Psalm 97 1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. 2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. 3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. 5 The hills melted 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 people see his glory. 7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods. 8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. 9 For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. 10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth 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, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. (KJV) Commentary THEME: A psalm prophesying the righteous reign of Messiah as King of the earth. Perhaps Clarke most succinctly summarizes the question of authorship for this psalm when he says, “Who the author was is uncertain: it is much in the spirit of David’s finest compositions: and yet many learned men suppose it was written to celebrate the Lord’s power and goodness in the restoration of the Jews from Babylonish captivity.” Regardless of the authorship, the psalm is certainly messianic. The Syriac version says it is “A Psalm of David, in which he foretells the advent of Christ. He also insinuates in it His last coming.” To this Calvin adds, “The description which we have of the kingdom of God in this Psalm does not apply to the state of it under the law. We may infer, accordingly, that it contains a prediction of that kingdom of Christ …” 97:1. The LORD reigneth. That Jehovah reigns is the watchword of this psalm. Everything in it relates to this one truth, i.e., Jehovah reigns in the world. Nearly all conservative commentators appear to miss the point of this statement. Even Spurgeon refers the psalm to the first advent of Christ and says that it is the essence of the gospel proclamation that Jehovah reigneth, and the foundation of the gospel is the kingdom of God. Yet, the description of the events in this psalm did not occur at the first coming of Christ as a babe in Bethlehem. They are so drastically different from those early days of Christianity that they cannot be attributed even to poetry. But they perfectly relate to His Second Coming to this earth to establish His kingdom of one thousand years upon the earth. Only then will the prayer be true, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. While other reigns have brought bloodshed and tears and while others have been reigns of terror, the reign of Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus Christ, upon this earth will be one of absolute righteousness; for the Sun of Righteousness shall heal all nations from the heartaches of the Tribulation (Mal 4:2). 2. The characteristics of the Lord’s earthly millennial reign are now enumerated by the psalmist. Clouds and darkness are round about him (cf. Ex 19:16, 18; Deut 4:11; 5:22; I Kgs 8:12). As the Lord revealed Himself at Sinai, so His essential deity must be shrouded forever from the view of man. Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. Righteousness is an immutable attribute of God. Christ will be the King reigning in righteousness (Isa 32:1), and righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins (Isa 11:5). 3. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. The righteous reign of Jesus Christ on this earth will be preceded by the fire of God’s wrath, which will go before Him to sweep the evil from His pathway (cf. Isa 42:25). The awful days of the Tribulation will bring the enemies of the Lord God to their knees as His coming is accompanied by a divinely directed inferno (see the trumpet judgments of Rev 8:7–10). 4. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The lightnings of God, which precede His second coming to earth, are mentioned four times in the book of Revelation (cf. Rev 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18). Two things must be noted from these verses. First, they relate to those events that pave the way for the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom upon the earth. They will occur at the end of the great battle of Armageddon when Jesus will rule and reign from the throne of David for one thousand years, for these events did not occur when Jesus Christ came to be born in the stable of Beth-lehem. Second, it should be noted that with each verse there is a progressive worsening of judgment upon the world. The only hope for this world is the righteous reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth. For the Christian living today there is another hope, a blessed hope (Tit 2:13, cf. I Thess 4:13–18). 5–6. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD. Not only is there ample reference to this event in the prophecy of Revelation, but the Apostle Peter himself prophesied it (II Pet 3:10–12). The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. Just as the heavens declare the glory of God in His creation, so too they will declare His righteous judgments on a wicked earth (see Jesus’ prophecy in Mt 24:29–30). 7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols. The Apocalypse records the dramatic return of the Lord to establish His kingdom upon the earth (Rev 19:11, 14, 16). In those days all who have received the mark of the beast and who have fallen down to worship his image (Rev 19:20) shall be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. For seven long years the Tribulation Period has raged upon the earth, but those who have boasted in their idols will boast no more. As Spurgeon says, “He who boasts of an idol makes idle boast.” It would be ludicrous to apply these preceding verses to the first advent of the Lord Jesus in Beth-lehem. They are clearly eschatological in nature; they are perfectly suited to the second coming of the Lord of glory. 8–9. Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. It is little wonder that Jerusalem, and all the daughters of Judah, will rejoice and be glad during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. In that day the Jews will see their Messiah and King exalted far above all gods; for the presence of God will be fully recognized, and fellowship with Him will be experienced as never before (cf. Ezk 37:27–28; Zech 2:2, 10–13). 10. In light of these wonderful promises, how should His people respond? Ye that love the LORD, hate evil. Here is an exhortation to the faithful. We have a moral obligation to do so because the God who hates evil, and has taught us to do the same, is the one who preserveth the souls of his saints. God has delivered us out of the hand of the wicked by His nail-scarred hands and has placed us in the hand of the Father where we are preserved, for “… no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (Jn 10:29). Our salvation and preservation are only as sure as the hand of God is sure. 11–12. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. God, who is light, has shown His grace to those who would live righteously and has caused rejoicing in their hearts. What then must our response be? Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Commentary is sourced from: KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1109). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 01:29:20 +0000
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