Where is God’s throne?
(Psalms 8; 47; 75; 78; 97; 100; 105) Blog Jan. 14-20, 2024
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: The Psalms give us numerous examples of how to approach God in song, in poem, in prayer, or in praise. As part of Holy Scripture, they instruct us in paths of righteousness and teach us to bring all our joys and complaints to God.
God’s Covenant
1. When God created humankind what covenant did he make with Adam, their federal representative? The covenant God made with Adam, our federal head, offered eternal life on condition of obedience or eternal death for disobedience (Gen. 2:15-17; Rom. 5:14).
2. What right did God have for making a unilateral covenant with Adam, our representative? As our Creator, God had every right to make a covenant with Adam that was unilateral in origin, for he alone made us & not we ourselves (Psa. 8:3-6; 100:3; 119:73).
3. When Adam chose to break God’s covenant, what did God do? God, in the person of Jesus Christ, stepped in between the death penalty & mankind, pledging to make atonement for the broken covenant. This opened a covenant of grace in which the believer takes hold of Jesus as his Substitute (Gen. 3:15; Psa. 78:37-38; 1 Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:7-8).
4. What does God include in his covenant of grace? In addition to righteousness, God includes mercy in his covenant of grace for even the righteous fall short of God’s glory (Psa. 25:1-11; 85:10; 89:14; Prov. 20:28; Jer. 31:31-34; Rom. 3:23).
5. What other term is used to refer to God’s covenant? God’s covenant is also referred to as God’s Law because the Ten Commandments are the words of God’s covenant (Deut. 4:13; 1 Chron. 16:15-17; Psa. 78:1-10; 103:18; 105:7-10; Jer. 31:33; Hos. 8:1).
6. What is the attitude of the psalmist towards God’s Law? The psalmist, like all the righteous, loves & meditates on God’s Law continually (Psa. 1:2; 119:47, 97).
7. What right does God have to give a law to his people that they are to observe? God’s right to give a law to his people is that he is their sovereign King, the One who created & delivered them (Psa. 47:1-9; 95:1-6; Acts 17:24-28).
8. Why is it that the righteous love and continually meditate on God’s Law? The righteous continually love & meditate on God’s Law because through faith in their Substitute they are counted as perfect doers of God’s Law & God’s Law shows that he is their sovereign King who does everything right & shows them how to live (Gen. 15:6; Psa. 27:1, 13; 106:1-12; 119:97-100; 2 Tim. 3:15).
God’s Throne
9. How does the psalmist view God’s throne and kingly rule? The psalmist sees God’s throne as eternal & his rule as supreme (Psa. 10:16; 29:10; 45:6; 47:1-9; 93:1-2; 95:3-5).
10. What two parts make up the word “sovereign”? The word “sovereign” ends with the word “reign” & begins with the Latin root for the word “over”. So sovereign means to rule over (Jud. 8:23).
11. According to the psalmist, where is God’s throne? God’s throne is in heaven for he rules over the entire universe (Psa. 11:4; 103:19).
12. If God is a sovereign Ruler what should we desire to know? If God is our Sovereign, we should desire to know his will (Psa. 40:8; 143:10).
13. Where does God succinctly make known his will? God succinctly makes known his will in the law of Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-172 Kings 21:8; Psa. 40:8; Isa. 30:9; Rom. 2:17-18).
God as Judge
14. Since humanity fell from obedience and not all desire to do God’s will, what must God do before sin is eliminated from the universe? God must divide the righteous from the unrighteous in judgment (Psa. 1:5-6; 9:7-8; 50:4-6; 75:7-10; 96:13).
15. On what basis does God judge people? Righteousness & truth are the standard of God’s judgment. These are spelled out in his Law & in his Word (Psa. 96:13; John 17:17; Rom. 2:12).
16. To which member of the Godhead is judgment especially committed? To Jesus God has committed the work of judging (Dan. 7:13; John 5:22; 2 Cor. 5:10).
17. What qualifies Jesus to be our Judge? Because Jesus is our Creator & took our nature, he is qualified to be our Judge (Psa. 45:6-7; John 1:1-3; 5:27).
18. What hope do we have of passing God’s judgment? Our only hope is in the mercy of God & our only defense is to pray that God would accept the righteous life of Jesus in place of our sin-stained life (Psa. 89:14-16; Isa. 16:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Jam. 2:10-13).