Psalm 97 began with a declaration
of the reign of the Lord, then stated how people should respond to His reign.
Obviously the right response to the reign of this Sovereign Lord is be glad and
rejoice. Verses 2-3 provide the reason why we should respond with gladness and
rejoicing. Firstly, it’s because God is awesome. The thick cloud that He is shrouded
with tells us how awesome God truly is. Secondly, it’s because His reign is
established on righteousness and justice. And thirdly it’s because He rules
with power and holiness. And evil cannot remain in His presence. The fire that goes
before Him signifies His wrath that consumes the evil and His enemies.
Verses 3-9 tell us that the presence
of God and his judgment are both awesome and fearsome at the same time. The
fire, the lighting up of the world, the trembling of the earth and the melting
of the mountain, are pictures of the impact of His presence. The Psalmist wants
us to know how impactful the presence of God truly is. It can be literally be felt.
And furthermore, heaven will declare His righteousness and earth will
experience His glory. His character tells us that He will judge with fairness
and equity. He is the most high, greatly exalted and enthroned far above all gods.
There will be two experiences resulting from His judgments. The people who worship
idols and graven images will be confounded while Zion, representing the people
of God, will be gladdened.
The Psalmist ends from verses 10-12
with a call to all who love the Lord to hate evil, to rejoice in the Lord, and
give thanks to Him. Notice how the Psalmist labels the people of God: they are identified
as those who love the Lord. They are also described as the godly ones, the
righteous ones and the upright in heart. God’s people can rejoice not only because
He preserves them, but also He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Besides,
He also provides light so that His righteous one can travel in safety. It is
fitting therefore to give thanks to the Lord, and to be glad and rejoice in Him.
So rejoice and be glad!
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