Psalms 97:1 ¶ The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
The Psalmist opens with the bold declaration that the LORD, the self-existent eternal God, reigns supreme. His promises and His word will be proven true in every aspect! This is a reason for the earth (and all that is in it) to rejoice and be glad.
The Hebrew for “isles” is a reference to habitable places—dry land, coast, island, country—all the Gentile lands.
Frankly, if I didn’t believe this truth, there would not be much motivation for living. It is comforting to know that in His time, the LORD will put an end to sin and evil and usher in eternal righteousness.
Psalms 97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
The LORD is surrounded by a covering that currently hides His presence from us. He rules from a foundation of righteous judgment.
There is not one government on earth today that can make that claim.
Maybe these words from the Psalmist were inspired by the record of when God came down to meet with the leaders of Israel in the wilderness.
Exodus 19:16–18 “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”
Psalms 97:3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
Psalms 97:4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
Psalms 97:5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
I think the Psalmist is making the point that the LORD destroys His enemies. The lightning is a powerful display of God’s power that provokes fear in men.
I believe verse 5 references the prophecy recorded by the Apostle John concerning the times that immediately precede the return of Jesus as King of kings.
Revelation 16:17 & 20 “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done….And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”
I liked Spurgeon’s application to the effects of the gospel: “Even now where the gospel is preached in faith, and in the power of the Spirit, it burns its own way, irresistibly destroying falsehood, superstition, unbelief, sin, indifference, and hardness of heart. In it the Lord reigneth, and because of it let the earth rejoice.”
Psalms 97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
This verse makes me think of the opening verses in Psalm 19.
Psalms 19:1–3 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”
Continually, from sunset to sunset, the heavens declare the power, majesty and knowledge of God. The word for knowledge includes more than just knowing facts; it includes the power to instruct, to make known, and to give understanding. Whereas we humans communicate through the language of words, the Almighty can reveal Himself to us by the wonder, majesty and amazing design of His creation. He doesn’t just use Hebrew or English or French or ; the declaration of His creation is understood universally.
Psalms 97:7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
“Confounded” references disappointment and shame. All those that worship idols of false gods will be disappointed and brought to shame before Almighty God.
In reference to the beliefs of the day that each nation was ruled by its god(s), the Psalmist calls for these gods to worship the LORD God.
Psalms 97:8 ¶ Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.
Psalms 97:9 For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
The Psalmist is basically saying that the people of Israel rejoiced at God’s righteous judgment. They know that He is the Supreme God. This truth has been a theme of preceding psalms.
All other “gods” are a result of the deception of Satan and the spiritual forces of evil and/or of man’s own creation.
Isaiah 43:10–11 “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Isaiah 44:6 “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
Isaiah 45:5 “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me….”
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me….”
Deuteronomy 32:16–17 “They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.”
1 Corinthians 10:20–21 “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.”
Psalms 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
The Psalmist exhorts those that love the LORD to hate evil. I think Spurgeon was correct when he said: “We cannot love God without hating that which he hates.”
It’s important to note that we are to hate evil—not the evil doer. Though it’s hard to separate the act from the person, we should pray for all sinners. The repentance of King Manasseh is a prime example of the truth that no man is beyond the reach of God, and scripture is clear in declaring that God is not willing that any should perish.
2 Chronicles 33:11–13 “Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God….And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
The Psalmist takes comfort in the truth that God preserves the souls of His saints. He knew that man has a future beyond this life and that the lives of God’s saints are under His care.
It is also true that God rescues His saints from the power of the wicked. Though we do not understand the ways of God, we can trust in the truth of His word. The Psalmist doesn’t reference the timing or the how of God’s deliverance; he addresses the surety of God’s deliverance. We are so caught up in the now that we often lose sight of the fact that God is focused on our eternal future. Every saint of God will enjoy the blessings of living in the presence of God for eternity, safely out of reach of any wickedness.
Psalms 97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Psalms 97:12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
I think the Psalmist is saying that the righteous are illuminated with the understanding of these truths and it causes them to rejoice. He encourages them to always rejoice in the LORD and thank Him as they praise Him for who He is.
Psalms 98:0 ¶ A Psalm.
It is to be noted that there is a repetition of thoughts and ideas throughout the psalms—this one included.
Jewish Study Bible: “The short superscription, A psalm, is unique in Psalms; the LXX introduces all of the kingship psalms with ‘A psalm of David.’”
LXX = Septuagint, defined by Webster: “A Greek version of the Old Testament; — so called because it was believed to be the work of seventy (or rather of seventy-two) translators.”
“kingship psalms” = Psalms 93-99
Psalms 98:1 ¶ O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
The Psalmist, whom I believe to be David, calls for the people to sing to the LORD a new song, a fresh song (from the Hebrew). I think that is a good admonition for us as we sing songs of worship and praise. It is easy to fall into a process of rote participation. Every time we sing to the LORD, however, it should be with a freshness of spirit to adore, praise and thank our LORD for His many blessings to us.
The purpose of our singing should be to praise Him for the wonderful miraculous things He has done. The right hand is considered the stronger and more dexterous hand (from the Hebrew). His holy arm is a reference to the moral purity of His actions. It is God’s strength and righteous actions that gain the victory over His enemies.
It is our faith in God that allows us to gain the victory over sin in our lives through the ministry of the Holy Spirit within us.
1 John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
Spurgeon: “The salvation which Jesus has accomplished is wrought out with wonderful wisdom, hence it is ascribed to his right hand; it meets the requirements of justice, hence we read of his holy arm; it is his own unaided work, hence all the glory is ascribed to him; and it is marvellous beyond degree, hence it deserves a new song.”
Psalms 98:2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
Psalms 98:3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
I think the Psalmist is making reference to the many miraculous ways that the LORD had delivered the people of Israel from their enemies in a way that made them realize His greatness, beginning with their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. It was obvious to the nations that the LORD exercised great favor and faithfulness to the people of Israel as they witnessed and/or heard about His miracles on their behalf. For example, Rahab declares this truth to the spies that came to Jericho.
Joshua 2:9–11 “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”
Psalms 98:4 ¶ Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Psalms 98:5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
Psalms 98:6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
The Psalmist encourages the people to loudly proclaim their praise to the LORD. He urges them to sing to the LORD, the King, to the accompaniment of musical instruments.
Surgeon makes a good observation: “There is no fear of our being too hearty in magnifying the God of our salvation, only we must take care the song comes from the heart, otherwise the music is nothing but a noise in his ears, whether it be caused by human throats, or organ pipes, or far resounding trumpets….Man's voice is at its best when it sings the best words in the best spirit to the best of Beings.”
Notice that he identifies the LORD as “the” King, not just Israel’s king; He is King over all creation. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar declared this very truth.
Daniel 4:34–35 “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
And Jehoshaphat, King of Judah—2 Chronicles 20:5–6 “And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?”
And Moses—Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”
And God Himself—Isaiah 43:13 “Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” and Isaiah 45:18 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”
Psalms 98:7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Psalms 98:8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
Psalms 98:9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
The Psalmist then turns his address to nature to join with the people in praising the LORD, their Creator. He pictures the sea roaring and all the creatures within it. He pictures the floods clapping hands and the hills rejoicing because the LORD is coming to judge the earth and its inhabitants in righteousness. This is a reference to the time when the LORD Jesus comes to reign as King of kings from the throne of David in Jerusalem when He establishes His earthly kingdom.
Revelation 20:4–6 “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”