Psalm 93, verse 1, The Lord reigns.

Verse 2, Thy throne is established of old. Notice, if you would, in verse 2, Thy throne is established of old. Thou art from everlasting. This verse is actually teaching that God is older than His throne.

You see, His throne had a beginning, but God had no beginning. And so you ask the question, when did God's dominion begin? When did God's throne begin? 93 .1, The world was firmly established. God's dominion began when creation began.

You see, in eternity, He had potential dominion. It was all in His character, but He had nothing to reign over. And when He created, He automatically became Lord of all, Creator of all. Now, if there were two creators, then there would have to be two lords.

Because you'd have to be, you'd be Lord over whatever you created. Because He was entire Creator, that is, there wasn't another creator. Because He was entire Creator, He's absolute Lord. Entire Creator, absolute Lord.

And in that moment, then, when He created, He became Creator. Sometimes we use the expression, make Jesus Lord of your life. Well, we know what we mean when we say that. But, honest, we can submit to His Lordship, but you can't make Jesus Lord.

He's already Lord, whether you want Him to be or not, or whether you try to make Him to be or not. Psalm 93 .1, The Lord hath clothed and girded Himself with majesty. He's made Himself Lord. Acts 2 .36 says, Let all the house of Israel know for certain, God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucify.

He's already Lord. He hasn't put it in my hands to make Jesus Lord. He hasn't put it in your hands to make Jesus Lord. So that's how Psalm 93 begins. By an act of creation, He became, since He was the total Creator, He became the absolute Lord, He and He alone.

Some of you probably heard the name Gandhi. I don't know if you saw the movie, For Reasons I Won't Go Into. That's a long movie. I saw that thing five times. And I was doing a little Bible study and tracing Gandhi and so on, but I won't get into that.

But Gandhi wasn't a Christian. He actually said that he wasn't a Christian. Gandhi made this statement. And I think it's probably the saddest statement that he could have ever made. Quote, I cannot set Jesus Christ upon a solitary throne because God has been incarnate many times in human history.

Imagine that. I cannot set Jesus Christ upon a solitary throne. Well, friends, that's exactly where He sits. On a solitary throne. And Psalm 93 says, He is the total Creator, absolute Lord, and He sits upon a solitary throne.

He reigns alone. There's no such thing as a vice God. There's no such thing as a board of directors for Him or an advisory committee. He's all by Himself. And He rules over everything. And notice verse 3 and 4.

It says, The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding waves, more than the sound of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea. The Lord on high is mighty.

These verses teach that the Lord sits upon a solitary throne and that He is irresistible in His reign. So you get that idea of the floods, the pounding waves, the mighty breakers. That's just poetic language for that which opposes God.

Here's God on His throne and then here come the floods and the mighty breakers and the pounding waves. This is a basic truth, a foundational truth. I need to know. And that's why it begins here. This is the starting point of the reign of Christ.

If I'm ever going to sing any song, I need to know the Lord Jesus reigns. The Lord Jesus reigns over everything. The Lord Jesus reigns sitting on a solitary throne and no floods can reach Him. Nothing can contradict God's throne.

You know, this passage talks about, in very poetic language, the voice of the flood. I just hear about opposition and my heart begins to quiver. It talks about the pounding of the waves. You've probably experienced that.

One bad thing after another, just pounding on your life. Talks about the breakers. You know why they call breakers, breakers? They break. I'm serious. That's why that's where it got its name. Breakers break.

And here you get this picture of God on His throne and you got the voice of the waves. God says, that doesn't reach my throne. And you got the pounding of the waves. God says, that doesn't reach my throne.

God's throne is not even damp from all of the floods that rise up against Him. The Lord Jesus, this is how the Royal Psalms begin. At the beginning of creation, the Lord Jesus established His throne. He sits on a solitary throne.

He rules over all things. The voice of the waves can't touch Him. The pounding of the waves can't touch Him. The breakers can't touch Him. Nothing can affect Him. And then the verse says in verse 4, More than the sounds of many waters, the Lord on high is mighty.

The question is, how much higher is the throne of God than the sound of that which opposes Him? Would you say that the throne of God is five times higher than everything that comes against it? You'd have to say higher than that.

Would you say ten times higher? You'd have to say, no, higher than that. How about a thousand times higher? God's throne is a thousand times higher than anything that could oppose it. See, because it's God's throne, you'd have to say higher than that.

And I could keep you here all night by throwing numbers at you. And you'd always have to say higher than that. Try to enter into this. This is how the Royal Psalms begins. Infinitely higher than anything that could oppose it.

The Lord Jesus Christ sits upon a solitary throne all by Himself, ruling over everything because He's entire Creator, He's absolute Lord, absolute Lord reigning over everything in an irresistible way, infinitely higher than all the floods that could ever come against Him.

Now, that's how the Royal Psalm begins. Not a lot of fanfare, not a lot of ado, no clatter and pomp and all that thing, just a fact. The Bible begins with this, the Royal Psalm begins, solid fact, the Lord Jesus reigns over everything all by Himself on a solitary throne in an irresistible way and the floods can't reach Him.

Just by a nod of His head, just by a look of His eye, just by a flashing thought that goes through His mind, just by a decision of His will, whatever He wants to happen, happens and nobody can resist and nothing can resist, no power, no force, anything.

Psalm 94: Evil, Injustice, and the Hiddenness of God's Rule

I'd hold that for a moment and glance, if you would, at Royal Psalm number 2 because Psalm 93 and Psalm 94 together, not by themselves, together, form the first message. And if I don't learn that message, I can't sing the psalm.

And so I need to see the message. So you got half a truth here, Psalm 93. Now let's look at Psalm 94. Rather than reading the whole psalm, this is the longest of the Royal Psalms, at least 10 verses longer than any of the other psalms.

In fact, even the verses are longer. Let's just read verses 3 to 7. Psalm 94, verse 3. How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult? They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly.

All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. They crush Thy people, O Lord, and afflict Thy heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan. They have said, The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.

And notice the expression in verse 20, please. It says, Can a throne of destruction be allied with Thee? If you have the King James Version, it says throne of iniquity. I'm so glad, I think NIV says corrupt throne.

I'm so glad that God used the word throne in Psalm 94. You see, because Psalm 93 talks about the throne of God. Psalm 94 talks about the throne of destruction, the throne of corruption, the throne of wickedness.

You're not going to appreciate Psalm 94 if you don't relate it to Psalm 93. Psalm 93 says, The Lord Jesus reigns. Psalm 94 said, Really? You've got to be kidding me. You see that? When you read Psalm 94, Psalm 93 says, The Lord Jesus reigns.

Psalm 94 says, It doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like He's reigning. That's a strange kind of reign. I thought He was unopposed. I thought the floods couldn't reach that. Then what's all this about His inheritance?

What's all this about the widow? And the orphan? And the stranger? I thought the Lord Jesus reigns. You've got to take these two Psalms together. The Bible says, The Lord Jesus reigns. It doesn't say it will always look like He's reigning.

It's sort of like the psalm begins, the whole book of Psalms begins. Psalm 1 -3 says, Whatever the righteous does will prosper. It doesn't say it looks like it will prosper. Sometimes it doesn't look like it's prosperity.

Let me give you a little closer look at what I mean when I say He doesn't seem to be reigning. See, God allows some strange things in Psalm 94. Verse 3 and 4, How long shall the wicked, O Lord? How long shall the wicked exalt?

He allows the wicked to continue. Not only to continue, but to boast. Verse 5, They pour forth words. They speak arrogantly. All who do wickedness want themselves. You say, Jesus is reigning, and He allows the arrogant and the proud?

He allows the haughty and the pompous? He allows them to blaspheme? Well, if He only allowed their voice, that'd be one thing, but He allows their hand too. Verse 6, They slay the widow, the stranger, murder orphans.

You say, well, that's a strange reign. I thought God was king, and I thought He would rescue the oppressed. You mean He allows them to be murdered? How can that be reconciled with His absolute reign? Verse 7, They've said the Lord does not see.

God of Jacob does not give heed. I think some of you know that I have a deaf son. That's what they're claiming here. God's blind, and God is deaf. And even if He could see and hear, He doesn't care. He's so far...

He's busy. He's way out there occupied with other things. And the wicked were saying those kinds of things. Glance at verse 21, please. Same psalm. They band themselves together against the life of the righteous.

They condemn the innocent to death. You mean Christ is king, and He allows injustice? They band together against the righteous? Isn't that a contradiction? Doesn't Psalm 93 contradict Psalm 94? 93, the Lord reigns.

94, right. Sure He does. Take a look around. Look at all the trouble. Why are His people crushed? Why is His heritage afflicted? Why does He allow the helpless to be oppressed, and injured, and hurt? Widows, strangers, orphans.

Why are the innocent condemned to death? Why are the unrighteous allowed to be proud? See, we need to understand the most basic principle. If we're ever going to sing any of these songs, we need to see the most basic truth of all.

This is the lowest step, what we're going to look at tonight, is the lowest step in the kingship of Christ. You've got to begin here. It's just an objective fact. We're going to rise higher in the truth of the kingship of Christ, and our songs are going to become better.

But every person who ever is introduced to the kingship of Christ must begin here. The Lord reigns. He has absolute authority. Some people think, therefore, I'm exempt. You know, Satan can't touch me.

I'm his child. The king will get him. Let anybody try to touch me. God's going to watch over His children. You think God's going to let the widow be taken by shysters? You think God's going to allow the orphan and the stranger to be violated?

The Lord Jesus reigns. We've bowed to His lordship. He's going to protect me and mine. Don't I have a guarantee that God's going to guard the purity of my girls? Don't I have some kind of a guarantee on that?

That He's going to somehow blockade the violence of wicked men and their greed and so on? I thought I was exempt to the temptations common to man. The Lord reigns. But there's a throne of wickedness. Now, I read in verse 14, the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.

But sometime, if you're going through that, I mean, if in verse 5, if you happen to be the one crushed and afflicted, you say, oh yeah, the same psalm says, the Lord will not abandon His people, and I'm crushed, and I'm afflicted.

If you happen to be the widow, if you happen to be the stranger, if you're the one left without that life partner, or left homeless, or fatherless, or friendless, you read that and you say, the Lord will not abandon His people.

I feel abandoned. I feel like God is gone, like He doesn't care. I'm not so ungodly to say, God is blind, God is deaf. Sometime, way down deep inside, I say, Lord, come on. On our cable TV, we have, they're starting to do all these reruns of these old-fashioned things, and there's one rerun that they do, car 54, where are you?

Ever hear that? And sometimes your heart feels like that. You say, I know my theology. I know He reigns. I know He's on a solitary throne. I know the floods can't reach Him. I know He's controlling everything.

Where is He? Car 54, where are you? And your heart feels like saying that sometimes. And somehow, God has put Psalm 93, and Psalm 94 together. Because together, there's a wonderful message, and we need to see that, or we'll never sing the first song.

The Song of Wrath. Now, I'm about to give you the message, but before I do, I need to explain this to you. Psalm 94, it's not the purpose of the Lord, or the psalmist, to tell you why God allows certain things in this psalm.

We're going to touch on that in another connection. Psalm 94 doesn't teach that. But it's almost as if God said, I know what your questions are, and so He drops a couple of nuggets along the way. He doesn't develop them.

They're just sort of hints. They're just sort of a passing, what's God up to? Why does He allow this? If He's reigning, if He's king, if He's in control, why does He allow this? He drops a couple of suggestions.

Let me just, in passing, we're not going to develop that. Just maybe He's doing this, or maybe this, or maybe this, and then we'll just pass on, and I'll give you the message of the psalm. If God writes that message in your heart, you've got to sing the song that follows.