The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea— the LORD on high is mighty. Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days, O LORD.
Remember this old adage? “In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Sounds like something Will Rogers or Mark Twain might have said but actually it was Benjamin Franklin. Don’t forget, America’s War of Independence started over taxes, and Franklin was right in the thick of it. But that’s another story.
It’s a good thing Ben added the caveat “in this world” because in the universe the most immutable fact of all is the one that opens Psalm 93. The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength.
But as current news reports indicate, there’s more in the air than just the snowflakes that bring a white Christmas to many parts of the world. There’s also a real flurry of denial. Seems like some folks just don’t like it that Christmas is a celebration of the fact that God came to Earth as a babe in a manger and grew up to become the Man who died to save us from our sins.
Like the ostrich that buries its head in the sand, or the two year old who covers her eyes thinking that way she can’t be seen, these anti-Christians think that if they deny the fact loudly enough it’ll cease to be true. That’s why they mount ever more aggressive campaigns to secularize the season even in the “Christian” West, banning manger scenes, carol singing, and even Christmas trees in our public venues.
Of course in many parts of the world, penalties for public celebration by Christians are much more severe than the mere violation of civil laws, something we in the West would do well to remember. Millions of believers in Africa, China, and India would love to simply speak His name out loud without fear of serious, even life threatening repercussions.
But Christmas is our time to shout it from the rooftops, and whether we accept December 25 as the Lord’s actual birth date or not, those of us who still can should fight with all our strength to retain the right to do so, if only in a show of solidarity with those who can’t. No greater truth has ever come into the world. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let Earth receive her King!