THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE

“If the foundations be destroyed.” The psalmist raises his eyes on high, for that is where his foundations are fixed. He sees, as did the prophet Habakkuk, the Lord in His holy temple, Hab. 2. 20. No matter that the Chaldean, “that bitter and hasty nation”, was coming to devastate his land; all was under the control of the Sovereign of the universe. He sees, as did Isaiah, the Lord upon His throne, Isa. 6. 1. No matter that the good king Uzziah had died, the Lord was still on the throne. The earthly throne may be empty, but the heavenly throne was, and is, eternally filled. This foundation has not changed; circumstances may seem unpropitious, but God has not changed. He has not vacated His throne; He remains faithful.

David’s friends looked to earth alone; he looked up to heaven. They judged by the circumstances of the time; his faith beheld the righteous Governor of the world exercising His sovereignty. On earth, justice may not be executed, but the Eternal Judge never quits His throne in heaven. This throne, this temple, is the place whence comes the ultimate decision of all earthly things. The Lord sitting there is the All-Seeing and the All-Knowing One. Appeal can be made to Him in time of trouble. “In my distress I called upon the Lord … he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him”, Psa. 18. 6. “In his temple doth every one speak of his glory”, 29. 9. It is from His temple that Micah sees the Lord hold inquiry over the sins of His people, Mic. 1. 2.

It is His “holy temple” — “holy” in contrast to earth. The confusion and mistakes of earth cannot enter there. To the eyes that have seen that vision, before which eyes it ever burns, all earthly sorrows and dangers seem small indeed.

For the Christian, that throne has become a “throne of grace”. The Lamb,as newly slain, is in the midst of it, Rev.5. 6, and this fact constitutes it a throne of grace. Therefore, in time of need we can approach that throne, “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”, Heb. 4. 16.

Here, then, is faith. The man who fears is one who measures things by the circumstances of the hour. The man who sees the Lord enthroned, and governing, has no panic.