A most excellent Thursday to you, my brother! Let us give praise to the One who deserves all of our praise!
Read Psalm 97. Selah.
In this second psalm of a triplet of psalms celebrating Our Lord’s presence, the psalmist opens once again with a declaration to rejoice and be glad. Why? Because the Lord reigns! And in vv 1, there is a notable phrase – “Let the multitude of isles be glad!” – which is a Hebrew idiom for ‘the ends of the earth’, lands populated by Gentiles. By using these words, the psalmist is calling all people, both Jew and Gentile, to rejoice in the Lord and to receive his words.
vvs 2 – 4 paint a detailed picture of just how compelling and fearsome the actual presence of the LORD can be. These verses remind us of the manifestations of God Almighty as recorded in:
Exodus 19 – “Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.”.
Deuteronomy 4 – “the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.”.
Revelation 15 – “The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple”.
My brother, never let us forget that standing in the presence of the power and the glory of the LORD can truly be an awesome experience. And not ‘awesome’ in the sense that our culture overuses the word, but ‘awesome’ according to the dictionary definition of the word; that is, “causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear: an awesome sight; exhibiting or marked by awe; showing reverence, admiration, or fear.”. Our God is indeed an awesome God – Deuteronomy 10 says it like this: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”.
The next couple of verses detail appropriate responses to the presence and awesomeness of God – declaring His righteousness, laying down idols, rejoicing, and exalting Him.
Then, the psalmist abruptly issues this stunning combination of exhortation and promise in vv 10:
“You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.”.
As His people, we are to hate evil – hate it! The Hebrew word used here is sane’, meaning to hate, both personally and utterly – this an extreme word used by the psalmist. In these days when there is so much evil surrounding us, remember that each of us who love the LORD are called to actively hate that very same evil. And as we take that stand to hate evil, the LORD Himself preserves our souls and delivers us out of the hand of the wicked! My brother, let each of us walk in the fullness of this commandment and this promise!
And as you go out today, (vv 12), “Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”! Amen!