Scripture Reading: Psa. 93—106
Ⅰ
Psalms 93—101 shout joyfully that God will recover His title and right over the earth through the reign of Christ:
A
God is the Possessor of the earth and holds the title deed; He has the full right to claim the earth, and He will do it through the reign of Christ.
B
These psalms reveal that Christ's reign is through the house and city of God—93:5; 96:6; 99:1-2, 9; 100:1-4; 101:8:
１
When Christ reigns, the earth will be established—Psa. 93.
２
Christ will execute His judgment over the world—Psa. 94.
３
Christ will be the great King possessing the earth—Psa. 95.
４
Christ will come to judge the earth, the world, and the peoples with righteousness and truth, and He will reign over the nations—Psa. 96.
５
Christ will reign, and the earth will be glad and rejoicing—Psa. 97.
６
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God—Psa. 98.
７
Christ will reign in Zion, and all the peoples will tremble—Psa. 99.
８
God will give a charge to all the earth—Psa. 100.
９
Lovingkindness and justice will be the base of the reign and judgment of Christ—Psa. 101.
Ⅱ
Psalm 102 is a psalm on Christ, the church, and the restoration:
A
According to Psalm 102, the restoration of Zion and Jerusalem turns the nations to God:
１
Zion here is the Zion that has been rebuilt after its devastation.
２
This rebuilding turns the entire earth with the peoples of all the nations to the Lord.
３
The rebuilding of the church will turn all the nations to the Lord, and the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of God and of Christ—Rev. 11:15.
B
Psalm 102 unveils Christ's death and His existence in His resurrection; the product of Christ's death and resurrection is Zion with God's house and God's city.
C
Christ is the key that turns the earth to the Lord and that recovers God's title and right over the earth:
１
Christ's being the key that turns the earth to the Lord is based upon His suffering—vv. 1-11:
ａ
Verse 7 is a particular verse on Christ's suffering:
⑴
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He, like a lone sparrow on a housetop, would watch and pray, caring for God's interest.
⑵
In His suffering, Christ was a watcher, caring not for His own interest but for the interest of God and of God's house.
ｂ
Christ's suffering was for the producing of the church.
ｃ
The turning of the earth to the Lord is based upon Christ's church-producing suffering.
２
The turning of the earth to the Lord is through Zion, that is, through the church—vv. 12-22:
ａ
The stones typify the believers as the building materials of the church, and the dust, the soil, typifies the ground of the church—v. 14.
ｂ
Through the established and restored Zion all the nations and kingdoms will be brought into the praise and worship of Jehovah; this means that the church turns the world to the Lord—vv. 21-22.
３
Christ is the key that turns the earth to the Lord because of His unchanging existence in His resurrection—vv. 24-27:
ａ
Christ's existence is unchanging throughout all generations because of His resurrection—Acts 2:24; Rev. 1:18; Heb. 13:8.
ｂ
Christ's resurrection enables the church to continue its existence—Matt. 16:18; Acts 1:22; 2:31; 4:2, 33.
Ⅲ
In Psalms 103—106 we have the praising of Jehovah who has recovered His title and right over the earth through the reign of Christ:
A
Psalm 103 speaks of God's history in His lovingkindness and compassions in His forgiving of sins, healing, redeeming, and caring of His people.
B
Psalm 104 is on God's greatness in the creation of the universe and its fullness.
C
Psalm 105 speaks of God's dealing with Abraham and his descendants according to His covenant.
D
Psalm 106 is on God in His dealing with Israel in the wilderness and in the promised land with His favor according to His covenant.
E
The praise of Jehovah in Psalms 103—106 issues in hallelujahs—104:35; 105:45; 106:1, 48:
１
Because the earth has been fully recovered by God, the psalmists break forth with hallelujahs.
２
Christ has been given His rightful position, the church has been built up as God's house and God's city, the recovery of God's title and right over the earth has been accomplished, and the earth has been brought fully under Christ's dominion; now there is nothing for us to say except, "Hallelujah!"