“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord” (Ps 97:11-12).
This delightful collection of songs for feast days (Ps 93, 95-100) are sometimes called the Theocratic Psalms because they are all about the Lord reigning—and the fact that we should be very happy about it! You can see this by the words of the Choirmaster’s first downstroke. “The Lord reigns” (93:1); “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!” (95:1); “Oh, sing to the Lord” (96:1); “The Lord reigns” (97:1); “Oh, sing to the Lord” (98:1); “The Lord reigns” (99:1); and for the finale, “Make a joyful shout to the Lord” (100:1). Today we’re considering Psalm 97. It begins with this dual theme: “The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad!” (v 1). The psalmist has the same desire as our Lord Jesus, who told us to “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in” (Lk 14:23). But farther than that, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 28:19). And not just every nation, but every person in every nation: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). And just to be clear, “you shall be witnesses to Me…to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Now Psalm 97 puts us at the epicenter, and we watch as God makes His presence and glory known. “Clouds and darkness surround Him” (v 2). “A fire goes before Him” (v 3). “His lightnings light the world” (v 4). “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord” (v 5). You get the picture. God is to be taken very seriously. We who reject other gods (vv 7-9) and “love the Lord” (v 10) need only have a healthy fear of “evil.” We have no slavish fear of Him since “perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18). In fact, “He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked” (Ps 97:10). His saints are safe and sound.