Psalm 97

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
    let the distant shores rejoice.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him
    and consumes his foes on every side.
His lightning lights up the world;
    the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
    before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
    and all peoples see his glory.
All who worship images are put to shame,
    those who boast in idols—
    worship him, all you gods!
Zion hears and rejoices
    and the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments, Lord.
For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.
Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
    for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
    and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light shines on the righteous
    and joy on the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
    and praise his holy name.

• Psalm 97:1-12

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Prophetic psalms: Prophetic psalms are those psalms containing prophecy that is not specifically Messianic prophecy.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm dwells upon the same subject, and is set to the same tune, with the foregoing psalm. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega of both; they are both penned, and are both to be sung to his honour; and we make nothing of them if we do not, in them, make melody with our hearts to the Lord Jesus. He it is that reigns, to the joy of all mankind (ver. 1); and his government speaks, I. Terror to his enemies; for he is a prince of inflexible justice and irresistible power, ver. 2-7. II. Comfort to his friends and loyal subjects, arising from his sovereign dominion, the care he takes of his people, and the provision he makes for them, ver. 8-12. In singing this psalm we must be affected with the glory of the exalted Redeemer, must dread the lot of his enemies, and think ourselves happy if we are of those that ‘kiss the son.’”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 97:2 “If you know God, you know He is absolutely and perfectly just. But we have to define this term first. What do we mean by justice?
“In looking this up very carefully in the Scriptures, I find that justice is indistinguishable from righteousness in the Old Testament. It’s the same root word with variations according to the part of speech used. It means uprightness or rectitude. To say that God is just or that the jus­ tice of God is a fact is to say that there is uprightness and rectitude in God. Psalm 89:14 says, ‘Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.’ Psalm 97:2 says, ‘Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.’ Justice and righteousness are indistinguishable from each other.”

• A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God I

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

Righteousness and justice come to the earth with fire and lightning removing His foes.  While my unknown source for the types of Psalms stating this as prophetic, but not necessarily Messianic, it comes awfully close in those words of righteousness and justice prevailing.  Not to mention the foes being destroyed.

All those who count on anything other than God will be exposed.  It says “idols”, but other than those who rely totally on their own way of thinking, making themselves gods, we have a great multitude who care more about who gets elected than in what God is going to do, and when is God coming back to judge us.  I think we should elect godly people to office, which would eliminate most government officials these days, regardless of country, but when we have more passionate zeal in defending a political party that supports abortion or euthanasia (although not in the USA … yet), and many other things that could be added here, and then then yawn instead of worshipping…  Our god becomes the politician at some point.

But Zion, God’s holy hill rather than a physical place in Jerusalem, will notice the King who rules justly, fairly, and with righteousness, and all will praise His holy name.

Psalm 98

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
    let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.

• Psalm 98:1-9

Type of Psalm

Messianic psalms:  These psalms can be shown as being prophetic (or verses within the psalm) and the prophecy relates to the coming Messiah.  Oddly in the lists that follow, Psalm 22 is listed as a psalm of affliction and a prophetic psalm, but not as a Messianic psalm.  Yet, Jesus quotes from this psalm from the cross, the first verse, and there is language within the psalm that could relate to Christ’s suffering, but maybe the person creating the list thought the connection to Messianic prophecy was not strong enough.

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm is to the same purport with the two foregoing psalms; it is a prophecy of the kingdom of the Messiah, the settling of it up in the world, and the bringing of the Gentiles into it. The Chaldee entitles it a prophetic psalm. It sets forth, I. The glory of the Redeemer, ver. 1-3. II. The joy of the redeemed, ver. 4-9. If we in a right manner give to Christ this glory, and upon right grounds take to ourselves this joy, in singing this psalm, we sing it with understanding. If those who saw Christ’s triumph thus, much more reason have we to do so who see these things accomplished and share in the better things provided for us, Heb. 11:40.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 98:1 ”Tolstoy once said that the czar would have to forbid Beethoven to be played by good musicians, for he would excite the passions of the people too deeply and put them in danger.
“Luther, by contrast, often said that, next to the Word of God, music is the best thing that human beings have. The two had different things in mind: Tolstoy, music to honor people; Luther, music to honor God. And regarding music, Luther knew that it has dried an infinite number of tears, made the sad happy, stilled desires, raised up the defeated, strengthened the challenged, and that it has also moved many a stubborn heart to tears and driven many a great sinner to repentance before the goodness of God.
” ’O sing to the Lord a new song’ (Ps. 98:1). The emphasis is on the word new. What is this new song, if not the song that makes people new, the song that brings people out of darkness and worry and fear to new hope, new faith, new trust? The new song is the song that God himself awakens in us anew-even if it is an ancient song-the God who, as it says in Job, ‘gives songs in the night’ (Job 35:10 RSV).”

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You, devotional compiled from several of his writings

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

Singing the new song is like in Psalm 96 where the focus is on the return of Jesus Christ to earth.  Jesus has made His salvation known and He has set His righteousness before the nations.  He is the measuring standard.

We must shout for Joy and burst out in song.  In that time, I do not think this will be contrived.  We might think it strange for a psalmist to order us to rejoice and burst out in song, but with Jesus in their presence, how can you resist?  Even the “Frozen Chosen” will be dancing in the streets and raising their hands in the air like they just don’t care.

The psalm ends with even the world itself rejoicing.  The seas will rejoice, the rivers, the mountains.  Everyone will welcome the King of kings.

Psalm 99

The Lord reigns,
    let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
    let the earth shake.
Great is the Lord in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name—
    he is holy.
The King is mighty, he loves justice—
    you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
    what is just and right.
Exalt the Lord our God
    and worship at his footstool;
    he is holy.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
    and he answered them.
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
    they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
Lord our God,
    you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
    though you punished their misdeeds.
Exalt the Lord our God
    and worship at his holy mountain,
    for the Lord our God is holy.

• Psalm 99:1-9

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“Still we are celebrating the glories of the kingdom of God among men, and are called upon to praise him, as in the foregoing psalms; but those psalms looked forward to the times of the gospel, and prophesied of the graces and comforts of those times; this psalm seems to dwell more upon the Old-Testament dispensation and the manifestation of God’s glory and grace in that. The Jews were not, in expectation of the Messiah’s kingdom and the evangelical worship, to neglect the divine regimen they were then under, and the ordinances that were then given them, but in them to see God reigning, and to worship before him according to the law of Moses. Prophecies of good things to come must not lessen our esteem of good things present. To Israel indeed pertained the promises, which they were bound to believe; but to them pertained also the giving of the law, and the service of God, which they were also bound dutifully and conscientiously to attend to, Rom. 9:4. And this they are called to do in this psalm, where yet there is much of Christ, for the government of the church was in the hands of the eternal Word before he was incarnate; and, besides, the ceremonial services were types and figures of evangelical worship. The people of Israel are here required to praise and exalt God, and to worship before him, in consideration of these two things:—I. The happy constitution of the government they were under, both in sacred and civil things, ver. 1-5. II. Some instances of the happy administration of it, ver. 6-9. In singing this psalm we must set ourselves to exalt the name of God, as it is made known to us in the gospel, which we have much more reason to do than those had who lived under the law.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 99:3 “ ‘Let them praise Your great and awesome name.’ Under the most terrible aspect the Lord is still to be praised. Many profess to admire the milder beams of the sun of righteousness but burn with rebellion against its more flaming radiance. It ought not to be so. We are bound to praise a terrible God and worship Him who casts the wicked down to hell. Did not Israel praise Him who ‘overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever’ (Ps. 136:15)? The terrible Avenger is to be praised as well as the loving Redeemer. Against this the sympathy of humanity’s evil heart with sin rebels; it cries out for a God in whom pity has strangled justice. The well-instructed servants of Jehovah praise Him in all the aspects of His character, whether terrible or tender. Grace streaming from the mercy seat can alone work in us this admirable frame of mind. ‘He is holy.’ In Him is no flaw or fault, excess or deficiency, error or iniquity. He is wholly excellent and is therefore called holy. In His words, thoughts, acts, and revelations as well as in Himself, He is perfection itself. Oh, come let us worship and bow down before Him.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

The psalm starts by exalting God.  All the nations tremble.  Let the earth shake.  God’s name is holy.

The King will rule justly and fairly.

From Israel’s past, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel served Him.

God was a forgiving God, but He punished His people for their misdeeds.  Note that the verb tense is past.  God was forgiving, so this points to a people who have new bodies and no sin nature.  We will indeed praise God in that time.

And again, the psalmist ends with praises to God.

There are hints in this psalm to the End Times.  All nations will tremble and bow down.  With an earthquake that is greater than any felt by mankind in the last bowl of God’s wrath, the earth will indeed tremble.  The King, in verse 4, could be a general reference to God or the returning King of kings, Jesus, for His millennial reign.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 97

“1. Can rejoicing be commanded? Why or why not?
“2. What word pictures describe God’s ‘appearance’ in your life?
“3. Which describes you the closest: (a) Hater of evil? (b) Faithful? (c) Righteous? (d) Upright in heart? Which would you like to be?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 98

“1. Do you expect God to do new things in your life? Ordo you think a lot about how God should change the next person?
“2. Do you ever ‘cut loose’ in joyful expression? Or do you sing your songs to God like a quiet ballad?
“3. You might want to sing some favorite praise songs together. How might homemade instruments join in?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 99

“1. How can love for holiness be seen in what you do? What would it mean to you to love justice more?
“2. How can God forgive and still punish us for our misdeeds? What actions and attitudes deserve punishment?
“3. ‘God knows, we’re only human.’ True enough, but does that really excuse us (see Lev 19:2; also Mt 5:48)?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.