Read Psalm
96-98 & Romans
12
To discover:
As you read consider why
God is worthy of praise.
To ponder:
Psalm 96 is
another call to worship the LORD. Once more, it equates praise with
proclamation, here, of his salvation, glory and deeds among the nations
(96v1-3). He alone is worthy of this praise because he is great and “to be
feared” (ie. reverently honoured and obeyed) “above all gods.” As is clear from
the context, this is not to suggest any other gods are real. They are idols,
whereas God made the heavens (96v4-5). 96v6 may speak of the splendour, majesty,
strength and glory of the impressive temple within which God dwelt. If so, it
is being used as an illustration of God’s greatness. But it was a pattern of
heaven itself (Heb 8v5). And Christ was ultimately the temple – the supreme picture
of how great God is.
In the light of God alone being the
true God, all nations are called to honour and worship him at his temple with
offerings and praise (96v7-9). “Families” here may picture the whole world now
like the nation of Israel .
They are to “ascribe” and so credit God for the glory and strength that are in
his sanctuary (as 96v6). All this asserts the falseness of other religions, and
looks to the inclusion of Gentiles with Jews in the true worship of God through
Christ.
Perhaps, in order to bring the
nations to worship God in this way, 96v10-13 urges his people to proclaim to
the world that he reigns, that he upholds the world, and that he will come to
judge all peoples fairly and in truth. And this is of such wondrous good, that
the entire creation is pictured singing with joy because of it. Do we declare
it as good news, when we speak of Christ returning to judge the living and the
dead?
Psalm 97 continues the theme of
judgement, again declaring that the earth should rejoice that God reigns
(97v1). 97v2-6 use the imagery of Sinai to show that his coming in judgement will
be terrifying. Indeed, he will be as a consuming fire to evil, because his reign
is founded on righteousness and justice. Once more “the heavens” (ie. sky) are
said to proclaim God’s glory, here this righteousness (ie. commitment to what
is right), perhaps by displaying his beauty and order. And because all see it,
all are without excuse. So those who worship idols are shamed and called to
worship God (97v7, see Rom 1v18-23). By contrast, Jerusalem
and Judah are
glad because of God’s judgements – in context, probably his delivering the
righteous from the wicked (97v8-10). In the light of God’s righteousness and
justice, those who love God are therefore urged to hate evil knowing that their
lives will be guarded from the wicked, and that they will be given light (ie.
God’s truth and goodness) and joy in him (97v10-12).
Psalm 98 assumes a more specific judgement
in which God has saved Israel
in faithfulness to his promises, and so revealed his righteousness in this to
all the earth. For this reason, not just the worshippers, but the whole world
and all who live in it are called to sing a new song and shout for joy before
God as king (98v1-8). Yet the psalm ends praising God that he will come to
judge the earth in righteousness and equity (ie. fairness). It may be this
reflects the fact that by witnessing God prove himself righteous in his
covenant commitments, we should be reminded that this righteousness will be
shown in judgement too. Alternatively, it may be that by celebrating God saving
Israel from her
enemies, and so judging and punishing them with defeat, the psalmist looks us to
the day of ultimate salvation, when God will judge the wicked and so bring the
righteous into his everlasting kingdom. Whatever the case, for us the whole
psalm can speak of this final salvation wrought through Christ, and the “new
song” that will then be sung (Rev 5v9, 14v3). Indeed, it reminds us that God’s
righteousness, faithfulness, salvation and judgement, are of such immensity and
wonder that it is only fitting for the entire creation to praise him.
Praying
it home:
Praise God for these
qualities. Pray that you would increasingly see God’s judgement as something to
rejoice in.
Thinking
further: Judgement
To read a
brief chapter by Jim Packer on judgement, click here.
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