Psalm 97 starts out with a declaration, “The Lord reigns…” (v. 1). This is the theme of Psalm 97. This particular Psalm is an Enthronement Psalm, and so it is about the Lord’s power, dominion, and glory. It is similar to Psalm 96, because they both are about God’s rule, and praising Him. Psalm 97 is in correspondence with Psalms 93, 95-99. These Psalms all declare that the Lord reigns. These Psalms all act as an answer to the question that arose in Psalm 89—namely, does the Lord reign? The reason why this question was asked is because of the seemingly failed Davidic Covenant. Jerusalem was trampled underfoot in 587BC. So the question comes out: does the Lord reign?
The first six verses are devoted to this fact: The Lord reigns! Verse two states, “[c]louds and thick darkness surround Him”. The Hebrew word for darkness here is Araphel. It means gloom, and often symbolizes the ignorance of sinful men. The fact that clouds and thick darkness surround God means that we cannot comprehend all of who God is. We are not able to understand fully His ways. However, one thing is sure—“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (v. 2). We can take comfort in the fact that everything God does is good; and righteous; and just.
For the Lord to have absolute sovereignty and power means that nothing in all creation can stand against Him. His adversaries will not be able endure the fire that comes from the presence of God (v. 3). If Satan, demons, and the entire created host that dares to overthrow the throne of God encounters the fire of the Lord’s wrath, they will be burnt up. God has absolute power over every single one of His enemies. In verse five it says, “[t]he mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord”. If even the mountains, as immovable and massive as they are, melt before God, then what hope does a man have who stubbornly makes a stand against the authority of God.
The fact that the Lord reigns does not just mean dread for the ungodly, it is also a reason to praise Him. There is another theme in Psalm 97, and it has to do with our response to God’s reign. Verse one says, “let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad”. God’s sovereignty is the grounds of the command for the whole earth to rejoice and be glad. The theme of rejoicing and gladness is also found in verses 8, 11, and 12. The first command to rejoice and be glad found in verse one, is addressed to all the nations. In all times, in every place, whether Jew or Gentile, everyone is commanded to rejoice and be glad in the Lord. The Lord’s reign is the reason to rejoice, because everything we have in life is a gift that flows from His limitless power, and His gracious hand. Verses 2-6 explain God’s power and dominion—which is the grounds for rejoicing.
In verse seven, immediately after mentioning the Lord’s glory, the psalmist addresses the idols and false gods of gentile nations. Verse seven says, “[l]et all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols”. In light of how powerful and amazing Yahweh is, people who worship idols ought to be ashamed. God is so omnipotent that the psalmist even says, “[w]orship Him, all you gods” (v. 7). God is far greater than anything, and He triumphs over everything that is set up to be a god. A good example of God’s power over lesser gods is found in 1 Samuel 5:1-4. The Philistines capture the ark of God and place it beside their statue of Dagon. The next morning they found that “Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord” (1 Samuel 5:3). So they put the statue of Dagon back in its place. The next morning, Dagon had once again fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, but this time the “head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off” (1 Samuel 5:4). Yahweh is indeed mightier than any so called god. I wonder if there is anything in our lives that we are exalting above God. We ought to examine ourselves to see if there are any idols in our lives. Is there is anything that is capturing the affections of our hearts more than Jesus Christ?
In verse eight the psalmist turns the reader’s attention to the relationship between God and His covenant people. During the time this Psalm was written it certainly referred to the Israelites that had faith in their God. Now this timeless Psalm can be applied to anyone that has faith in Jesus Christ. Verse nine again declares God’s sovereignty. Then in verse ten we “who love the Lord” are exhorted to “[hate] evil”. If we love God then we are going to hate the things that God hates. God hates evil, so naturally we will grow in our hatred of evil as we grow in our love for the Lord. Growing in our hatred of sin is a part of sanctification. However, this is no easy task, because there are sinful desires that come from inside of us and “wage war against our soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Praise the Lord that He “preserves the souls of His godly ones” (v. 10). Finally this Psalm ends with the psalmist commanding us to “give thanks to His holy name” (v. 12). As people redeemed by God, we have so much to be thankful for. If we were to die without Christ then we would lose everything. We would be eternally separated from the most beautiful, glorious, and powerful being; and we would miss out on the amazing adventure of eternal life. Praise God for His salvation!
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