Thursday, August 3, 2023

Psalm 97

 1The Lord reigns;

Let the earth rejoice;

Let the multitude of isles be glad!

2Clouds and darkness surround Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

3A fire goes before Him,

And burns up His enemies round about.

4His lightnings light the world;

The earth sees and trembles.

5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,

At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6The heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the peoples see His glory.

7Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,

Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.

8Zion hears and is glad,

And the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your judgments, O Lord.

9For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;

You are exalted far above all gods.

10You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the souls of His saints;

He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

11Light is sown for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.

12Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Commentary

Vs. 1 The Lord reigns;

Let the earth rejoice;

Let the multitude of isles be glad!

This Psalm celebrates and declares the Lord Jesus Christ’s Reign! Calling all the earth to rejoice and be glad for His dominion will be from “sea to sea”, from the New Jerusalem outward He shall Reign over all!

Vs. 2Clouds and darkness surround Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Though clouds and darkness surround Him His ways will be known to all, for righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. The world then will only know these in their unadulterated fullness when He Reigns.

Vs. 3-5A fire goes before Him,

And burns up His enemies round about.

4His lightnings light the world;

The earth sees and trembles.

5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,

At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

The Lord Jesus Christ’s Judgment is now declared as a fire that goes before Him, a fire that burns up His enemies round about. All those who have rejected Him shall now know His wrath (2 Thess. 1:8). People will not blasphemy His Name, nor take it in vain any longer. The evilly confident and complacent sinner will now fear. They will not talk proudly of their wicked deeds on His Day (consider Isaiah 2:10-22; 13:9-13; 26:20-21). For they will now personally experience His wrath by His power. Indeed all the world will see His lightening’s light the world, even the earth sees and trembles. All creation will fear Him. Even the once exalted and seemingly immovable mountains will now melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, for the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord of all the earth

Vs. 6The heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the peoples see His glory.

The heavens on His Day will declare His righteousness; that He alone has done it all, that He has redeemed all who believe in Him whom the God the Father gave Him, that He has redeemed all of Israel whom God the Father choose for Him. All peoples will see His glory as He now reigns over us all!

Vs. 7Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,

Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.

Who then would dare worship an idol, a molded image made by man in the likeness of mankind or creation. Let them all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. For there is only One God and He will not give His glory to another!

Vs. 8Zion hears and is glad,

And the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your judgments, O Lord.

When Zion hears the Lord Jesus Christ they will be glad just as daughters of Judah will rejoice because the whole world is now ruled by the Lord's Judgments (Isaiah 11:9; 42:11; Habakkuk 2:13-14 etc.). Therefore, just as Zion hears and is glad, so the daughters of Judah rejoice because the Lord’s judgments are in the earth (consider Isaiah 26:8-9).

Vs. 9For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;

You are exalted far above all gods.

The Lord Jesus Christ is now exalted by Israel as their Lord and Savior, they themselves now collectively declare that He is the Only One to Rule, that He is most high above all the earth. That He is exalted above all “gods;” above all angels, demons, or Satan himself, the Lord is exceedingly far above all!

Vs. 10You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the souls of His saints;

He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

The Word of the Lord now calls us all who love Him to hate evil! Yes, to hate evil in all its forms, to thus hate all the wicked and perverse "morality" and corruption of man. For the Lord preserves the souls of His saints, He preserves everyone who fears and obeys Him, for He delivers us out of the hand of the wicked. Therefore, be faithful to Him, and not the wicked judgments of man.

 Vs. 11Light is sown for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.

Truly then God gives light (illumination of His Word) for the righteous, so that we may walk in righteousness with Him. And He gives gladness of heart to all who are upright in heart. Joy from the Lord then comes to all who live uprightly before Him.

Vs. 12Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Knowing that God is for us; that it is through His Sons Holy Name that salvation has come to us who believe in Him; yes, we rejoice in the Lord, we rejoice for all He has done for us, and we will give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.

 

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