Somewhere, sometime, somebody coined a proverb. It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind. I guess that excludes the other half of the race, but I'm going to violate that proverb. I have changed my mind. The topic that you see on the screen is not the topic I'm going to address this morning. Instead, I'm going to try to give you a summary of the most important doctrine of the Reformation. And that is the doctrine of God Himself. We in the Reformed faith must honestly admit that our understanding of God is not unique. Almost everything that we believe about God we share with some other community of God's people. But the significance that we attach to the doctrine of God is really the hallmark of the Reformed faith. So much so, that we believe theology, that is the doctrine of God proper, is the overriding and controlling principle that determines everything else that we believe. So while our beliefs are not peculiar or unique to ourselves, The importance that we assign to this doctrine certainly distinguishes the Reformed faith from practically every other branch of the Christian church. A phrase comes to mind from that magnificent musical composition we all know and love, Handel's Messiah. The Lord God, omnipotent reigneth, King of kings and Lord of lords. So that will be the topic. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth, King of kings and Lord of lords. As a basis for our meditation, please turn to Psalm 93. Psalm 93. The Lord reigns He is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed. He has girded himself with strength. Surely the world is established so it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from of old. You are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea. Your testimonies are sure. Holiness adorns your house, O Lord, forever. The grass withers. The flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. We live in a fascinating world, don't we? A world of sometimes bewildering diversity. Could you answer this question? What is the only monarchy on the continent of North America? Very few people in the United States would answer that correctly. It is the Dominion of Canada. Canada is, formally speaking, a monarchy. Elizabeth II, Queen, is the monarch and the official head of state in Canada. So that close to this great republic of the United States, there is a monarchy. A constitutional one, to be sure, but a monarchy just the same. South of us is the Republic of Mexico. And throughout Latin America, a variety of other would-be Republican states, some of them perilously close to dictatorships. There's a great variety in forms of government throughout the world. That's always been the case in history. Humanity never seems to be able to agree. that one form of government is most desirable and ought to prevail everywhere. This much is clear. No two forms of government can exist in the same place and at the same time. The United States could not be both a republic and a monarchy at the same time. Do you know that throughout history most of the people of the world have lived under some form of authoritarian or dictatorial government. That's true. What we have in the United States with limited government and constitutionally protected rights, that is not common in history. It's a relatively recent development peculiar to only a few nations in the world. Most of the countries of the world today have different government than ours. But above, behind, beyond, below, every political form in the world, there is actually but one government. It happens to be the government of God. Perhaps Handel had that in mind. when he had the chorus sing, The Lord God omnipotent reigneth, King of kings and Lord of lords. The concept of monarchy is now in disfavor throughout much of the world, where once there were scores of monarchies, now barely a handful remain. And most of those are constitutional monarchies, where the reigning monarch is actually only the ceremonial head of state. were we to travel to Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We would go to visit the land over which Elizabeth II is the monarch. But even a casual investigation of British government would show us very quickly, while Elizabeth has all the trappings of sovereignty, she is not the actual ruler of a nation. Oh, her name is on everything. And the Royal Navy, they are Her Majesty's ships. The cabinet is Her Majesty's cabinet. There's even Her Majesty's stationary office. Almost everything seems to be in the name of Her Majesty the Queen. Were you to go north to Canada, you could travel on Her Majesty's highway. all in Her Majesty's name. In fact, legally speaking, at least in England, it is not possible to own land outright. If you purchase land, it will say in the deed, you hold this land in trust for Her Majesty the Queen. So in some distant, remote sense, Her Majesty is actually the owner. It's all very amusing to us now, isn't it? Elizabeth certainly looks like a queen, especially when she's in full regalia with a crown upon her head and wrapped in gorgeous robes and a scepter in her hand, sitting upon a throne and receiving the obeisance of her subjects. It's a very impressive scene indeed. But the crucial decisions of state don't occur in Buckingham Palace. They occur at Whitehall in the government offices where the cabinet convenes or at No. 10 Downing Street, residence of the Prime Minister. Oh, he is Her Majesty's chief minister. But in practice, she answers to him more than he answers to her. See, governments throughout the world Even those that are dictatorial are quite limited. We sometimes use the term totalitarian government. There's no such thing, really. There are severely autocratic governments. There are severely cruel dictatorial governments. But there's no government which is absolutely total, except one. There's only one who qualifies as king of kings and lord of lords. He is the one about whom Handel wrote. He is the one about whom we sing. He is the one we love and adore. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. Psalm 93 gives us a picturesque description of His Majesty, the real King. It tells us the Lord reigns. Ah, Elizabeth reigns, does she not? Do not other monarchs reign? Yes, in a sense, but they do not rule. Now that's the catch. They reign, but they do not rule. They sit in splendor, surrounded by all the trappings of authority, but the real authority is in other hands. That does not pertain to the King of Kings. He is not a limited monarch. Some countries in history have had elected monarchies. The so-called Holy Roman Emperor, for example, of the Middle Ages obtained his office by election. The princes gathered together, voted, and chose the emperor. He therefore was greatly limited in his authority because he owed his office to somebody else, to the princes. The king of kings and lord of lords is not a limited monarch. On the contrary, he's a complete, total, and absolute monarch. And when the scripture says the Lord reigns, it does not thereby designate him as a ceremonial figure, but on the contrary, the actual ruler of heaven and earth, of all things he has created. And the Lord is clothed, it tells us. He is clothed with majesty. He is clothed with strength. Again, the monarch of Great Britain has no shortage of majesty. People bow in her presence and regard it a great privilege to do so and hail her as her majesty. She has majesty, but she does not have strength. Because of the limitations of the British Constitution, she is unable any longer to exercise actual rule. Be careful. don't conceive of God in those terms. He is by no means subject to such limitations. On the contrary, He sits in the heavens and administers the affairs of the entire creation. He does as He pleases, when He pleases, where He pleases, and all circumstances. He has girded Himself with strength. He does not depend upon anyone other than Himself. God Almighty is literally almighty. He is the omnipotent creator, the ruler of heaven and earth, unlimited by any of his creatures, and he answers to no one, but everyone must answer to him. Sounds almost un-American. But let the light dawn, folks. God is not an American. and the body of Christ is international rather than national. He has girded himself with strength. He doesn't need to depend upon anyone other than himself. We can do nothing to enhance the well-being of God. That's why God's Word commands us to serve Him through serving others. And when we love God properly, we will love our fellow human beings, our neighbors as ourselves, and by serving the interests of our neighbors, we bring honor to our God. We do not enhance God in any way. We cannot improve the quality of God's life by anything we do, but on the contrary, God alone is entirely self-sufficient. He has girded himself with strength. Surely the world is established so it cannot be moved." Well, technically speaking, the world's moving all the time, isn't it? And this, of course, is not the language of precise science, but it means that the world is exactly in the place where God put it. God is the author of all creation. He has designed this intricate universe and every aspect of the universe testifies to his ingenious creativity. Every star, every planet. Have you ever speculated about the number of the stars? How many stars are there? Would you believe I know? You wouldn't, would you? I dare you, I do know. I know how many stars there are. Exactly enough. Not one too many, not one too few. Exactly enough. Because the ingenious Creator God has placed the stars in their position and He's placed exactly the proper number to accomplish His will. He has girded Himself with strength He has established the world. He has placed the planets in their proper orbits, in their pathway around the sun. The vast universal machine operates under the laws that He has decreed because He's the Lord God Almighty. And the Lord God Almighty reigns and rules everywhere, all the time, over everybody and everything. That should bring us delight. That should encourage us, perhaps, more than any other truth of which we can conceive, that God Almighty is in full control of all that He has made. The earth is not going to collapse beneath us. The stars are not going to all fall from the sky in one great avalanche. Mars and Jupiter are not going to collide. because God is a God of order and has created a cosmic order in which things operate according to his intelligent, yes, intelligent design. So the throne of God presides over the whole creation. It tells us here your throne is established from of old. You are from everlasting. On Earth, Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. Thrones totter and thrones collapse. Sometimes royal heads part company with royal necks. 1791 to be exact in Paris, Louis XVI, had boasted he was the absolute king of France. By that time, he was a prisoner of French revolutionaries. And a kangaroo court sentenced him to death by decapitation. And just like that, the royal head rolled across the platform. And when it did, bizarre souvenir hunters rushed forward with handkerchiefs and dipped them in the royal blood and then offered them for sale at a very high price. He appeared to be a great king. He appeared to have great authority. There was no constitution in the old kingdom of France. In principle, the king would answer to no one but himself, or perhaps on occasion, he might admit, he would answer to God. But he answered to the revolution. and then to God. The throne of God Almighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords is not in danger. To say we live in troubled times is to make perhaps a gross understatement. We have due reason to be seriously concerned about the corrupt condition of Western civilization, including our own nation. We have very good reason to lament the sinfulness which is becoming socially acceptable throughout our society. And we're tempted to throw up our arms in disgust and despair and say, this is the end. The end is going to be in sight. We can't continue this way. Only God knows how much longer we can continue this way. God is amazingly patient. And perhaps of all of his attributes, we should be especially grateful for his patience. that He often delays judgment, giving more and more people opportunity to hear the gospel, to believe it fervently, and to come to forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. how long God is going to tolerate the situation as it is now, only He knows. But let us be prepared that whether the end be soon or far in the distance, that we will be encouraged by our complete confidence in the sovereignty of Almighty God. His throne is established. It's cemented in the heavens. As another psalm tells us, Jehovah has prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all." Aren't you glad it doesn't say, over some? No. His kingdom rules over all. Oh, His enemies are numerous. His enemies are clever, sometimes diabolically so, and they are wickedly vicious. stooping to the most base means to conduct their rebellion. The psalm here likens that rebellion to the activity of a storm roaring at sea. The floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. In your mind's eye, conceive of a vessel at sea. And suddenly a horrendous storm appears upon the horizon. The wind blows at gale force and soon the ocean is a churning cauldron and a little vessel is bobbing up and down this way and that way. And those on board are in danger of perishing in a watery grave. Scripture uses that imagery to portray human rebellion against God. In many ways, the history of the human race is the chronicle of human beings revolting against their sovereign God. But be assured, brothers and sisters, that all who rebel are destined to lose. God is victorious in every engagement. He is never liable to defeat. His throne is established and has been established from everlasting. His kingship is eternal in duration, had no beginning, had no end. There never was a point when God Almighty was not King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There never was a place where His kingship did not envelop the entire created domain. His throne is established and has been well established since eternity. Yet the floods lift up their waves. The floods roar in their anger against their Creator. But the Lord on high is mightier. He is infinitely stronger than those who oppose Him. And when rebels declare war against God, the outcome is never in doubt. Never in doubt. All of those who foolishly shake their fists toward the heavens in defiance of God are doomed to everlasting defeat. They will never prevail. They cannot prevail because God's throne has been established and is established forever. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He's mightier than the mighty waves of the sea. The most powerful forces on earth and in hell, conspiring with all of their might, cannot budge the throne of God even an inch. He remains secure in the heavens and He lasts to scorn those who try to change His condition. And let us remember, this sovereign God, this all-powerful potentate who created the universe and maintains it by His power and rules it by His might, that very God is our Heavenly Father. He has loved us with an everlasting love. With tender kindness, He has drawn us to Himself. He has adopted us into His family and made us His very own. He has promised to hold us in the palms of His hand from which no one can ever pluck us out. We have no reason for despair. However grave our situation may be, however numerous our enemies may become, we have no reason whatever for despair." He turned to John Calvin's Institutes. Perhaps the most potent thing he wrote there is a sentence of three words, God must win. Yes. God must win. Aren't you glad? Amen. God must win. There's no possibility of defeat where God is concerned. Oh, His people may suffer. In His sublime wisdom, He sometimes allows them to suffer terribly. They must endure the persecution of those who hate God and hate God's people. And today, our brothers and sisters suffer cruel persecution. We have a student at our seminary who's been a pastor in Eritrea. And when he left Eritrea, numerous members of his congregation were imprisoned by a Marxist government. Imprisoned in metal packing cages, left exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, with bars on the roof to give them the only ventilation, meager food and water to sustain them, and guards that take delight in provoking them and treating them with maximum cruelty. As disgusting as this sounds, one of the perverse pleasures of the guards is to stand on top of the packing cases and urinate through the grate. That's how some of our brothers and sisters are suffering for Christ today. But they have no reason to despair. God is not ignoring their plight. And God is not ignoring the perversity of their tormentors either. In His own majestic plan, God is bringing all things to a glorious climax, when as we so ardently and often pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That day is approaching. That day is getting closer with every tick of the clock. And therefore, we have every reason to be optimistic and encouraged. Christians ought to be the most optimistic people of all because we already know the end of the story. We don't know what's going to happen in the intervening chapters, but we do know the end of the story. Christ is coming again on the clouds with power and great glory, and every eye shall see Him. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Lord of hosts, and He is coming with irresistible might to subdue all His and our enemies. Of that be well assured. He's coming to judge the earth. He'll judge the earth with righteousness and the peoples with equity. Psalm closes, Your testimonies are very sure. Holiness adorns your house, O Lord, forever. It ends with majesty as it opened with majesty. The testimonies of the Lord are sure and we have the perfect record of those testimonies in written form in our possession in Holy Scripture. Every government dispatches its emissaries throughout the world. The United States appoints an ambassador to Canada, to Mexico, to Ireland, to Israel, et cetera. And so our diplomats go throughout the world representing our government. Same is true of the British government. There's a British ambassador resident in Washington. There's a British governor general at Ottawa in Canada, et cetera, et cetera. Our governor is Jesus Christ. He's not only our governor, He's the King who governs us. And we have the inestimable privilege of being His diplomats. We are ambassadors for Christ. And He dispatches us to all the nations of the world, there to represent His interest. There as ambassadors to proclaim His Word. there to call people to submit eagerly to his kingship. Because the world at large is in a state of animosity toward his creator. The most urgent need of human beings today is to be reconciled with God. And that's the ministry of Christ's ambassadors. We are to represent Christ as agents of reconciliation, bringing hopeless people hope, bringing damned people salvation, bringing oppressed people liberation, as they turn to Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who actually reigns and actually rules everywhere, all the time, over everything and everyone. by privilege to have served a brief time in the United States Navy. And our ship was once docked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. And on the other side of the pier was a destroyer from the Royal Navy flying the British flag. And as the British seamen came off the ship to enjoy liberty in the city, they dressed in their best uniforms, and on every cap there were these initials, OHMS, On Her Majesty's Service. And every seaman in the Royal Navy is expected to conduct himself in such a way as to bring honor to his monarch. Wherever he goes in uniform, he has the stern reminder he is always on Her Majesty's service. How much more does that apply to us? We are on His Majesty's service all the time. It's our solemn responsibility to live according to His laws. It's our obligation to proclaim His word. It's our obligation to be Christ-like in our deportment, in our speech, in our thinking, in all of our activity. Because everywhere we go, we are on His majesty's service. And we are the ambassadors of the victorious king. the king who came once, entered history literally, and literally is coming again to bring history to a spectacular climax. And then with Handel, we'll be able to shout exuberantly, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Let us pray. Our God, we are almost overwhelmed with gratitude. How wonderful it is to enjoy the encouragement of knowing that we are subjects and servants of the sovereign of the universe. We're so delighted that your power is not limited, but you, on the contrary, accomplish everything that you please. And when you send forth your word, it does not return void, but it prospers in the places where you place it. And thank you for putting that word in our hands. Thank you for commissioning us as ambassadors for Christ and sending us to the nations of the world to proclaim the kingship of our sovereign Savior. And thank you, we can tell lost people there is hope. Ah, yes, there is hope. There is hope in Christ, the hope of the world. And those who turn to Him in faith will enjoy the forgiveness of sins, the gift of everlasting life, and the assurance of eternal victory through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Amen.