Year 2, Day 230: Psalm 97

Psalm 97

Psalm 97 contains what is often called a theophany of God.  A theophany is a description of spectacular supernatural phenomenon in the heavens and the intent of a theophany is to reveal God’s presence.  Here in the opening verses of this psalm we have a grand theophany.

In the beginning of the psalm we talk about thick clouds and darkness that surrounds the Lord.  The thick clouds and darkness are often a symbol of the judgment of God.  If we think about this, it really should make sense.  When we undergo God’s judgment – even those of us who are redeemed by Christ – we will face our deeds.  We will face the realization of our judgment and understand just how much we need grace.  While it will be a great day to fully be embraced in God’s grace, it will also be quite scary to know the truth of just how sinful we are.  This is often why things like dark and thick clouds are used as an analogy about judgment.  This is also why it makes sense that things like righteousness and justice are paired with this analogy of the thick and dark clouds.

Furthermore, we hear discussion about lightning, fire, and earthquakes.  These are all further symbols of God’s penetrating judgment.  Remember the idea of the refiner’s fire?  This is the fire that melts away all the dross.  Or, think about what an earthquake does.  It tears down those things that we think are so strong in order to expose the non-eternal quality of the things of which we boast and take pride.  Or, think about lightning.  Lightning is an uncontrollable force that seemingly strikes at random with incredible destructive force.  Here in this psalm we have another testimony to God’s judgment and His power.

What is the effect of God’s judgment?  We are put to shame.  Thus of us who have ever sinned and put our trust in idols and other things that are not God are shamed on account of our unfaithfulness.  We come to a realization of just how futile our pursuits of things other than God actually happen to be.

This is why I love the call at the end of verse 7.  The plea is for us to worship God!  The plea is for us to turn to Him and recognize Him as God.  Human nature is sin and one way or another we make ourselves out to be God.  We make ourselves out to be more than we are.  Thus, our response is to turn and worship Him.  We should recognize that it is all about Him.

When we hear this message and respond, we are indeed glad.  It is a strange thought to think that we rejoice upon judgment, but we really do.  It might be strange to think that God’s discipline is desired and that we are glad to remove ourselves from the spotlight and put Him into the spotlight.  But that is precisely what faith is all about.  When we recognize that we are not the Almighty, we are drawn to identify the One who is.  We are made glad by finding the one being in this world who can righteously be the Almighty.  It makes us glad to understand our place.

We end with an admonition.  If we love the Lord, we should hate evil.  The Lord preserves us from evil; why should we want to embrace it?  No, we should respond by learning the Lord’s ways and trying to live them out as well as possible.  That is the response of the faithful.  It is light, not darkness, that is sown from the righteous.  Why should we then want to live among the ways of evil?

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