PSALM 97

The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! 2 Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice [are] the foundation of His throne. 3 A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. 4 His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. 7 Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all [you] gods. 8 Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD. 9 For You, LORD, [are] most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. 10 You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

PSALM 97:1-12

LORD OF THE WHOLE EARTH

I recently taught through Revelation. I continue to be amazed at how consistent the book of Psalms is with the picture we get in Revelation! The Bible really does present one cohesive worldview despite being written by several authors who were occupationally, geographically, and chronologically separated from one another. The type of consistency I see in the scriptures speaks to me of it’s divine authorship (ie.. God wrote it, he used men of different backgrounds, languages, and styles, but at the end of the day scripture is from God.)

I’ve noted three thoughts that I think sum up this Psalm.

• God is WORTHY
• Idols are WORTHLESS
• God Will Deliver Us From WICKEDNESS

GOD IS WORTHY (Vs 1-6): In the Old Testament God had appeared to His People on Mount Sinai. It was a great big and awful in the sense of causing awe display of his grandeur. 

14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near [your] wives.” 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who [were] in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai [was] completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

Exodus 19:14-19

In the New Testament we get another picture like this, that speaks of His justice and worthiness!  

[Rev 19:1-9 NKJV] 1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power [belong] to the Lord our God! 2 “For true and righteous [are] His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants [shed] by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed [are] those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 19:1-9

IDOLS ARE WORTHLESS (Vs 7-9) : We are aware where there will come a day where all the false claims about God, life, etc. are dealt with in extreme fashion. The Lord will make Himself plain. There won’t be any competition of ideas in that day. The God who is, and sees what is will bring Judgment. 

We know that there are no such things as false gods, so how could they ever worship the true God? 

It could be their followers, put off worshiping this farce and worship the one true God. He welcomes worshippers! Many of us have been false worshippers who were worshiping false gods, but then the grace of God found us. We repented of our sins and trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

GOD WILL DELIVER US FROM WICKEDNESS (v. 10-12): We Know that God’s justice will flow at the return of Christ. We also look forward to what is called the wedding supper of the lamb. Where we will no longer be separated from Christ but will dwell with him in glory. 

PRAYER

Father, Thank you for your incredible mercy and grace! Thank you that Jesus is worthy! We look forward to the day when you return to dwell with your people. We long for the moment when you usher in the New Heaven and the New Earth! We look forward with anticipation of your grace, greatness, and glory. Even now come quickly! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here