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Psalms 97

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The Lord Reigns in Majesty 1–6

1
Jehovah reigneth; let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad.
2
Clouds and darkness are round about him: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. ​
3
A fire goeth before him, And burneth up his adversaries round about.
4
His lightnings lightened the world: The earth saw, and trembled.
5
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ​
6
The heavens declare his righteousness, And all the peoples have seen his glory.

Judgment on Idolatry and Gods 7–9

7
Let all them be put to shame that serve graven images, That boast themselves of idols: Worship him, all ye gods. ​
8
Zion heard and was glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoiced, Because of thy judgments, O Jehovah.
9
For thou, Jehovah, art most high above all the earth: Thou art exalted far above all gods.

Exhortation to Love and Holiness 10–12

10
O ye that love Jehovah, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of his saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. ​
11
Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. ​
12
Be glad in Jehovah, ye righteous; And give thanks to his holy memorial name.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 97

Verse 2

Clouds and darkness — Anan is cloud and araphel thick darkness, as at Sinai: 'darkness, clouds, and thick darkness' (Deut 4:11); 'Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was' (Ex 20:21). Solomon said, 'The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness' (1 Kings 8:12). The base (makon) of his throne is 'righteousness and judgment' (Ps 89:14 has 'justice').

Verse 5

The hills melted like wax — Masas is to melt and donag is wax. Deborah sang that 'the mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai' (Judg 5:5), and Micah foretells that 'the mountains shall be molten under him… as wax before the fire' (Mic 1:4). 'Lord of the whole earth' is also in Zech 4:14, and Josh 3:11 has 'the ark… of the Lord of all the earth' crossing Jordan.

Verse 7

worship him, all ye gods — 'Confounded' is bush, put to shame, and those who 'boast' (halal) of 'idols' are the elilim of Ps 96:5, nothings. The call to worship is then turned on the beings called 'gods'. Hebrews 1:6 puts the same call on God's lips when he brings the firstbegotten into the world: 'And let all the angels of God worship him.'

Verse 10

Ye that love the LORD, hate evil — Ahav, love, and sane, hate, are put together. 'The fear of the LORD is to hate evil' (Prov 8:13), and Paul says 'Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good' (Rom 12:9). 'Preserveth' is shamar, to guard, and 'delivereth' is natsal, the verb of Ps 72:12; 'saints' are the chasidim, the faithful.

Verse 11

Light is sown for the righteous — Zara is to sow seed: the light is put in the ground now and comes up later. 'Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness' (Ps 112:4), and 'They that sow in tears shall reap in joy' (Ps 126:5). 'Gladness' is simchah, and the 'upright in heart' (yashar) are those whose hearts are straight.