In his sermon on Psalm 97, Pastor Grant Brown emphasizes the sovereignty of God, underscoring that the Lord reigns over all aspects of the world, including personal and national events. The sermon is divided into three sections: the grandeur of God's reign, the gravity of His reign, and the gladness of His reign. Pastor Brown asserts that God's dominion is exclusive, entire, and extreme, meaning God alone has prevailing sovereignty over everything in existence. He illustrates this with various examples, such as God's control over natural events and His ability to turn tragedies, like sickness or unexpected death, into demonstrations of His power and glory. The sermon also addresses the proper response of believers to God's reign. Rather than fear earthly powers or current events, believers are encouraged to trust in the prevailing sovereignty of God, remain faithful, and rejoice in His righteous governance. The sermon concludes with a call to action for Christians to live out their faith confidently, knowing that God's rule is unchallenged and eternal.

If you have a pew Bible, the Bible under the chair in front of you, you'll be able to find that on page 610. And as you'll see, Psalm 97 does have several verses in it. And so it's a good thing that we went back an hour. It Gives me a whole other hour to unpack these 12 verses. Would you stand with me as we hear from God?

From Psalm 97 beginning in verse 1. The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the many islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world. The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory. Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols, Worship Him, all you gods. Zion heard this and was glad. And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced. Because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you are the Lord most high over all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods. Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the soul of His godly ones. He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart.

Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name. May God bless the reading of His Word. Amen. You may be seated. Amen.

You may be seated. Psalm 97 begins with the main point of the psalm. The Lord Yahweh, the one true living God, the covenant-keeping God, He reigns. Keeping God, He reigns. And the question before us this morning is, yes, He reigns, but does He reign even over elections?

Does he reign even over little infants falling and hitting their heads and having to go to the PICU? Does he really reign over that? Does he reign when you get that phone call That your son has aggressive cancer and there's all kinds of uncertainty from the doctors. Does he reign over that too? Doesn't seem like it But Psalm 97 says yes he does The Lord does indeed reign.

He reigns over elections, Little babies having strokes, and the Lord reigns over cancer. The Lord reigns, and after that first sentence, the rest of the Psalm is broken into three sections describing that sovereign rule of God. That great dominion that God has. Section number one, we're shown the grandeur of God's reign in verses 1-6. The grandeur of God's reign.

Section number two, the gravity of His reign in verses seven through nine. The gravity of His reign. And then section number three, the gladness of His reign in verses 10 through 12. The grandeur, the gravity, and the gladness of the Lord's reign. And that's what God has for you and I this morning.

We need very much, Brothers and sisters, the truth of Psalm 97. I need, as a pastor, the truth of Psalm 97 for just these past seven days alone. We need the truth of Psalm 97. The next days ahead, We need it worked into us. We need it coming out of our fingertips, don't we?

That's what we want. So here it is, what we need. Psalm 97. He who has ears to hear, let him hear this morning. And rejoice and be glad that Psalm 97 is true.

We begin first with the grandeur, the glory, the greatness of the Lord's reign. The Lord reigns and we see His grandeur in it. That word, reign, in verse 1, it means exactly what you think it means. To reign is to be the sovereign one, to have all dominion and all power and all might. That means to rule and to be sovereign, to be in total control, and to prevail in that total control.

To prevail in all things, to succeed and win, and to be the victor in all things that is what it means for God to reign he prevails in his sovereignty I'm going to use that phrase a lot because that's what it means. A prevailing sovereignty. He does, God does, the Lord does all of His holy will. His reign is a prevailing sovereignty. And I want you to notice three things about God's prevailing sovereignty.

Three characteristics of the grandeur of Yahweh's reign. There are more than three things, But here are three. Number one, the Lord reigns exclusively. The Lord reigns exclusively. The Lord reigns alone.

The Godhead reigns alone. At Christ is Lord Academy, we learned the answer to catechism question number five this week the question was are there more gods than one are there more gods than one and the answer no there is only one true God There is only one true God. There is only one true God. And what is that one true God doing right now? He's reigning.

Beloved church, God came in the flesh. He lived the life that you did not live, but should have lived. And He died the death that you should have died, but you didn't. In His death on the cross. And in exchange for your sins, by grace through faith, God has imputed to you His righteousness while bearing your sins in His body on the cross.

He has declared you righteous. That's what God did to make sinners right with Himself. That's what God did in reconciling enemies of God to Himself. Enemies of God turned into friends. Enemies of God turned into children of God.

Adopting him into his family. That's the God who reigns. Jesus Christ, your Savior, who loved you and gave himself for you, Christian, He is reigning right now. He was crucified, He was risen, and He is now reigning in heaven at the right hand of God with all authority in heaven and on earth right now. And I want you to notice that your Savior, your Lord, is not co-reigning with other Lords.

It's not in the text. He is not co-reigning with other Gods. He and He alone reigns. He and He alone dictates and decrees and orders and does all that He desires. There are no group of counselors.

There are no advisors. There are no cabinet members that assist him or alter the will and reign of Almighty God. He does exactly what he wants, where he wants, when he wants, and how he wants every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every month of every year, even on leap year. And He has been reigning even before there were seconds and days and months and years. God is reigning.

And He is prevailing in His sovereignty. And He alone reigns supreme. He alone reigns perfectly. Which means, by the way, that if you belong to Him by grace through faith, through clinging to Christ, and you belong to Him, Your salvation could not be more possibly secure. There is none who can take away what God Almighty, who reigns, possesses.

Because He reigns exclusively. No one reigns above Him, or even with Him. The Lord reigns exclusively in perfection. So it does not matter who is in the White House. God still reigns.

It does not matter who controls the chambers of Congress, God still reigns. It does not matter what judges say or do, when it is the Almighty Judge who is Yahweh who is the one reigning. Nobody, no thing, no power gets to unseat the sovereign one. God reigns above all. You got that?

Now with That being said, of course I'm not saying that it doesn't matter to us if we have evil or righteous leaders. We should very much want righteous leaders. We should very much want our children to grow up in a nation that fears the Lord rather than abominates the Lord. We as Christians are in fact commanded by God and this is word, to pray for all of those who are in authority that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. And so you should pray that God would grant to you and to your children, God-fearing leaders, so that you and your children and your children's children would be able to freely live out the law of Christ in our land according to this His word.

You should pray that way. That's why your elders just months ago shepherded you and instructed you that it would be impossible for you to vote in obedience to Christ if you voted for the abomination of the Democratic Party. I am not speaking here politically. I am speaking here of God's law. There's a letter out there giving you principles and providing oversight for you, shepherding for you as you consider who you vote for.

Our leadership, your vote, does matter in that sense. But all of this, the election, the next one, and the next one, if God gives it to us, the result of these elections, they do not matter when it comes to the rule of Christ. None of these elections, none of these ballot initiatives get to negate the fact that God reigns and that God has clearly spoken and this is word, unchanging. So whether it be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the White House, God reigns supreme. Those two are on the ballot, aren't they?

And God, may God have mercy on us. They're on the ballot. But do you know who is not on the ballot this Tuesday? God. God's not on the ballot.

So no matter what result you wake up to on Wednesday morning, brothers and sisters, you do not need to fret. You do not need to be anxious. God is still on the throne. This is still very much His world, and He is absolutely very much your God, your Lord, and nobody, and no thing, and especially no election changes that reality. And so you need to stay at your post.

You need to remain faithful no matter what the news tells you on Wednesday morning. Why? Why? Because this news of Psalm 97 is true. The Lord reigns.

So whether it's a Republican or Democrat who takes a seat in authority They were placed. I want you to get this they were placed there under the sovereign hand and rule of God and You know what No matter what political affiliation the candidate that finds himself in the White House, God placed them there and God has not hiccuped. God has not lurched. He's not staggered and stumbled. No, no, He reigns.

He has prevailed in His sovereignty. He has done exactly what He has wanted, when He has wanted, and how He has wanted. You need to believe that on Wednesday morning. He is not surprised. God does not stagger.

God does not lurch. Did God lurch in the garden? You think this election cycle is bad news? Check out Genesis 3. Did God lurch in the garden when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit?

Or Did God jump up and get frazzled in his... When the serpent hissed lies into Eve's ear, and then Adam plunged all of humanity into sin and condemnation, did God say, oh no, oops? Did God get up from His throne? Whatever shall I do? Was that His response?

Absolutely not. No, instead, in eternity past, In eternity past, there was a covenant between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that would result in the greatest story of all time. God would come in the flesh. The seed of the woman would come for undeserving sinners. For sinners who deserve damnation.

God would come and rescue them. God would come and undo the curse by becoming a curse for us. God would take on human flesh and everything that the first Adam wasn't, God was, God is, and God conquered, God prevailed. In His sovereignty, He didn't lurch for even a moment. He prevailed.

That's reigning. The Lord reigns exclusively. And you can trust Him, no matter what those people on the TV say, Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Number two, the Lord reigns in entirety. The Lord reigns in entirety.

The Lord reigns over all things, over every one and every thing. What do you see at the end of verse one there? Let the what rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. What do you see at the end of verse 1 there?

Let the what rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. What do you see at the end of verse 5? It says the whole earth. And then again in verse 9, the Lord is most high over all the earth.

Throughout this Psalm, three times from top to bottom, we are told just how far the sovereign reign of God extends. So for the entire earth, over every one and every thing, it's exactly what Abraham Kuyper said, That there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine. Psalm 24, 1, The earth is the Lord's, and all that is in it. And those who live in it, and He, God, Christ, Jesus, He reigns sovereign over it all. All the earth.

All. How much is all? Like, really? Everyone? Everything?

Does all mean all? It does. Look in verse 7. We're asking the question, how much is all? How much is all?

Look down at verse 7. In verse 7, even graven images, even false gods, even demons, even idols, Even those created things, what are they told to do? Worship the God who reigns. Worship the one true God. That's how sovereign, that's just how great the grandeur of the reign of God is that even false gods who oppose Him, the opposite of who God is, they understand this truth about Him and they're called to worship Him.

And have we not seen this? Have we not seen that as Jesus has cast out demons from person after person in Mark's Gospel, have we not seen what even the demons do? They come out screaming the truth about who Jesus is. They're crying out about just how powerful, just how mighty, just how holy, how set apart this Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is. That's the grandeur of the reign of Christ.

That's the grandeur of the reign of your Savior and Lord, Christian. Verse 7 speaks to the extent and prevalence of the reign of Him who holds you in His hands. That even false gods, even graven images, the very things set up against Him, they fall under His dominion and authority Because Jesus Christ is the Lord who reigns. He reigns over everyone and everything. And if that was not enough to convince you, if verse 7 you say, oh well, well if that's not enough to convince you, how about you go back up to the end of verse 1.

Go back up to the end of verse 1. The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands be glad. Now other translations say let the coastlands be glad. Let the multitude of islands Be glad. Other translations, let the distant shores be glad.

You get what that's saying? What's that line saying? Let the ends of the earth be glad. All of the earth. Let the knowledge of the Lord cover the earth as far as the waters cover the sea.

That all would be glad in the truth that God reigns entirely over them all. The world and all that it contains, God rules in entirety. Just think about this. All the nations are His. This Lord, right now, Jesus Christ, rules over the world with truth and grace, and is right now making the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and the wonders of His love.

He's doing that. As His Gospel goes to the ends of the earth, That's the power of his gospel. That's power of God who reigns. The whole earth is his. He reigns over the nations.

You know what that means? Even China, even Russia, even the big man Putin. God is reigning over the leaders of Hamas. God is reigning over every dictator around the world. In every single tribe in the Amazon jungle, There are chiefs and leaders among people groups that we might not even know about and every single one of them God knows and God has placed those leaders there specifically because God wanted to.

And in Psalm chapter 2, He tells them, He tells all the nations of the world, He tells every dictator, every tyrant, every leader in every nation, every leader in every home, All the leaders of every tongue, nation, and tribe, he tells them, kiss the Son, repent, bend the knee in worship of Christ, and turn from your sin, or you will perish in the way of the wicked. I'm going to talk more about that in just a moment. The point is here that God's reign isn't limited by geography or altitude or any other thing. When the Bible says that God reigns over all things, that really means all. His reign is truly that big.

Psalm 103 says the same. The Lord rules over all in entirety. And so I want to say again, a God who reigns in entirety doesn't lurch. He doesn't stagger. He doesn't get unsteady and get caught off guard about anything.

Why doesn't he get caught off guard by anything? Because he reigns over everything. Including sickness. Including little infants. Including cancer.

You know, including death itself. God doesn't lurch in His control over these things. You know, He didn't stagger and become unsteady when Lazarus was dying, did He? What did they tell Jesus? Jesus, your dear friend Lazarus, the one who you love is sick.

And God in the flesh didn't go flimsy. God in the flesh didn't go unsteady. Far from that, what did he do? He waited. You want to talk about standing firm?

There it is. The one you love is sick. Await. He waited until Lazarus died to go to him. And you can just hear the people, right?

Wow, Jesus. You are so unloving. You are so careless. I mean, you must not have any real power. You must not have any real authority.

If you're going to let this happen, you're going to let them die? What are you doing? It's not far-fetched to think that is in some people's minds. It might be in Lazarus' mind. Jesus, why didn't you do anything?

Why did you do it this way? You ever ask God that question? God, why did you do it that way? What? It doesn't seem like you're reigning.

God, if I was you, as soon as you start saying that, shut it down. God, if I was you, I'd have done it differently. Why this way, God? And anticipating those... In anticipating you thinking those things, Jesus says in John chapter 11, I did it this way for the glory of God.

For the glory of God and for life for Lazarus. For the glory of God and the joy of my people. For the glory of God and for life for Lazarus. For the glory of God and the joy of my people. For the glory of God and the ultimate good for those who love me and are called according to my perfect purposes.

That's Romans 8. And the god man goes to Lazarus after he's been dead. He's been in the tomb for many days, right? And he weeps at the tomb. And then He calls Lazarus out.

You know this story, right? And Lazarus comes out. And you know what to this day we're still doing? We're still talking about it. We're still talking about that story.

God ruled over the sickness of Lazarus. Even when Lazarus himself was wondering perhaps, why didn't you come Jesus? Why didn't you come? God was still reigning in the midst of his wondering. And God reigned over the death of Lazarus.

God was reigning during the grieving over Lazarus. And God reigned over the resurrection. Can you imagine what it meant for Lazarus? For the rest of Lazarus' life he knew without a doubt, I know the one who has complete authority, complete power, complete dominion, and complete sovereignty over death itself. I know the one who reigns over all things.

I know him, and he knows me. He called me by name out of the tomb. And it changed everything about his life, didn't it? As one theologian put it, I'm paraphrasing here, you can just see the God haters coming to Lazarus. He's been talking about Jesus.

Lazarus, you stop talking about Jesus. You stop talking about Jesus. We're going to kill you, Lazarus, if you keep talking about Jesus. And Lazarus, You kidding me? Do you think that will stop God from reigning?

You're killing me. I died the first time, and that story was nearly unbelievable. That was in my first death. What God did as a result of my death, it was incredible. They're going to be talking about it for millennia.

If that first story was so good, can you imagine the story God would write with my second death? I wouldn't. God rules exclusively. God rules in entirety over all things, over all things including little fin and little blood vessels in the brain. And our loved ones getting cancer.

And we struggle. We struggle. We wrestle. But He doesn't. And he writes stories that echo into eternity for his glory and your eternal joy Christian He rules from the North Pole to the South Pole from the Pacific to the Atlantic He reigns over every one and everything number three The Lord reigns in extremity The Lord reigns in extremity.

I don't mean a bodily extremity, I mean the word extreme. The Lord reigns in intensity, in severity. Notice the extreme and severe language used in the rest of these verses, beginning in verse 2, going all the way through verse 6. Notice the extreme and severe language. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him. Burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world. The earth saw and trembled.

The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness and all the peoples have seen His glory. No doubt, much of the extreme language in these verses allude to the Israelites in the wilderness at Mount Sinai. You remember their clouds and thick darkness surrounded the mountains. Why was that?

Why were there clouds and darkness around Mount Sinai? Because God was there. And if He had shown Himself, and He had shown His glory to all those present, What would have happened? None would have survived. Would have wiped his people out.

His righteousness, injustice, and holiness that are the foundations of his throne. It would have wiped his people out had he not concealed that from them. That is the severity and the extreme grandeur of the Lord's prevailing sovereignty and dominion that he has to cover up his greatness so that people might live. Verse 3 is likely a reference to God's holiness and the consuming fire that it is. Think of in verse 3, think of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 who offered strange fire to the Lord.

They did not honor God as the one who reigns supreme over all. Instead, in church, they worship God on their own terms and fire consumes them. Again, this simply speaks of the intensity of God, His ultimate and serious and devastating holiness. This is the God who reigns, beloved. This is your God.

I was just at the BCI yesterday and the day before, and at the BCI, love the brothers there. There was this little puppet of Jesus. And I'm doing sermon prep on Psalm 97. I'm thinking, That little puppet is not melting any mountains. But God is.

Beloved, there is a reason that we have no graven images in this sanctuary. There's a reason we don't have a picture of Jesus in here. There's a reason we don't have idols. They do not convey the glory and majesty of God rightly. They subtract from Him.

And Psalm 97 says, He is unlike anyone or anything. And this is the God who reigns. So don't play games with the Lord who reigns. Don't play games with Him. In Adab and Abihu, in verse 3, they played games with God, and He consumed them.

The Lord who reigns is a consuming fire. And this Lord melts mountains like wax. You see that there? Verse 5, the mountains melt like wax. I want to ask you a question.

Children, I want you to think about this. Have you ever seen a big mountain children raise your hand if you've seen a big mountain? Okay parents, if your child's not raising their hand, you gotta take them out to the mountains. Because they're not going to understand Psalm 97. Take them out to the mountains.

Okay. I've been to Colorado and I've seen the Rockies. That's pretty impressive. In fact, when you... I've even been in an airplane and you're in an area way above the earth and you can still see these mountains.

They're massive and if you're driving to Colorado, they just pop up out of nowhere, like whoa, they get bigger and bigger. Massive. And they're staggering things. But you know, not even close to the Rocky Mountains are mountains like Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro. Have you heard of those?

I mean, the Rocky Mountains are like nothing compared to those puppies. Mountains like Mount Everest are more likely to take your life than for you to reach the peak alive without help. And you know what, to God they're like? They're like candles! They're like candles.

Mom and Dad, you ever want to worship together as a family? Burn a candle. And watch it start to melt. And then together with your children, fall on your knees and confess your sin and confess your lack of proper fear and reverence for God who melts mountains like their candles by His mere presence. You need a match to melt a candle.

God melts mountains by just being who He is. You get the sense of the grandeur? Of the greatness? Of the Lord's reign over all things? Are you getting it?

He does all of His holy will. He reigns. If His desire is to melt mountains like wax, He does it. And actually, that's exactly what God has been doing. This is exactly what God's been doing.

What does God call the dwelling place of God with His people? Say it again. Seemed like everyone wasn't listening to me. What does God call the dwelling place with His people? He calls it what Zion?

Say it. Oh, Mount Zion. Mountains and mounts are often Old Testament ways of describing peoples and their dwelling places. And Psalm 97 says, all the other mountains, the other nations of the world are melting like wax before the Lord and His gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. As they hear the good news of Christ crucified, risen and now reigning, being proclaimed to them, they're turning from their sins, they're kissing the sun in obedience of faith, they're melting like wax.

They are one by Christ. This is the Lord who reigns. So you don't need to be anxious brothers and sisters. The Lord does not lurch. The Lord who holds you in His hands, He does not sleep.

He does not slumber. The Lord does not even get surprised. He reigns and the heavens declare His glory. All the peoples have seen it. All of creation is declaring His glory.

You've seen it. How will you respond? That's where the psalmist takes us next. How will you respond? The psalmist gives us a word to the wicked and then glad tidings to those who have repented.

That's our second point. We'll move a little faster. Don't worry. The Lord reigns. The gravity of His reign.

We see the gravity of His reign as in verses 7 through 9 God gives a word to the wicked. In verse 7, let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Zion heard this and was glad, and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of your judgment, so Lord. For you are the Lord most high over all the earth.

You are exalted far above all gods. What is the psalmist saying there? Let all those be ashamed, who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols, let all those who practice iniquity, let all those who mock righteousness and applaud abomination, let all those who worship and serve the god of Baal at the temple called Planned Parenthood, Let them all be ashamed in their idle boasting. Let them be distressed and contrite and afraid, for the way of the wicked will surely perish. Have you not read verses 3 through 5?

Have you not heard the extremity of the reign of Christ? I just tried to articulate it for you. Fire goes before Him. He burns up His adversaries. Those who mock, what are they?

They're consumed. Christ Jesus melts mountains like wax at His presence. You need to beware you who mock. Beware you who worship the gods of self and sex and power, the gods of fame. Repent.

You should be distressed, repent or perish, be contrite, be ashamed, and turn and believe. Hear the words of Isaiah, Woe to you who call evil good and good evil. Woe to you who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who justify wicked for a bribe and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right.

Woe to you leaders of America, that's you. And woe to you fathers and mothers in Erlem who do this against your neighbor. Perhaps some in this room. As a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so they who mock will be consumed and blown away as rot and dust. For that is the end of those who mock God." That's Isaiah 5.

That is the fate of those who have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and have despised His Word. They're going to be held to pay. Vengeance is coming upon all those who revel in wickedness. Wrath is coming for all those who mock Christ and His people. Did it not come and rain down in Sodom and Gomorrah upon those who practiced abomination, who loved abomination?

Did it not? Is not the same promised for eternity for those who practice and give hearty approval to those who practice abominations? Are you this morning worried about the wicked prospering? Are you this morning troubled about the unrighteous judges and rulers in our day, in our nation, and around the world? They just seem to be winning, perhaps you think.

Are you worrying about that? Stop worrying. God does not lurch. He does not lurch in His sovereignty. He prevails.

And this is His promise toward evildoers in verses 7 through 9 that we just read. He's not surprised by the abominations of the wicked. He's not in heaven chewing on his nails wondering what he's going to do about lawlessness in Iowa and in America and in nations around the world. He's not chewing a single nail. Then have nails.

He did not lurch when all of Israel hoarded after Baal. God did not panic when there was only One man, Elijah, who stood against the 450 prophets of Baal. You remember this story? God did not tremor in the slightest when there was just one faithful man and 450 men up against him. God did not tremor, and neither did Elijah.

One man against 450 and who won? God did. He came down in fire and consumed the sacrifice that the false God Baal could not because he was too busy on the toilet. That one man Elijah with God defeated all 450 prophets of Baal and the text says in 1 Kings 18 that the 450 prophets were slaughtered. It's exactly as John Knox says, one man with God is always in the majority.

One man with God is always in the majority. So this this morning, this week, this year, are you feeling like Elijah? All the world seems to be embracing madness. All around you seems to prosper. Those who practice abomination, They seem to prosper.

They seem to grow strong. Let me ask you a question. Do you stand with God? Does this church stand with God? If you stand with God, then you stand, and this church stands in the majority.

Christ Jesus who reigns will have the final word. Do not be afraid, beloved of the wicked. Do not be anxious. Do not cower. Do not hide.

Do not fear these earthly judges and authorities who mock you and they mock your Savior. Remember the God who answered Elijah. Remember the judge and the authority of the universe who reigns over them and he tells the wicked and he tells the mockers in Psalm chapter 2 I will break you lawbreakers With a rod of iron I will shatter you, idol worshipers, like pottery." You ever shattered pottery? It's pretty explosive. Pretty easy for the one shattering.

God says, I melt mountains like wax. I'm going to shatter you, law breaker. You mocker like pottery, unless you repent of your mockery and turn to Jesus Christ and kiss the Son that you would not perish. Galatians 6 verse 7 tells us God will not be mocked. He will not be mocked.

And so I say to our leaders, and I think we all do, do you not know, Mr. President, that God will not be mocked in your approval of the evil of transing kids? I know it's low-hanging fruit, I've got to say it. Do you not know, Mrs. Vice President, that God will not be mocked of your wholesale commitment to the murder of the unborn?

Do you not know, congressmen and women in the federal legislature, in the Iowa legislature, that God will not be mocked of your wholesale commitment to the murder of the unborn. Do you not know, congressmen and women in the federal legislature and the Iowa legislature, that God will not be mocked by the way you disregard His law in your legislating? Do you not know, Mayor of Erlum, that God will not be mocked as you govern apart from the fear of the Lord who reigns? There will come a time when all will be accounted for and great and terrible will be the judgment heaped upon the leaders especially, but heaped upon all who have mocked and who have given themselves to falsity. Great and terrible would be the judgment heaped upon lawbreakers.

And as that judgment is being poured out upon lawbreakers, this text tells us that the true worshipers of God will say amen to their eternal agony. That's a little bit hard on this side of eternity, a little hard to grasp. But such is the righteousness and holiness of God, and such as the evil of abomination, that you will stand with God as He pours out righteous judgment upon evildoers, and you will say, amen. And you will rejoice in the righteous judgment of God. That's what verse 8 says.

You'll rejoice in it. I just want to say really clearly, for anyone that is not right with God, God will not be mocked. I talked about the president for a moment, and the vice president, and the legislature, and even the mayor of Erlem. But do you not know hypocrite father, head of households in this room, anyone who is a hypocrite, Fathers and husbands who hide secret sins and pet secret addictions? Do you not know that God sees?

Do you not know that God will not be mocked? You need to repent. Turn away. Flee from the wrath to come. Turn to Christ.

Kiss the Son lest you perish. Do you not know wife and mother who undermines her husband's authority behind his back? Do you not know wife and mother who practices sin in secret or in public. Do you not know that God will not be mocked by your devious sabotages and schemes? Repent and kiss the Son.

Children, children, have you not also heard of this God who is a consuming fire that will not long tolerate your hatred towards your parents. Your hatred towards your parents is put in a list of sins that are all abominations. He will not be mocked, children, in your secret sins. When you close your door at night, when you're just with your siblings, mom and dad don't see, God sees. He will not overlook the ways that you torment your brothers or your sisters when father and mother aren't looking.

He will not be mocked in your heart. Dear ones, you may repent. You may repent and turn from your wickedness and run to Christ, for in Him you will find forgiveness and salvation. You can run to Jesus to make you new, to give you a new heart with new affections that you would worship the God who reigns in gladness. In gladness.

You know, you'll no longer look at God and say, oh! You'll say, oh! And then praise God! You'll say, oh! And stay condemned.

You'll say, oh! Praise God that though I was condemned, I now stand righteous in His sight. And you love Him instead of hate Him. You can come to Christ and your heart be made glad. And that's the final element of Psalm 97.

It describes the reign of the Lord. For the wicked, the reign of the Lord, the reign of Christ is a reign that promises doom unless they repent. But for those whom God has worked repentance and faith in, it's completely the opposite. They are glad. The Lord reigns and we see the gladness here at the end.

The gladness of His reign. And we find this in verses 10 through 12. We see here in 10 through 12 a word to the righteous who are glad and happy and at peace in the Lord who reigns. Hate evil, you who love the Lord. Right?

You love the Lord? Hate evil. Hate evil you who love the Lord, who preserves the soul of His godly ones, who delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name.

Do that this morning. Do that on Tuesday and Wednesday. Let this come out of your fingertips the rest of your days. What's the command here in verse 10 the imperative? Hate evil you who loved the Lord if you love the Lord you will hate what gets in the way of your worship You will hate evil You'll hate your sin You'll hate how God is dishonored in your own life and in the life of the world and all that are in the world.

You hate evil. Why do you love the Lord, Christian? Why do you love the Lord? If you hate evil, you love the Lord. Okay, Yes, I want to hate evil, but why do I love the Lord?

Because He preserves your soul. He delivers you from the hand of the wicked, the text says. But how do you know that He will deliver you from the wicked? How do you know that that's gonna happen? Because He reigns.

And because He's the sower, in verse 11, light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. The Lord is the sower. And you already know the truth about the sower because you've been priest Mark 4. What did Mark 4 tell you? Behold the sower, he's undefeated, he's won, he prevails in his sovereignty.

So what's left for you to do? Well The text says, since the Lord has preserved you, and the Lord is delivering you, He's the sower. What's left up to you? To be glad in Him. To hope in Him.

To be glad in the Lord and give thanks to His holy name. I want you to see this. How does the psalm begin? The Lord reigns. So let all the earth be what?

Glad. And how does the psalm end? You belong to this reigning Lord Christian. So you be glad too. No matter the results of an election, no matter the phone call you get late at night regarding the cancer, no matter what the doctor says is coming down the pike, Your hope is in the Lord.

He will not be shaken. He don't have to be either. Thomas Wilcox, a 17th century Baptist Puritan, he wrote this. These verses teach us first that our hatred and loathing of evil must be a seal of the love of God in our hearts, whose image is so far renewed in us that we loathe that which He hates, and that we love Him in our measure, and that we love good things for His sake. Listen to this.

Second, these verses teach us that God has more than a fatherly care over the lives of those that are His own. And third, that the wicked, for all their power, cannot do what they would like to do against God's children. These two last points should encourage in our hearts that we should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, yet we will fear no evil. How can you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and yet fear no evil. You can't unless the Lord of Psalm 97 is with you.

If He's with you, you're not falling off one side or the other. You're not perishing in that valley until God says so. You've got goodness and mercy following you all the days of your life because Psalm 97, this God walks with you. This Lord reigns and you gladly belong to Him. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil because the Lord who reigns doesn't lurch.

Betrayed by one of his own disciples, denied by his closest friend, left alone as his disciples scattered at his arrest, given a sham trial, whipped, torn, beaten, spit on, mocked, placed on a cross, made a public spectacle, endured the wrath of God being poured out on him for the sins of his people. That's what Jesus endured. Abuse and scorn. With a cry, he yielded up his spirit and he died on a cross next to criminals. A spear tore through his abdomen.

Blood and water pouring out, certifying that in fact, yes, Jesus was dead. His body was wrapped in a linen cloth, sealed in a tomb. If I stop there, you know what you say to that story? Defeat. God has lost.

And the question on everybody's minds, had the evil one, had humanity finally pulled a fast one on God and toppled him off of his throne? What it must have looked like in that moment? What a sad and lousy story it all must have seemed. But then three days later the stone rolled away like wax. Glorious triumph like wax.

Glorious triumph comes out of the tomb and every single Sunday, every single Sunday since, We have been celebrating the grandeur, gravity, and gladness of this King Jesus, the Lord who was crucified, is now risen, and is now reigning, every single Sunday. We remember that story every single Sunday and hopefully every single day. That's how sure this author is. That's how trustworthy this author, God, is. That the gloomiest, most despairing moment in all of history at the cross ended up being the crescendo to the greatest climax the world has ever seen in the resurrection of King Jesus from the grave.

So let me ask you a question as we close. Can you trust the one who is writing your story? You bet you can. Can you trust and hope in the one who is writing your children's story? You bet you can.

Can you trust and hope in the one who is writing your children's story? You bet you can. Can you trust the one who is writing the story of this nation who's been writing stories from before the world began. Yes, you can and you must. Because Christ is risen.

And Christ, the creator of heaven and earth, is reigning. And He writes no bad stories. Be glad Christian, for when you pass through the waters of pain and suffering and death, He will be there. When grief or anxiety threaten to flood over you like a mighty river, He will not let you drown. He holds the pen in His hand and He will not be shaken.

So come what may on Tuesday and Wednesday, come what may, God has decreed it. So wherever God has placed you, in whatever station, here's my exhortation to you, stay at your post. Stay faithful, keep building, Keep hoping, keep trusting, not in chariots, not in horses, not in princes, but in the Prince of Peace. Trust Him. Keep praying, keep reading God's Word, keep obeying His commands, Keep investing, keep sowing, don't grow tired of doing good, for you will reap in due time.

We know the sower. The Lord knows. So rejoice in the Lord always, it says. Be glad. Be glad.

Give thanks to His holy name. Keep pressing on in hope. Keep trusting. And keep singing. You keep singing.

This is your Father's world. Oh, let you ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God, He is the ruler yet. This is your Father's world. He shines on all that's fair. I messed it up.

This is your Father's world. The battle is not done. Jesus who died shall be what? Satisfied. And earth and heaven be one.

You keep singing. The Lord reigns. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this, your word. Out of an abundance of words, I pray, Lord, that your people would obey this command, to hate evil and to be glad in you, the God who reigns.

Work this into us. We want this to come out of our fingertips. We wanna be singing about this when we leave. We want to sing about it now, Lord, so help us sing with full hearts, confident, not in chariots, not in horses, for we trust in the Lord our God. And He is trustworthy.

You are trustworthy. We love you. Make us love you more. Oh, for grace to trust you more. Thank you.

That with you, with Christ, we are more than conquerors. We are in the majority. In His name we pray, amen.