The Lord Reigns Series

Scripture

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent in 2021. We continue in our sermon series, “Christ’s Advent in the Psalms.”

Today I want to examine Psalm 97. This Psalm is one of seven so-called “Theocratic Psalms” (Psalms 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, and 100). The theme of all seven Psalms is: “The Lord reigns as King over all the earth.” Three of these Psalms begin with the words “The LORD reigns” (Psalms 93, 97, and 99), and the other four Psalms begin with a call to sing to the LORD because he reigns (Psalms 95, 96, 98, and 100).

Psalm 96 (which we examined last time), Psalm 97, and Psalm 98 each announce the Lord’s coming as the world’s king. But whereas Psalms 96 and 98 pulsate with joy and expectation at the coming of the Lord, Psalm 97 shows the awesome side of the Lord’s coming, especially for those who are unprepared for the coming of the Lord.

Let us read Psalm 97:1-12:

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad!

2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.

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.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,

who make their boast in worthless idols;

worship him, all you gods!

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.

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.

12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy name! (Psalm 97:1-12)

Introduction

Do you know what is involved when the President of the United States travels? There is much more involved than one might think. For example, Secret Service agents scope out the President’s destination months ahead of time, sometimes by as much as three months. The Secret Service identify people they need to watch. They even contact people who have been known to harbor animosity toward the President and warn them that they will be watching their every move. Dogs help the Secret Service search for bombs. During his travel, the Secret Service carry several pints of the President’s blood, in case he is injured and they need to administer emergency treatment before he can get to a hospital. These procedures – and many more – accompany the President whenever he travels.

Christians know that the Lord Jesus Christ has come once, and we celebrate that advent every Christmas. But, we also know that he is coming again. We call that the Second Advent of the Lord. A lot of things will take place with the Second Advent of the Lord.

Lesson

Psalm 97:1-12 shows us the coming of the Lord to judge unbelievers and to reward believers.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. The Description of the Second Advent of the Lord on the Earth (97:1-5)

2. The Effect of the Second Advent of the Lord on Unbelievers (97:6-7)

3. The Effect of the Second Advent of the Lord on Believers (97:8-9)

4. The Encouragement of the Second Advent of the Lord to Believers (97:10-12)

I. The Description of the Second Advent of the Lord on the Earth (97:1-5)

First, let us look at the description of the Second Advent of the Lord on the earth.

The Psalmist writes in verse 1, “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” The first assertion is that the LORD reigns. The Psalmist acknowledged the Lord’s sovereign rule over all the earth. And yet in that assertion there is also a looking forward to the First Advent of Jesus. Jesus’ First Advent was the inauguration of his reign. After his ascension, Jesus is now sitting at the Father’s right hand where he is ruling and reigning and waiting for the Father to send him back for his Second Advent. Meanwhile, the good news of Jesus’ reign gives rise to the earth rejoicing and the people of many coastlands being glad. From the perspective of the Psalmist, all the foreign peoples live on distant coastlands. And so the First Advent of Jesus brings great gladness to all who surrender to his reign.

The Psalmist goes on in verse 2, “Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” Surely, the Psalmist was thinking of Mount Sinai where the Lord revealed himself to Moses in a thick cloud. The Lord’s essential deity could not be seen by anyone, and so he surrounded himself in clouds and thick darkness so that his glory would not destroy any human. Moreover, God’s government is based on righteousness and justice. People may get away with murder in this life; but they will have to appear before the ultimate bar of justice and there they will encounter perfect righteousness and justice.