Heavenly Devotion: Psalm 95 – God Is Sovereign At All Times

Psalm 95 – God is sovereign at all times

(by Dr. Gregory H. Denysschen)

When things go wrong, the people question, “Why?” usually arises. If God is sovereign, as this Psalm declares, why do bad things happen to God’s people? This Psalm addresses the crisis around the exile to Babylon. In a very real way, doubts arose relating to God’s sovereignty and what power the Babylonian gods may have.

This psalm confirms and declares God’s sovereignty and reminds the faith community that the reason for the state they find themselves in is directly the result of their waywardness.  It reminds God’s doubting people that He is still on the throne and that He is the director of these events.  God was still “the great God, the great King above all gods” (verse 3).

There is a call to the celebration (verses 1-2), regardless of the painful circumstances enveloping them because God is still on the throne! The full extent of His power is revealed in verses 4 and 5, He reigns over all is cause for celebration, hence the repetition of the call “Come, let us…” found in verse 1, to sing for joy. Bow down in worship.  It is an exhortative imperative.

Whenever a child of God questions the hostile adversity they find themselves in, this psalm reminds them that the circumstances are entirely under God’s control and there is a good reason for the affliction. Sometimes it takes the form of Job’s suffering and our disobedience. The Psalm seeks to quell all doubt arising in the believers’ heart relating to the character of God which often is questioned in such times of hardship and adversity. It is a comforting “tonic” to the anguished soul not understanding the ways of God. At the end of the day, “He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”

 

Let’s Read Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song.

3 For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

 

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, give us the insight and understanding to internalize for ourselves your absolute sovereignty above all powers and forces, and fill our Hearts with your peace in the midst of the storm like the Lord Jesus lying down in the boat with His head on a pillow at perfect peace in the midst of the hellish storm. Your name be glorified and exalted, Amen!

 

 

About the Heavenly Devotion channel

The Heavenly Devotion channel is dedicated to encouraging you to listen to Bible Scriptures and pray with the Scriptures. They are inspired by the call of service as expressed and exemplified by Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:12-15. 

 

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrew 4:12 NKJV)

 

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