let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns[a] of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O God.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns[c] for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
Psalm 97:1-6 show the appearance of the Lord. It affirms that 1 The Lord is king! The enthronement has already taken place. Several psalms honor the LORD as king (see 10:16; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6-9; 99:1); also I Chronicles 16:31-34. Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands (islands which would refer to far off places) be glad! Psalm 18:7-14 is similar in its description of the appearance of the Lord. Such theophanic images are like those in Exodus 19:16 ff. (Moses) and I Kings 19:11-12 (Elijah), both at Mount Sinai/Horeb. In verses 2-5, the Lord appears as powerful in a theophany. Like at Sinai, 2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him, keeping the Lord veiled. In addition, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Stating the theme of the Psalm, 3 Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side. The Lord, who is powerful and righteous, defeats the enemy. 4 The lightnings of the Lord light up the world. In this case, the people experience the nearness of the Lord in lightning. In this case, the earth sees and trembles (writhes in fear). Yet, another possible and reasonable interpretation is that they also experience the nearness of the Lord in the earthquake. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The people have zeal for the power of the Lord. In verse 6, both the natural and human world react to the theophany. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. From the time of Hellenism, the hope of an establishment of the royal rule of the Lord over the nations had taken on eschatological features, as we find here.[1]
In Psalm 97: 7-12, the psalm shows the effect of the appearance of the Lord on the Gentiles. We shall see that responses to the awesome appearance of the Lord vary. 7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him. in 96:4-5, divine beings hold the Lord in a awe, for they are mere idols. This psalm degrades other deities even further, showing progression in these psalms. The Lord has already done combat with the gods. In verses 8-9, the judgment of the Lord means salvation for the congregation. Of course, the response of the people of the Lord to the appearance of the glory of the Lord is quite different. Verses 8-12 show that the righteous do not shrink back from the just rule of the Lord, but rather, they welcome it and join with the Lord in that rule. 8 Zion hears and is glad (samah), and the towns of Judah rejoice (gil), because of your judgments (either against other nations or in the sense of divine justice), O God. 9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. See Psalms 86:8; 89:6; 95:3; 96:4-5; Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 3:24; I Samuel 2:2; II Samuel 7:22; I Kings 8:23; Jeremiah 10:6, 16; (Isaiah asserts strongly that Yahweh alone is truly God: 37:15-20; 45:14-25.) Nevertheless, in various periods of the Old Testament, even faithful Israelites who worshiped solely Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel, acknowledged that people of other nations (and some Israelites) worshiped other gods and goddesses. Biblical writers asserted Yahweh's superiority and majesty over all other gods, real or supposed. Verses 10-12 are a concluding call the righteous, a standard part of this genre. 10 The Lord loves those who hate evil. We find an encouragement to fight against evil, as part of obedience to the Lord and an expression of love for the Lord. The Lord guards the lives of his faithful (Hasid); he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. The Lord has already come in worship, since 11 Light dawns for the righteous, and joy (simhah, or radiance) for the upright in heart. Thus, the psalm closes with 12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to (acclaim) his holy name! The psalm concludes with a call to rejoice, echoing joy, a major theme of the psalm. It asserts that joy rather than fear is the proper reaction to the great power of the Lord for those who are righteous.
The Lord is king. Granting the phrase is a metaphor, how are we understand and live with it? Yes, the Lord is king of the psalmist. Yes, the Lord will be king. Yet, until the reign of the Lord is universal, subduing worship of all other gods, how are we to live? The Lord loves those who hate evil. Living with the affirmation of that that the Lord is king has an ethical content in the way we live. We cannot separate truthful affirmation for the living the good life. The NIV translation is different and interesting. “Let those who love the Lord hate evil.” Here we have a different thought: In this translation, it is not a question of whether the Lord loves us but whether we love the Lord. So now, it is God, not us, asking the question: “Do my people love me?” If the answer is “Well, they hate evil,” this visceral response to the presence of evil is, then, enough to convince God that, yes, God’s people do love him. In what ways do we hate evil? How do we put the words into meaningful demonstration in our word and deed? Our word and deed need to proclaim to the world that we hate, stand against, and separate ourselves from evil. How we do that is a matter of prayerful consideration of our moment in history and culture.
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore;
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing,
And triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Jesus, the Savior, reigns,
The God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains
He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules o’er earth and Heav’n,
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus giv’n;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice in glorious hope!
Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His servants up
To their eternal home;
We soon shall hear th’ archangel’s voice;
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