The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"the LORD reigneth," Hebrew YHWH malakh (יְהוָה מָלָךְ). This is the enthronement cry with which the psalm opens, and everything else follows from it. Because the LORD reigns, the earth is commanded to rejoice.

"the multitude of isles," iyyim rabbim (אִיִּים רַבִּים). Not only "the earth" but the far-off coastlands, the ends of the world, are called to be glad. His reign reaches the remotest places, and their gladness is commanded along with everyone else's.

"clouds and darkness," anan va'arafel (עָנָן וַעֲרָפֶל). God's reign is wrapped in mystery. We cannot see all that He does; His ways are often hidden from us in thick cloud, and we are left in the dark about why He allows what He allows.

"righteousness and judgment," tzedeq umishpat (צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט). Held in the same breath as the clouds is this: righteousness and justice. Though clouds hide Him from our sight, we can always be sure what He is. The darkness is around Him; the justice is under Him.

"the habitation of his throne," mekhon kis'o (מְכוֹן כִּסְאוֹ). The word pictures the fixed base on which the throne rests. His throne stands on an unshakable floor of righteousness and judgment, so that what we cannot trace we can still trust.

"melted like wax," kaddonag namassu (כַּדּוֹנַג נָמַסּוּ). The psalm piles up images of majesty, and this is the sharpest: before Him the solid mountains run like candle-wax. This hidden King is no small or manageable deity.

Explanation

The psalm opens with the enthronement cry, "The LORD reigneth," and calls not only "the earth" but "the multitude of isles", the far-off coastlands, the ends of the world, to be glad. Then comes verse 2, which holds two truths in a single breath that we must not pull apart. First: "Clouds and darkness are round about him." God's reign is wrapped in mystery; we cannot see all that He does, His ways are often hidden from us in thick cloud, and we are left in the dark about why He allows what He allows. But in the very same verse comes the second truth: "righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Though clouds hide Him from our sight, His throne rests on an unshakable floor of righteousness and justice. Put the two together and you have the believer's exact situation: we cannot always see what God is doing, but we can always be sure what He is, perfectly righteous. The darkness is around Him; the justice is under Him. What we cannot trace, we can still trust. Then the psalm piles up the images of His majesty, fire going before Him, lightnings that make the world tremble, hills melting "like wax" at His presence, to say that this hidden King is no small or manageable deity. Before Him the solid mountains run like candle-wax. And yet, for all the cloud, "the heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory." Even where His purposes are veiled, His character shines out. The God we cannot fully see, we can fully trust.

Gospel Focus

"Clouds and darkness are round about him", this majestic, reigning God is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is coming again in just such glory: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (Revelation 1:7). The mountains that melt at His presence, the fire and the lightning, all wait for the day of His appearing. And the righteousness that upholds His throne is the very righteousness the gospel reveals, for "therein is the righteousness of God revealed" (Romans 1:17), supremely at the cross, where God proved Himself just even in justifying sinners. So when the clouds and darkness of God's providence are round about you, when you cannot see what He is doing or why, remember what upholds His throne: righteousness and judgment. The same Christ whose ways are past finding out is perfectly righteous in all of them. Trust the character you know when you cannot read the providence you see, for the reigning Lord is faithful and true.

Word Study

"confounded," Hebrew yevoshu (יֵבֹשׁוּ), be put to shame. The reign of God produces two opposite reactions. To those who serve idols it brings shame: "Confounded be all they that serve graven images." The same supremacy that gladdens Zion humiliates the idolater.

"graven images," pesel (פֶּסֶל). A carved thing, made by a workman's hand, yet served as though it were God. Those who serve such things are the ones put to shame when the true LORD is seen to reign.

"that boast themselves of idols," hammithhalelim ba'elilim (הַמִּתְהַלְלִים בָּאֱלִילִים). Idolatry is not merely served; it is bragged about. The psalm pictures men glorying in their idols, and it is precisely that boasting which the supremacy of the LORD turns to confusion.

"worship him, all ye gods," hishtachavu-lo kol-elohim (הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ כָּל־אֱלֹהִים). Whatever powers men have exalted, whether idols, false deities, or the angelic beings the nations worshipped, all are here ordered to fall down before the one true LORD. There is no rival to Him; every claimant to deity is dethroned and must worship.

"exalted far above all gods," me'od na'aleita al-kol-elohim (מְאֹד נַעֲלֵיתָ עַל־כָּל־אֱלֹהִים). He is "high above all the earth" and lifted very high above every so-called god. This is what Zion heard and was glad of: her God reigns and her rivals fall.

Explanation

Two things stand out here, one for the enemies of God and one for His people. First, the command that even the "gods" must bow: "worship him, all ye gods." Whatever powers men have exalted, whether idols, false deities, or the angelic beings the nations worshipped, all are here ordered to fall down before the one true LORD, who is "high above all the earth" and "exalted far above all gods." There is no rival to Him; every claimant to deity is dethroned and must worship. Second, notice the two opposite reactions that the very same reign produces. To those who "serve graven images" and "boast themselves of idols," it brings shame: "confounded be all they." But to God's people it brings joy: "Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD." The supremacy of the one God is terror to the idolater and gladness to the faithful. The judgments that shame the false gods are the very judgments Zion rejoices in, because they mean her God reigns and her rivals fall. And this is worth marking: God's people actually rejoice at His judgments, not from cruelty, but because those judgments vindicate truth, overthrow lies, and prove that the LORD alone is God. Where the world trembles at His supremacy, the church sings.

Gospel Focus

"Worship him, all ye gods", the New Testament takes this very line and applies it to Jesus Christ. Of the Son the Father says, "And let all the angels of God worship him" (Hebrews 1:6), showing that the LORD whom all must worship in Psalm 97 is the Lord Jesus, God manifest in flesh, worthy of the worship of every creature in heaven. He is the One "exalted far above all gods," for "God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9). Every idol and every rival power is confounded and dethroned before Him. And His people share Zion's gladness, rejoicing that their Lord reigns supreme, that every false god is shamed, and that the name of Jesus is exalted above all. So let the idols of the age be confounded; the church lifts up her head and is glad, for her Saviour is King of kings, high above all the earth, and before Him every knee shall bow.

Word Study

"hate evil," Hebrew sin'u ra (שִׂנְאוּ רָע). The command binds two things most people keep apart: "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil." Genuine love for God has a negative edge; it recoils from evil precisely because it loves Him. To love the light is to hate the darkness.

"he preserveth the souls," shomer nafshot (שֹׁמֵר נַפְשׁוֹת). The hatred of evil is not left unguarded. The same verse that commands it promises keeping: He guards the lives of His own and "delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked."

"his saints," chasidav (חֲסִידָיו). These are the LORD's own faithful ones, the people bound to Him, and they are the ones whose souls He preserves. The command to hate evil and the promise of preservation belong to the same company.

"light is sown," or zarua (אוֹר זָרֻעַ). Light is pictured as seed, planted in the ground. Seed sown is not yet seen; it lies buried, and for a time the field looks bare and dark. So the righteous may walk now in a season that looks like winter, yet what is sown will surely come up.

"gladness," simchah (שִׂמְחָה). Gladness is sown along with the light, "and gladness for the upright in heart." The present darkness is not the end; it is the ground in which a harvest of joy is already planted, certain to spring.

"the remembrance of his holiness," lezekher qodsho (לְזֵכֶר קָדְשׁוֹ). The psalm ends where it must, in thanksgiving: "Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness." The very holiness that makes evil hateful is the memory that stirs the saints to praise.

Explanation

The psalm turns at last from God's majesty to our lives, and it does so with a command that binds two things most people keep apart: "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil." Love and hatred are set side by side, and the psalm insists they belong together. You cannot truly love the holy God and remain soft toward the sin He hates; genuine love for God has a negative edge, it recoils from evil precisely because it loves Him. To love the light is to hate the darkness. And this hatred of evil is not left unguarded, for the same verse promises protection: "he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." Then comes the loveliest image in the psalm: "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." Light is pictured as seed, planted in the ground. That single word transforms the promise. For seed sown is not yet seen; it lies buried, and for a time the field looks bare and dark. So the righteous may walk, right now, in a season that looks like winter, no light showing, no gladness in sight. But light has been sown for them, put into the soil by God's own hand, and what is sown will surely come up. Their present darkness is not the end; it is the ground in which a harvest of light is already planted, certain to spring. The dawn is not merely hoped for; it is seeded, and the upright in heart will reap it. So the psalm ends where it must: "Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous."

Gospel Focus

"Light is sown for the righteous", the light sown for God's people has a name: the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). For the upright, "there ariseth light in the darkness" (Psalm 112:4), and the full harvest of that sown light comes when "the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43). The command to "hate evil" is the gospel's call to holiness, for "let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19), and, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" (Romans 12:9). And the promise that "he preserveth the souls of his saints" is sealed in Christ, who says of His own, "they shall never perish" (John 10:28). So if you are walking now through a dark and barren season, take heart: light has been sown for you in Christ. It is already in the ground, and the morning of gladness will surely come. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous.