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The God Who Rules
Fred R. Coulter
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For the most part, we've cover things in the Old Testament, and this time we want to cover the Holiness of God and:
- wrath
- fear
- power
- majesty
- greatness
- life
Then we have to get into the New Testament and see the Holiness of God and how it relates to being a Christian. Most of these are relating to God in the Old Testament as the God Who rules over rather than in the New Testament where we are a part of God's Family. There's a difference in all of it.
Holiness and Wrath:
Let's get some perspectives concerning God and wrath. God is patient, kind and longsuffering. The Bible says that God is a God of love. But also the Bible says that 'the wages of sin is death.' When we have death there's suffering, and suffering is miserable. I don't care who goes through it, it's miserable. God is the only One Who knows whether it is just or unjust, because God is the One Who brings it. Let's see why God brings about things like this. Let's just view this as it's happening in America today, as if this were America:
Ezekiel 5:5: "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'This is Jerusalem. I have set it in the midst of the nations. And she has rebelled against My ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her…'" (vs 5-6).
That's exactly what is happening with the American judicial system and the way that we live. They cannot even get into a schoolbook the fact that there is God. They will insist to teach evolution. We cannot even define when human life begins. We cannot define what is perversion. I'm talking about in a judical system. God's Word tells us what perversion, adultery, fornication, murder, wickedness and all these things are. But the world can't.
When they reject God then God turns them over to certain things. This is exactly what happened here.
"…for they have rejected My judgments and My laws; they have not walked in them" (v 6). We can see the same thing today. If you went down here to Los Angeles City Hall and said to the mayor, 'I have a perfect outline on how to run this city.' Hand him a Bible and all the parts that are marked red make all of these the statutes and judgments of Los Angeles. Be sure to take them down to the police department, the detective department and have them run all their departments according to what principles you find in here, and you will get rid of all the criminals. I don't know if they would even do a news story that it occurred. Same thing here, refuse to walk in them!
Verse 7: "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in My laws, neither have kept My judgments, nor have done according to the judgments of the nations all around you.'" In other words, so bad that it's worse than all the rest of the nations.
Verse 8: "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I, even I, am against you…'" When you come up and have God against you, that's a pretty tough 'row to hoe'!
"…and will carry out judgments in the sight of the nations. And I will do in you that which I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again because of all your abominations…." (vs 8-9). This has to be at the end-time. This ties in with what Jesus said, 'There would be such tribulation that there was not since there was a nation, no nor ever shall be.' That's the same time.
"'…Therefore, the fathers shall eat the sons in your midst, and the sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments in you, and I will scatter the whole remnant of you into all the winds. Therefore, as I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore, I will also diminish you; neither shall My eye spare you, nor will I have any pity" (vs 8-11).
That's a pretty tough situation when God has to use all of His power, and that it is so bad that God says that He won't pity! He won't spare!
Verse 12: "A third part of you shall die with the plague…"—sickness and disease. We have it right among us, and we could easily have a third of the nation die.
"…and shall be consumed with the famine in your midst. And a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. Thus shall My anger be fulfilled, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted. And they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in My zeal, when I have fulfilled My fury upon them" (vs 12-13). That's really quite an awesome time that's coming; it really is!
When I go to Los Angeles and drive around the city and see all the people, you really get a feeling of what's happening. You can just kind of feel all of this kind of thing building up and building up! You wonder why it seems to just keep going; because it's going to come to the time when God is going to intervene and He's going to take care of it.
Verse 14: "And I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by. So, it shall be a reproach and a taunt, a chastening and an astonishment to the nations which are all around you, when I shall execute judgments against you in anger and in fury and in raging rebukes; I the LORD have spoken it" (vs 14-15).
When it gets down to where "…I the LORD have spoken it" and it goes through all the book of Ezekiel talking about "…I the LORD have spoken it." Then He says that He will answer them face-to-face.
Everyone wonders what God is going to do about the Russians. Here's what He's going to do about them; He's saving them for a special time. I think if we saw how much that the Russians demand; they're not willing to negotiate. If former Pres. Reagan wanted to negotiate about the 'Star Wars' program, they would say, 'You can't have it.' When they have rejected God, they set themselves up as God; so God has a special something for them:
Ezekiel 38:18: "And it shall come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,' says the Lord GOD, 'My hot anger will be aroused. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken…'" (vs 18-19).
Remember how we went through and saw the Holiness of God as related to what we call fire, anger, wrath and zeal?
"'…"Surely in that day there shall be a great quaking in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men on the face of the earth, shall quake at My presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." And I will call for a sword against him upon all My mountains,' says the Lord GOD. "Each man's sword shall be against his brother'" (vs 19-21). It's going to be just like in the days of Hezekiah. They're going to just start fighting each other. It's going to be a mad mess when that takes place.
Verse 22: "And I will judge him with pestilence and with blood. And I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself. And I will have Myself known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD" (vs 22-23).
When you go through that and read this, these are pretty tough sayings. When someone said, 'Let's have the Kingdom of God; let's have the Day of the Lord,' Jesus said, 'What is it to you? It's a day of wrath, destruction and gloominess. Why do you desire it?' You can see why!
Holiness and Fear:
There's a certain fear, reverence and awe of God that the Holiness of God should inspire to us.
Psalm 89:5: And the heavens shall praise Your wonders, O LORD, Your faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints, for who in the heavens can be compared with the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD? God is greatly to be feared in the congregation of the saints and to be held in reverence by all who are round about Him" (vs 5-7).
We are to have that kind of fear though we are in a family relationship with God the Father. We are still to have that fear toward God.
Psalm 111:9: "He sent redemption unto His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name…. [part of the very name of God; part of His very existence] …The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever" (vs 9-10).
This shows us that only God is Holy. When you get in mind how absolutely fantastic the glory of God is, and that He offers that to us. That's really quite a thing to just sit down and think about and mediate.
Psa. 2 reminds me of the news every day. I can't get this out of my mind when I sit down and watch the news; this is something!
Psalm 2:1: "Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?" That's about all we see on the television news. We see all the heathen raging in this riot, that strike, demanding, this movement and that war; it's amazing that people no longer have to work for anything or do anything, they just demand it. They have a riot! And every time I see the news I can't get it out of my mind how the heathen rage!
Verse 2: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Christ, saying, 'Let us break Their bands asunder and cast away Their cords from us.'…. [in other words, they don't want any control of God] …He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD scoffs at them" (vs 2-4). No one can go against God!
Verse 5: "Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and in His fury He terrifies them. 'Yea, I have set My king upon Zion, My Holy mountain. I will declare the decree of the LORD. He has said to Me, "You are My Son; this day I have begotten You."'" (vs 5-7). Think about that in relationship to us being begotten of God in this day, in this time and so forth.
Verse 8: "Ask of Me, and I shall give the nations for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be admonished O judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling" (vs 8-11). Note: Isa. 2—God is going to arise and shake the earth mightily in His majesty, power and glory! And He's going to!
Holiness and Power:
We're going to see some more about the Holiness of God and power. This is the Song of Moses. I've never heard that someone has set this to music. On the Sea of Glass it says that we're going to sing the Song of Moses.
Exodus 15:1: "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying…" after they went through the Red Sea and it closed up against all the Egyptians and so forth.
"…'I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will glorify Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him'" (vs 1-2).
It's quite a amazing how the Israelites would fluctuate from praising God to rebelling against God. It's just almost inconceivable how they could do that, but they did!
Verse 3: "The LORD is a Man of war; Jehovah is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them; they sank into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power…." (vs 3-6).
Here we have the glory of God and the power of God, and God's glory is demonstrated through His very power.
"…Your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellency You have overthrown them that rose up against You. You sent forth Your wrath, consuming them like stubble. And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap… [they walked through them] …the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them'" (vs 6-9).
Here's a good lesson: When a person becomes so hardhearted against God, they will go against the obvious odds. Just stop and think that if you saw the Red Sea open up, and if you were Pharaoh or the soldiers, you would think, 'No! There's not anyway that I'm going to through there! I'm not going down in there!' But God gave them over to their own lusts and they went down in!
Verse 10: "But, You blew with Your wind; the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in Holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them. You in Your mercy have led forth the people, which You have redeemed. You have guided them in Your strength unto Your Holy habitation. The people shall hear; they shall tremble. Pangs of sorrow shall take hold on the people of Philistia" (vs 10-14).
One of these days it's going to happen again when Christ returns. I just want you to notice v 11, especially: "…glorious in Holiness…" That has to do with the power of God and so forth.
Psalm 21:8: "Your hand shall find all Your enemies; Your right hand shall find those who hate You. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them" (vs 8-9).
I rather have a fiery trial is what this is talking about. The fire that God is talking about here is reserved for the enemy.
Verse 10: "Their offspring shall You destroy from the earth, and their descendents from among the sons of men; for they intended evil against You; they imagined a wicked thing which they are not able to perform" (vs 10-11).
- they can't get rid of God
- they can't stop God
- they can't make Him go away
God is almighty and glorious!
Verse 12: "For You shall make them turn their back; You shall aim Your arrows upon Your strings against their faces. Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; so we will sing and praise Your power" (vs 12-13).
God's Holiness, power and all of those things are just absolutely magnificent! I think it's interesting going through this series how many of these we have covered that are in the Psalms; how many Scriptures that we have covered that are in the Psalms. It will help you understand how really close that David was to God.
Psalm 147:5: "Great is our LORD and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite."
Psalm 145:8: "The LORD is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."
We need to also get that in there in relationship to God. Sometimes we can get so focused on the power of God, the vengeance of God and the wrath of God, that we forget the love, grace and mercy that God has.
Verse 9: "The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O LORD; and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power" (vs 9-11). That's going to be quite something!
I'm still looking forward to the day when we will be there as spirit beings with Christ, and we will see the very power of God. That is going to be absolutely just breathtaking! It really will! I was quite surprised in just going through and working up this sermon how much it has to do with the Psalms.
Psalm 66:3: "Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies submit themselves in obedience to You. All the earth shall worship You and shall sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name.' Selah" (vs 3-4). That's going to be quite a thing! Can you imagine that when the Kingdom of God is on the earth and all nations are this way toward God:
- everyone keeping the Sabbath
- everyone keeping the commandments of God
I can hardly imagine what the world and society is going to be like when that takes place; that's going to be something!
Too many times we drive along or we watch the news and we hear of things and the world is just so overwhelmed with evil and wickedness that it just takes your breath. When you think that the whole world is going to be like that—described in vs 3-4—that's going to be something!
Verse 5: "Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men. He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the river on foot… [reiterating about the children of Israel coming out of Egypt] …there we rejoiced in Him. He rules by His power forever…" (vs 5-7). So, as God is Holy, God has power! God rules by His power!
It's quite interesting how God rules by His power. It doesn't necessarily mean that He's take a hand and ruling with His power all the time. Whatever God does is indicative of His power.
Just like we discussed about this thing of AIDS; that also demonstrates the power of God. Is He ruling in their lives? Yes, He is! They won't repent and follow the commandments of God, so God still rules in His power! They are powerless!
Talk about some of these hurricanes and floods that we've seen. God said that He would send His correction! I tell you, when you get out there and are up against some of these storms you can see the mighty power of God. He still rules with His power!
"…His eyes keep watch upon the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah" (v 7). God knows what's going on all the time! It says that He has 'seven eyes that go to and fro on the earth' (Rev.). Those let Him know what's going on all the time.
I think that understanding about the Holiness and power of God makes us realize that God is involved in this world, that God is involved in our lives, and that God is not just off somewhere and He's just sort of given man over to be cutoff from God for 6,000 years, and God has nothing to do with the world or anything. No! God upholds the world by the word of His power!
- the sun is there because of God's power
- God intervenes and cuts off the wicked
- God intervenes to bless the righteous
All of that is all a part of God's way. God intervenes to bless the righteous, and all of that is part of God's way.
Holiness and the Majesty of God:
Psalm 8:1: "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens!" That's why when David went through this Psalm and said:
Verse 3: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained." Living in the cities that we live in today with smog, all the lights, we can't get out and see the stars like God intended us to.
We're told that down in Texas the stars are closer there than any place on earth. It seems like it. I don't know what it is about the atmosphere there, but you get out in some of the darker places in Texas and you can see the stars. You see the stars and moon and really think about it and meditate on, you do just like David said here:
Verse 4: "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?" Think about that in relationship to our calling. Who are we, or what are we that God would call us? God has called us! I'm not going to argue with that! I'm not going to ask God why!
- He's called us!
- He's visited us!
- He's given us of His Spirit!
That's a fantastic thing, that we could be partakers of His Holiness. We're going to see in the New Testament how much Holiness is part of Christian living, part of our relationship with God.
Psalm 96:1: "O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people, for the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the nations are idols; but the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary" (vs 1-6).
That's going to be something to see, the sanctuary of God! Think of all the beautiful things that we can have on the earth, and that's just a small, little token of some of the beautiful things that God has made and created. It's going to be absolutely phenomenal!
Verse 7: "Ascribe to the LORD, O you kindreds of the people; give to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; bring an offering and come into His courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of Holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns…'" (vs 7-10).
That's the first hymn that I ever had in mind was Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness. That's really quite something! You think about that in relationship to praying, studying and thinking on God. This will help you to draw closer to Him. God will seem more real; God's power, beauty and majesty will seem more a part of your life, your mind and your thoughts; if you really keep this in mind and take these things to heart.
Psalm 93:1: "The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty…" That's part of the Holiness and the majesty of God!
The Holiness of God's Greatness:
I don't think there's anything that we can really say that is going to magnify the greatness of God. I don't think that it is possible for us to really comprehend the greatness of God. Greatness is a relative thing; it's relative to how great you think you are. People who think they are great won't think that God is so great. That's why God dwells with the humble, one of a contrite spirit and trembles at His Word.
Psalm 95:3: "For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods…. [How great is He?] …In His hand are the depths of the earth…" (vs 3-4).
We drive on Hwy 1 and can look out and see the Pacific Ocean. I thought: Who would know just standing here that that's 12,000 miles across, just one way! How broad is the ocean? How deep is the ocean? "In His hand are the depths of the earth…"
"…the peaks of the mountains are also His. The sea is His, and He made it, and His hands formed the dry land" (vs 4-5). That's why it's good to get out and see some of the creation of God. Drive around and see the magnificent mountains and everything that God has made. They all glorify God!
Verse 6: "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would but hearken to His voice" (vs 6-7).
How does a person soften their heart to hear? By seeing the greatness of God and what He's made and created, and God's great plan and purpose!
1-Chron. 29 talks about the time just before the temple was to be built. Let's see the attitude that is really indicative of what we are talking about, and what David told his son Solomon:
1-Chronicles 28:9: "And you, Solomon my son, acknowledge the God of your father and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind…" That's one thing we can do; a perfect heart is a sincere heart, sincerely dedicated to finding God and His way.
"…for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you. But if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Take heed now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary…." (vs 9-10).
1-Chronicles 29:10: "And David blessed the LORD before all the congregation. And David said, 'Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel our Father, forever and ever." Notice how he starts out this prayer; note Matt. 6:9[transcriber's correction] where he shows the prayer we are to give, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.' How do you hallow God's name?
Verse 11: "O LORD, Yours is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and, the majesty… [all referring the power and love of God] …for all in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all." Quite a way to address God. It's a humbling, inspiring and uplifting prayer!
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Verse 12: "And the riches and the honor are from You, and You reign over all. And in Your hand is power and might. And it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?…." (vs 12-14)—because he called for the offering and they just brought all kinds of gold, silver and even things of iron and so forth to build.
"…For all things are from You, and we have given to You that which is Yours" (v 14). In other words, he's saying, 'God, we went out and got these things, but that all came from You that You gave to us in the first place.
Verse 15: "For we are strangers before You, and pilgrims, as our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and none abides…. [compared to God] …O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build You a house for Your Holy name comes from Your hand and is all Your own" (vs 15-16).
Go ahead and finish the prayer, but it's really quite a profound prayer. You read these prayers of David and you can understand why he was a man after God's heart.
Holiness of God and Life:
Let's see what Christ gave up to become a human being.
Philippians 2:5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." This is how we can have that perfect mind and willingness that God wants us to have.
Verse 6: "Who, although He existed in the form of God…" Think about all the things that we have covered about being in the form of God:
- the glory
- the majesty
- the power
- the righteousness
"…did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men, and took the form of a servant; and being found in the manner of man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (vs 6-8).
The more I think about that, and the more that I study God's Word, the more magnificent that this act of what Christ did for us really becomes. When you understand what He left, what He willing gave up, and divested Himself of all of this and became just as a human being, not just human only but suffered human death so that we would not have to die forever. That's really absolutely magnificent!
Verse 9: "Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (vs 9-11).
God is going to share this glory, the Holiness, this majesty with us! That's quite a hope, really quite a hope that we have, that God would do this for us!
All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in It's Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter
Scriptural References:
- Ezekiel 5:5-15
- Ezekiel 38:18-23
- Psalm 89:5-7
- Psalm 111:9:10
- Psalm 2:1-11
- Exodus 15:1-14
- Psalm 21:8-13
- Psalm 147:5
- Psalm 145:8-11
- Psalm 66:3-7
- Psalm 8:1, 3-4
- Psalm 96:1-10
- Psalm 93:1
- Psalm 95:3-7
- 1 Chronicles 28:9-10
- 1 Chronicles 29:10-16
- Philippians 2:5-11
Scriptures referenced. Not quoted:
- Isaiah 2
- Matthew 6:9
FRC:bo Transcribed: 4/12/16
