August 10th
Psalm 97
The
power of God
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.
Psalm 98
A Psalm
God
rules the world
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. 2: The
LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in
the sight of the heathen. 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. 4:
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and
rejoice, and sing praise. 5:
Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6: With trumpets and sound of cornet
make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. 7: Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and
they that dwell therein. 8: Let
the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together 9: Before the LORD; for he cometh to
judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people
with equity.
Today we are reading in Psalm 97 & 98. In Psalm 97 the
Psalmist bring to us a new song. He begins and ends with the prophecy that
Jehovah will reign on earth and that his reign will be characterised by joy and
gladness. Then the psalmist in the centre of his Psalm has two verses in which
the Lord will bring righteousness and judgment first in the clouds and then in
lightening. So he begins saying The Lord reigneth. This Psalm is looking for
forward in the history of the world to the time when Christ will rule the
entire world in his Messianic kingdom. So he begins saying the LORD reigns and
therefore let all the earth rejoice and let all the people of the thousands of
islands rejoice. The Lord is surrounded with clouds and righteousness and
justice are the characteristic of his throne. Needles to say this has never
been fulfilled yet. He is surrounded by fire and the fire destroys his enemies.
His lightening lights us the whole earth. And all the earth will see it and be
terrified. The hills will melt like wax before a fire at his presence and the
whole sky will declare his righteousness and all the people of the whole earth
will see his glory. All the false religions will be overcome and their
adherents will be invited to serve the LORD. The people of Zion
will hear it and be glad and the children of Judah will rejoice at the decisions
of the Lord. The LORD will be high above all the earth. (He will dwell on the
top of the highest mountain of the earth) Those that love the Lord and hate
evil will be preserved by the Lord and he will deliver them out of the hand of
the wicked. The light of the Lord will be sown into the hearts of the righteous
and the joy of the Lord will come into the upright. The Psalmist says, In that
day rejoice in the Lord you righteous and give thanks when ever you remember
his holiness. In Psalm 98 the Psalmist calls on all men to come to sing the new
song. And again the Psalm has two verses. Both verses begin with an call to
sing and both give the reason why this is important. So he begins says sing to
the LORD a new song because he has done marvellous things. He has been
victorious over all his enemies. The Lord’s salvation of his people will be
known to all the heathen. He will remember to be merciful to Israel and every nation will see
the deliverance of God. So, he says, make a happy noise to the Lord – every
nation and island. Use your music to sing to the Lord praise. Use trumpets and
cornets to sing to the Lord the King. The sea will join in the celebration and
everything in the world plants and animals. The floods will clap their hands
and the hills will rejoice. Why? because the Lord comes to take the throne of
all the earth and he will be perfectly righteous in his justice.
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