Psalm 45:6 "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre."
It is most important to take notice of the tense of verbs in anything we read,
but especially when reading God's Word. There are those who are waiting
for Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. There are those who wait for Him to sit
upon an earthly throne. That teaching speaks of a future tense in which it
could be done at a future time. Here is the importance of verb tenses. Let us
read this verse, paying attention to the tense of the verbs. "Thy throne...
IS for ever." Was the Lord sitting upon His throne at the time David wrote
this Psalm? It sure seems that way if you pay attention to the tense of
the verb. Then we read, "... the sceptre of thy kingdom IS a right
sceptre." I acknowledge the stressing of the verb, "is" is
my addition to the copy of the verse. I do not profess to be an English
grammar teacher, but if I remember the lesson concerning verb tenses, the word
"is" is present tense.
Why do I stress this thought? If I am waiting for Jesus to sit upon a
throne, then I am not seeing Him as He truly is today. David acknowledged
the fact that "God is." In reality, there was never a "God
was" or a "God will be." When He appeared to Moses, He announced
Himself to be, "I AM THAT I AM." He did not say, "I was
the One Who appeared to Abraham announcing, "I am the Almighty God."
He was saying, "I am that Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob." He did not change for David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul,
James, or John. He has not changed for you or me today.
Some might say, "But that was speaking of the Old Testament God, and you
are writing about the New Testament, Jesus." Well, let's see what
the Bible says about the "New Testament, Jesus." We read in
John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God." Who is that "Word" of Whom John
writes? "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth." (John 1:14) Yes, that Word is Jesus. What else do
we read about Jesus in the New Testament? "Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)
Why is this important for us today? We are told to pray unto the Father through
the name of Jesus. If we are waiting for a future time when He takes authority,
then we pray through a weakened name. The Word of God teaches me that my
Saviour, Jesus the Christ, rules and reigns (present tense) yesterday, today,
and forever. You can take those yesterdays all the way back even before
Genesis 1:1 and you can definitely take those for evers beyond Revelation
22:21. We pray to the Father through the exalted name of His only begotten Son,
our only Saviour, and the One Who now sits upon His throne in full authority.
One more quick point. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:24, "Then cometh
the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
Father..." It is understood this chapter of 1 Corinthians speaks to
us of the final resurrection at the end of time. What is going to take place at
that moment? The Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven) is going to be delivered
up. It will be delivered because the kingdom has already been established
in the earth. It is a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost. See Romans 14:17. It is a kingdom where Christ reigns and rules in the
hearts of His people. Do not look forward to that kingdom, seek His
kingdom now and receive the blessings of peace and joy in Christ.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) Again, what is
the tense of the verb seek? The kingdom of God is a very present Kingdom and
worth our seeking right now.