The Lord Reigns

When my mom passed away in 2019, my sister and I had the task of sifting through all her material possessions, and, nowadays, her various computer accounts to close them down. Mom had kept a list of her passwords and the one that I saw the most was “Loismsh.” I racked my brain thinking about who mom knew named “Lois” and the meaning of “msh.” Eventually, I remembered that mom’s password was her favorite scripture, Psalm 23, “the “LOrd  IS My SHepherd.”

Favorite Scriptures Among Christians

If a Christian has a favorite bible passage, often that passage is likely to come from the book of Psalms. The reason that Psalms has risen to the top of the list is not hard to understand. The collection of Psalms does not provide truth bombs detached from life. Instead, the Psalms vividly capture the heart of a follower of God struggling to believe truth in excruciating times.  In this way, the Psalms become an example of God’s people’s prayers and praises through trials

Not Only a “Song” Book but a Guidebook

Many think that the book of Psalms is a collection of random poems loosely organized without an overarching coherent message. However, the more one studies the collection of Psalms, the more a beautiful unified message emerges

Perhaps you have noticed that the Psalms end with a crescendo of five Psalms praising God (Psalm 146-150). However, there is much sorrow (lament) expressed between Psalm 3 and Psalm 146. Before God’s people have the ultimate experience of basking in the glory of God and having unbridled praise, there is much hardship to go through. 

Psalms 1 and 2, the introduction to collection, instruct the reader to meditate day and night on God’s word and remain firmly connected to God’s chosen King (the anointed one, the messiah). In this way, the believer remainfirm (Psalm 1:3) in the midst of the struggle of faith to arrive at the glorious end. For a more detailed and plausible understanding of the structure of the Psalms watch this video:

Needed for Today

Perhaps the most relevant sequence of Psalms providing hope and perspective in our current uncertain times is Psalms 90-106. This collection is primarily about how God reigns over all. This collection had been organized to proclaim that the Lord reigns even when all that the people had been trusting in had seemingly faltered. That period was known as the exile of Israel. The people had to be reminded that through their difficulty the Lord was reigning and in firm control.

Psalms 99:1–3 declares,  

The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.

Feed Your Faith, Not your Fear

During these uncertain times, read one Psalm per day starting at Psalm 90 and going through Psalm 106. Ask yourself the question, “Whom or what should I fear this day—The Lord who reigns or my circumstances?” Find your refuge in the Lord who reigns. 

If you choose to do this, I would love to hear how Psalms 90-106 are helping you so please post your comments or questions below and I would be delighted to interact with you on this. 

Then expand your horizon and read sequentially through all the Psalms taking the journey to arrive at the crescendo of praise at the end. 

 

 

Brent Aucoin
Pastor Brent Aucoin serves as the Pastor of Seminary and Counseling Ministries at Faith Church. He is the president of Faith Bible Seminary, and is a counselor and instructor for Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries.