seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 97 1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods!
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 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.
11 Light shines[a] on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 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.
11 Light shines[a] on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.
a. Psalm 97:11 One Hebrew manuscript and ancient versions (see also 112:4); most Hebrew manuscripts Light is sown
You know what really blows my mind? All the time I've been reading Job.... these Psalms have been right in tune with what I'm reading over in Job. Check out verses 10 and 11. God guards lives of the faithful ones..... that's the protective hand I've been talking about..... and the light shining on the righteous.... that's what Job has been saying.... Job has been complaining.... because he did everything in the instructions and it didn't work.
The easy English commentary on the "meaning" of this poem is longer than the poem itself!
The psalm starts with "the LORD is king", (verse 1). This is always true, but many people do not believe it! But the psalm goes on to say this: Everybody will know that it is true. It says what will happen then. The word LORD is a special name for God. His people use this name. His people love and obey him. These people will be very happy when everyone knows that the LORD is king. It does not matter where they live. Even if they live in far-away places.
We cannot see God and we do not know what he looks like. "Like" is another word for "as". In the Bible, we often read that God is like a storm. You will find this in Joshua chapters 4 and 5, Psalm 18, Psalm 29, and many other places. You will find it here, in verses 2-6. There are black skies, (verse 2). There is fire, (verse 3). There is lightning, or a bright light in the sky that appears just for a second, (verse 4). Many people are afraid of lightning, and the thunder (or loud noise) that follows it. When God appears at the end of time, people will be afraid. It will frighten them, like a bad storm frightens them. But the LORD's people will not be afraid. They will be happy that God has appeared to judge the world. "To judge" means "to decide who is good and who is bad". The good people are those who love and obey God. The bad people do not do this.
But when God appears, it will frighten even the earth itself! The mountains will melt, (verse 5)! This means that the rocks and stones will become as water, or as butter when it becomes hot. This is only a picture; we do not know what will really happen. But God is not only master of the people on the earth. He is master ("Lord" in Hebrew, not the same word as "LORD") of the earth itself.
In verse 6, there are two important Bible words, righteous and glory. They are not easy to explain.
· "righteous" means "very, very good". It means "never done anything bad". Only God is really righteous. But in verses 11 and 12, the psalm calls God’s people "righteous". This is not because they are very, very good. It is not because they have never done anything bad. It is because God has forgiven their sin. We sin when we do not obey God’s rules. But if we are sorry, God takes that sin away. We say that God forgives us. God then calls us righteous. He decides not to remember that we have not obeyed his rules! So, righteous people are not always good people. They are people that God has forgiven. They are people that sometimes still do bad things. But when they do, they always ask God to forgive them again.
· "glory" means "shining very much, shining like the sun". Psalm 84:11 says that "God is like the sun". It does not mean that God is the sun. Some people believe that, but they are wrong. We cannot look at the sun, because it shines so bright. But that is a picture for us of God’s glory.
Verses 7 - 9 are about other "gods". Countries all round Judah had their own gods. Often they made gods out of wood or stone. We call these "images" or "idols". The Hebrew word "idols" really means "nothings". Hebrew was the language that they spoke in Judah. Their word for idols tells us that the idols were false gods. They were not gods at all, because there is only one God! They were (and still are) "nothings"! When God appears, everyone will know that there are no other gods. These gods will all fall down in front of the God that really lives. Everyone will see that the false gods are dead nothings. The LORD God is more important than any other god because he is alive and they are dead. The LORD God is the Most High God. The "Most High" is another name for God. It means that he is more important than anyone else. Zion, in verse 8, was the capital city of Judah. It was another name for Jerusalem.
The psalm ends with promises to God's people. God's people must hate (or not like) what bad people do. But the LORD will make his people safe and free, (verse 10). This will happen when the LORD God appears on earth. But it often happens now for his people. It is certain that it is true when they die. They will be safe and free with God in heaven. "The hands of bad people" means "what bad people do to them with their hands". Bible students are not certain what "light will shine" in verse 11 means. The Hebrew word translated "shine" really means "become planted"! Perhaps God sows (or plants) seeds of light in us, so that we will shine also! We will have a part of God's glory if we love and serve (work for) him. Paul tells us that in Romans 8:30. So, we must say "thanks" to his holy name, (verse 12). "Holy" means all good with no bad in it, separate from sin.
Sometimes people think God won't answer their prayers because they pray and expect immediate response. Or they pray and things don't work out the way things should have. So they throw a temper tantrum. They decide they don't like God and they aren't going to play anymore.....
Some people treat God like He is Santa Clause. They ask for a specific toy and when they don't get it.... they say Santa Clause is a fake. Sometimes there is more involved than a simple request..... sometimes the one prayer I want to have answered my way might just throw off the whole time/space thing.... like a gigantic time machine gone wrong scenario. God knows what is best. Sometimes what is going to work out best.... looks doomed from the get go.... and it's a real Godly surprise when it all works out for the best.
