Psalm 97: Rejoice, The Lord is King
Notes
Transcript
Don’t rush. Talk at a normal speed.
Be reminded that preaching is a form of worship.
They came to see Jesus.
This Psalm describes a kingly procession. You may remember a few weeks ago when I drew attention to the coronation of King Charles and the crown jewels and attire of the ceremony to describe how Psalm 93 speaks of the glory and majesty that the Lord is robed in here. So where Psalm 93 describes the Lord’s Kingly Attire here it describes the nature of the King’s Procession. The entering of the King in front of his subjects to reign.
Out of curiosity, I took a few moments to watch the process of King Charles’ procession prior to his coronation. The procession itself does not start when they arrive at Westminster Abbey though. The procession begins with King Charles and Queen Camila driving to Westminster Abbey in this carriage that is covered in gold. The streets are lined with people watching the entire thing. The coronation was viewed by 10.9million people with 2,200 invited to attend - which at first I thought was impressive until I learned that Elizabeth’s Coronation was viewed by 27million people with 8000 invited to attend.
As I finished the video, I thought, as any good American, “well that was a bit pretentious.” However, that’s because as Americans we reject human monarchies - even early founding fathers were at times report to confess “There is no King but King Jesus”, some have even made the argument that it was a motto for the American Revolution. So while I am certainly onboard with that - we do miss a bit of the power of the King’s Procession - though maybe one could argue some of that is maintained in some of the tradition with a president’s inauguration.
In my process of looking up various videos relating to the coronation procession of King Charles, I found a video of being protesting crying out “Not my King.” And while we’re no strangers to similar chants -they are futile wherever you are. King Charles is still King. President Trump is still President.
These coronation precessions have been going on for 900 years in England, and just over 200 years for inaugural ceremonies in the US… however, when we compare with the Biblical pictures we are given with the coming of the King they pale in comparison.
The summarize this Psalm would be Rejoice, the Lord is King, and the King is coming. He is coming in splendor and majesty. For some this is terrible majesty.
The language here in this Psalm describes instances in the Old Testament when God arrived among his people - burning bush, the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai, the various instances in which we see the reference to the Day of the Lord - or instances where the Lord pours out his wrath.
Within the New Testament and looking at this through the lens of the cross, our interpretation should rightly draw us to thinking of the second coming of Christ when we read this text. However, this language is also present in the various instances where the Lord appears before someone in the Scriptures.
We will be looking at this text through two main points today.
The Lord’s Reign
Man’s Response
In the point we will look at how the Lord will come in glory, and how he has demonstrated that splendor in history. And in the second we will see the appropriate responses to God’s presence.
The Lord’s Reign
The Lord’s Reign
The Psalm opens with the declaration that the Lord reigns.
Whenever we see the language - the Lord reigns we should understand that reigns is the verb form of king. We don’t say that a king kings. We say that a king reigns. It’s what kings do.
1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
You might read this verse and wonder what’s the deal with the coastlands? And while the phrase might seem a little odd, we have some similar phrases in our vernacular. Last week during your observance of Independence Day you may have heard America the Beautiful this song ends with “from sea to shining sea.” In this song the expression refers to the space between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. The expression the Psalmist is stating here is establishing one that God reigns as Sovereign King over all of the earth - from one coast to another. It refers to all the land that is between those bodies of water.
To state to let the coastlands be glad is to assert that gladness has spread to even the shores of the land. It has filled the whole land and spread to the seas.
God reigns over all creation… let all the creation be glad that he is king.
The Psalm is not merely just declaring that the Lord is King - It describes the procession of the King. The King is coming and here is what it looks like. And the visuals that the Psalmist portrays are that of Terrifying Majesty.
Clouds, darkness, fire, lighting, earthquakes, the mountains melting…
This sort of imagery ought to be somewhat familiar. We often see these things partner theophanies in the Bible. When God appears on Mt. Sinai, when Jesus is transfigured, when Jesus is crucified, when he raises from the dead. These occur in someway or another.
Exodus 19 gives us a similar picture as this Psalm does:
In Exodus 19:9 “9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud…”
Then in Ex 19:16
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
In verse 18 we read that Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord has descended on it in fire. And the Mountain trembled greatly. God answers Moses in Thunder in verse 20. And this is the context in which the Lord summons Moses to ascend to the top of the Mountain.
It might be easy in this moment to think back to Charleston Heston in “The Ten Commandments” where he is on the mountain and God in a pillar of fire comes to him on Sinai and gives him the 10 Commandments that were “written with the finger of God.” It’s an interesting, and even powerful scene. However, the scene doesn’t quite convey the appropriate terror that accommodates the presence of God in the Biblical narrative - but movies are hard.
Looking at one more verse from the Sinai Narrative…
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
Even at Sinai they see the sort of things that are describe in this Psalm and they are terrified.
But one thing that they did capture well in the film is the language of fire. Using the same idea as the Pillar of fire that leads the Israelites through the wilderness the film demonstrates God as a pillar of fire carving out the commandments.
3 Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.
Deut 4:24 speak of God as a consuming fire. That the fire that accompanies God’s presence devours, and consumes those who oppose him. It is once again a reminder of God’s wrath, and that God will be victorious over all of him enemies.
And this comparison to natural disasters and catastrophe continues through verse 5…
4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
One commentator noted the comparison to a storm. We find storms terrifying but also fascinating. Especially when we get our storms here - grab the kids, roll up the blinds and watch outside - it’s free entertainment. I remember being a small child in Illinois, sitting in the garage of our house watching the lightning - it was fascinating… and then when you’re an adult and you begin to learn of flash floods and you hear of tragedies like what happened in Texas the other side of storms comes to mind. And this is not all that different from the coming of the Lord. There will be splendor and fascination. But there will also be terror.
And while terror is one appropriate response to God’s majesty. Man’s appropriate response is also demonstrated here.
Man’s Response
Man’s Response
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
In verse 6, we see a statement that is quite similar to the opening of Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God. Even if the preacher is silent, the heavens are preaching a sermon that all people can hear. This ultimately leaves everyone without excuse. “I didn’t know. I never heard.” is not an excuse when even the heavens declare God’s glory.
While faith in Christ is necessary for salvation, the creation alone is enough for damnation. The heavens proclaim that there is a God who has made all things. The heavens declare that he is a righteous God who is worthy of worship. God has written his law on our hearts.
The sermon that the creation preaches demonstrates the foolishness of idol worship. They are put to shame because the creation screams of a Creator.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!
The scriptures do not pull any punches when it comes to exposing the foolishness of idolatry. We saw this in last week’s Psalm as well, where Psalm 96:5 speaks of the idols being worthless.
Things we have created are not able to create. Things that we have taken with our hands to produce or obtain are not worthy of worship.
In Isaiah 44 the prophet speaks of the foolishness of idolatry. That a man would use wood from the same tree that he cut down to bake his bread and as a platter for his meat as he would to craft an idol, and then he would bow before that piece of wood and say “You [piece of wood] are my god, and I will worship you.” It’s not that different from the foolishness of the Israelites as they arrive at Mt. Sinai, make a golden calf and proclaim this calf is the god that delivered us out of slavery. Gold that they just threw into the fire and Aaron fashioned into a calf is the god who delivered them. It’s foolish. And while it is easy to throw stones… we should remember that when it comes to idolatry we all live in glasshouses.
We often idolize things that are just as foolish as a wooden idol. Money is easily one of the most foolish things we idolize - many are drawn to chasing financial security as if more of it will solve all your problems - and yet it seldom is enough. While financial security can be a blessing from God, if it leads us to trust in our bank balance rather God’s provision we are being foolish.
And at the end of our lives, we can’t take any of that with us. At the return of Christ, whoever may be here, our bank account, success in the stock market, and bitcoin balances will not help us.
For those of you who are retired, it’s possibly the case that money isn’t really an idol for you. There may be other things that when you step back and look at it you find yourselves tempted to worship. Family, or legacy or comfort.
Or it is possible that you have created an idol of God. Let me explain what I mean by that - you worship a god that is not described in the Bible. You claim to believe the Bible, but when it comes to how God has revealed himself in Scripture you take what you like and get rid of what you don’t like. That’s not God, that’s not YHWH - that’s an idol - a God of your own design.
If the God you believe in is not consistent with what we have read in this passage. If the idea of clouds and thick darkness surrounding him as he comes in power and wrath, or that fire goes before him and burns his adversaries and that he melts the mountains like wax, if the earth doesn’t tremble before your God - then you need to fix your view of God. The Bible describes God as Holy, Holy, Holy, as a God of vengeance as we saw in Psalm 94, he is righteous and just (as we read in (97:2)
If you hear passages of Scripture like this and think “Oh that’s not God, that’s just the old testament. He’s not like that any more.” Then you have just created an idol.
I started listening to R.C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God” this week on audiobook and in chapter 2 or 3 Sproul writes, “A god who is all love, all grace, all mercy, no sovereignty, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath is an idol.”
Worship God, but make sure that you are worshipping the God of the Bible not a good of your own design.
And a major check to understand if that is true of you is to look at Psalms like this and ask is this the God I believe in? And then consider how you respond to who God is. Verses 8-9 give us a further picture of the appropriate response that we ought to have to the Lord.
8 Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord. 9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
God’s people rejoice and are glad… why? BECAUSE OF HIS JUDGMENTS. Do you rejoice in God’s judgments? God is always just when he pours out judgment.
God is the most high - he is above everything else. He is supreme over everything on this earth. He is above all gods - every false god that we ever make the mistake of worshipping - God is above it all.
The Psalm then gives you another point of evaluation in verse 10 -
Do you hate evil?
10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
If you love YHWH you are going to hate evil. If you love God, you will love the things that God loves - and you will also hate the things that God hates. It might sound shocking that God hates - you might even say - 1 John 4:8 says that God is love, how can God hate. God hates evil. God hates sin. Malachi tells us that God hates divorce. The proverbs give us a whole list of things that God hates:
16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Do you hate evil? Do you hate the things that God hates? Now most people will not admit that they love evil. But indifference to evil still falls short of hating evil. Indifference is often demonstrated in the form of excuse, or willfull ignorance.
Is it really that bad? becomes the question of one who is indifferent to evil. Or the familiar serpentine question “Did God really say?”
Verse 10 then concludes to demonstrate that God protects his saints from those who would commit evil.
10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
And that continues on in to verse 11 - God delivers the righteous from the hand of the wicked and provides light for the righteous, and joy for the upright.
That joy, that light, protection and preservation all come from faith in Jesus Christ. We are not righteous on our own. On our own we do not love God, we do not hate evil, we do not worship God rightly. On our own we are dead in our trespasses and sins, unable to please God, be holy, or pursue righteousness at all. God at the moment of our faith, and regeneration - he gives us a new heart, new desires, new life in Christ, he fills us with his Holy Spirit. And that is a reason to rejoice. What better reason is there to rejoice than in the coming of King Jesus.
He will come again… When Jesus came the first time he came as a baby in a manger, He came to bring salvation to those who were once far off. he came to bring salvation - because we cannot save ourselves. He is the only name under heaven given that we might be saved. He died to save us from our sins. He rose again proclaiming victory over the grave. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father - he is seated upon his throne reigning as King. And he will come again - in his second coming, he will come with the wrath and fury of God Almighty. Instead of riding into Jerusalem on a colt, he will return on a white horse. He will return as a conquering King, leading the host of heaven. He will come with the clouds, his eyes with fire, crowned in greater splendor than any king - and he will rule the nations with a rod of iron. In Christ, there is reason to rejoice.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
Give thanks to his Holy Name. And the name that he will be bearing when he comes again is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The millions who watch Charles and Elizabeth’s coronations will be low numbers for those who will see the second coming of Jesus. Rev. 1:7 tells us that every eye will see him - even though who pierced him. All tribes of the earth will wail because of him. And unlike modern coronations and inaugurations there will be no protests as they will be quickly silenced. We will see the King in his beauty - and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
The original Hebrew reader/singer would have heard/sung this psalm as The Lord supreme is King. He is greater than baal, asherah, molech, etc. Today’s modern eyes read this with declaration that there is a God. He is King. His name is YHWH, he has eternally existed in on God as three coequal persons - The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Where the Hebrew heard this as my God is King, yours is not. We read this as there is a King, he is good, he is majestic.
Atheism is scary. A worldview that has no god, also has no king. If no one is running this thing -
Our sin is divine treason, when we sin we are breaking the law of God - and in short proclaiming your law is not good enough, i don’t want you to be my king… but all of those protests where someone in their word, or deed who looks at Jesus and says no my kind will be silenced at the return of Christ. Every tongue will confess and every knee will bow.
