The opening verse of this psalm looks ahead to the kingdom of God on earth as if the reign of Christ has already taken place. It is as if the Lord is already seated on the throne of David, and righteousness and justice are firmly established on earth. The crowning day has taken place, and the world rejoices. Faith looks at the word of God and recognizes that what God has promised is as good as what has been done already. Believers rejoice at this truth.
When our Lord returns, God's supremacy and universal authority will be evident worldwide. His government's righteousness and power will be a testimony to all nations. All mankind will see the majesty of our God openly displayed, which will testify to the fact that there can truly be “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”
Justice is one of the major themes in the Psalms, which look ahead to the future of Israel, which has been suffering for many generations. God is just and will carry out justice in His righteous way. Justice is more than just being honest. It includes intervention on behalf of those who cannot help themselves. Those who “obeyed not the Gospel,” who would not receive the love of the truth, who would not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, will be consumed by the brightness of His coming. Those who worship idols will realize how wrong they have been. They will be “confounded and put to shame.” Righteousness and just judgment will be universal.
God’s holiness once kept us from Him, but we give thanks because of the redemption price our Lord paid for with His own blood. The clouds of the heavenly host and those who He has redeemed with His blood will be with the Lord when Israel is restored to the Christ they had rejected when “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” God’s glory will be seen in the testimony of those who worship Him. Those who hate evil will rejoice in that day. God justifies those who believe in Jesus; through them, He visibly reveals Himself to the world today. He reveals Himself also in His creation and His word. On that coming day, “light is sown for the righteous;” light will be like a seed as all the world will join those who praise God and experience joy from honest and sincere hearts.
Outside all the covenants God made with Israel, we have been brought into this place of blessing, where we find ourselves now by virtue of the new covenant of Christ’s blood shed for us. Those faithful to the Lord are challenged to hold on and be steady. We are to consider the light of the kingdom as an accomplished fact. It is incumbent on us to purpose in our hearts to make God’s desires our own. We love what He loves and hate what He hates. When we worship the Lord, let us be glad and publicly rejoice as we have enthroned in our hearts the One who will be crowned in the coming kingdom. How great is our thankfulness for God’s goodness today!
PSALM 97 CELEBRATE THE SOVEREIGN v. 1-6. The Manifestation of the King. “The Lord reigneth…” v. 7-12. The Effect on Humanity. “Confounded… glad.”