Catechesis Notes for the Week —Psalm 99—A Prayer to Trust that the Lord Reigns in the Earth—It is difficult to believe that the Lord reigns over all the earth especially when the world in which we lives seems so chaotic and the rule of Law and civil justice are turned upside down. The psalmist declares what might appear contrary to human reason: “The Lord reigns; Let the peoples tremble!” God reigns in the civil realm, but not necessarily in the way that we might think is good. Civil authorities may use the power that God grants them for good or evil purposes. Why would He permit injustice and evil? Could it be that the nations of the earth are to suffer the consequences of their godlessness and rebellion against God? Could it be that when the kingdoms of this world oppress the truth, that God raises up His Church to give hope and comfort to the afflicted that the world cannot give? Could it be that when the Church suffers in this world that she is most like her Lord whose suffering and death procured the world’s salvation? Could it be that oppression, persecution, and suffering reveal who is faithful to the Lord and who is not? In the Old Testament, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were faithful in the face of hostility and opposition both from civil authorities and from false brethren within the Old Testament Church. Throughout their ministries the Lord dwelt between the Cherubim of the Tabernacle for the salvation of His people, and when they called upon Him, He kept His promises and delivered them. There was no civil realm that could overpower them, nor did He ever withhold salvation from them when they called upon Him in repentant faith. They also learned through what they suffered that He was for them the “God-Who-Forgives” and to respond to the evils of their age by worshipping at His holy hill.

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