Psalm 66:7 He rules by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. I. THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD IS SUSTAINED BY OMNIPOTENCE. When revolutions rise, and changes take place in the empires of the world which affect the condition of millions now living, and which shape the destiny of coming generations, it is sheer folly to ascribe them solely or chiefly to the restlessness of the peoples, to the despotism of monarchs, or to the policy of statesmen. They are signs that the Divine power rules over, and that the Divine hand works out the destinies of men. He can curb the impetuous passions of men, or turn them into a channel in which they shall work out His great designs in complete, though unconscious, subservience to His will; He can put a hook in leviathan's jaw, and cast down Antichrist from his seat; He can control the whirlwind in its stormy path, and check the mad fury of a long-oppressed people; He can arrest the lightning in its rapid flight and hush to silence the deep-voiced thunder; and He can stop the deadlier bolts of war and bid the angry nations be at peace. II. THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD IS ONE OF UNIVERSAL OVERSIGHT. There is nothing, however great or trivial, which can transpire in His wide domain unobserved by Him. All events pass under His eye. All objects, the vast and the minute alike, are present to His view. "He telleth the number of the stars." "The very hairs of our head are all numbered." God is everywhere, omnipresence as well as omnipotence "belongs" to Him. III. THERE ARE REBELS AGAINST THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT, 1. The exaltation of the creature may be through pride, through ambition, through vain desire, through unholy presumption, but whatever may be the secret feeling that prompts it, or whatever the form which it takes, the eye of God sees it, and His power can crush it when He will. It is vain for any of us, even in our most secret soul, to set ourselves against Him, for He track- the rebellious thought to its remotest hiding-place within us, nay, He knows it in its first formation in the chambers of the heart. 2. Man's opposition to His Maker is as unreasonable as it is futile and hopeless. Why should we set ourselves against His law? Is He not our best Friend, our constant Benefactor, our loving Father? Is not His rule the rule of righteous love? Is not His throne the throne of grace? Is not His law a law of liberty, and in keeping of it is there not great reward? (F. Stephens.) Parallel Verses KJV: He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. |
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