“The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad.” (Ps., 97:1; NLT) Jesus Christ is King and all of Creation is to rejoice and be glad! There is so much that meets the eye and ear to sharply refute this brash claim. One only needs to think of the devastation in Haiti for a poignant example. However, the writer of Psalm 97 lived in the context of much injustice and devastation and even though the exact Author and date of this Psalm are not certain, what is certain is that the nation of Israel, throughout their history, was no stranger to suffering. So why would a writer from Israel make such a claim that Yahweh (The LORD) is KING?
The reason is because no matter where or to what extent injustice seemed to be the prevailing rule, wherever justice broke in and intervened on behalf of the victims, those faithful to Yahweh, like this Psalmist, understood that any and all justice was due to the Lord’s action. It is true that injustice in our world, regardless of the era, is the product of those wielding a temporary power, determined to deny God reverence and honor while positioning themselves to overthrow God and lay claim to His throne. These fabricated, self-appointed rulers, whose heart is blackened by sin, know nothing of the heart of God and therefore they care not for the creation of God except how they might manipulate and use it to gratify the lusts of their own flesh. In the wake of such self-aggrandizement innocent people, to say nothing of the rest of God’s creation, are subjected to all kinds of cruelty, injustice and death. Even a very small study into the history of man is surely enough to ratify this claim. So what does this mean?
The Lord is, as He has always been, KING! As Christians we cannot look at the injustice in the world and draw the conclusion that God is only partially in control, or that He is King of Heaven only, or that He is merely the King of the future who will take the throne only after this world has been destroyed. No, God, even Jesus Christ, is KING forever and always, from eternity past to eternity future. We must believe and trust in our King even when, or especially when, the world around us appears to be subject to some diabolical ruler.
One of the most difficult questions that a Christian will face is the question related to the origin and presence of evil. This question might be worded like this, “If God is in total control and is all-powerful and He is good, then why is there evil and why does He allow people to suffer?” Responses to this or similar questions have been offered by a number of Christians throughout history. One such response can be found in a book that I am currently reading titled, “The Reason for God,” by Timothy Keller. While, Keller does an excellent job being sensitive to the nature of the question and the questioner, he boldly claims that humans are very limited in their understanding, in comparison to the understanding of God, which is limitless and perfect. (I would encourage everyone to read his book or at least this chapter.)
From my own reading and understanding I would summarize my response to this question in the following way: God, in his infinite wisdom, allows for evil, even evil that is precipitated through the freedom of human beings. While God does not endorse such evil and rebellion (GOD forbid!) His attributes, such as, goodness, grace, mercy, kindness, patience and love, can be experienced with acute awareness from the midst of such darkness. This is why those suffering in unimaginable ways in Haiti (or anywhere in the world, for that matter) today can testify that Jesus is King, because He has intervened in their madness and injustice to bring them civility and justice. He is bringing to them the rule of His Kingdom, namely justice, mercy and love and He is bringing it through His very people who offer themselves as His active agents.
This is why we can join the Psalmist in singing out that, “The Lord reigns!” He is on His throne. There is an hour of darkness when the devil appears to be supreme and his rule seems to be final. But it is not so! Jesus gave himself to the powers of darkness in the hour of darkness, in order to demonstrate that He is truly KING! He confronted the very face of injustice, evil and death, only to rise from the grave three days later, victorious. JESUS REIGNS! LET US TELL THE WORLD THAT JESUS REIGNS!
His Happy Citizen, Pastor Gibbs
