Let us praise God for his dominion and power. Psalm 97

If we want to find precious pearls and diamonds of great value, we only have to navigate in the depths of God's wisdom and we will find precious stones of much more value than fine gold. Psalm 97 is precisely a myriad of diamonds and precious pearls that teach us about God's valuable and impressive sovereignty in his creation. The author of this psalm exhorts us to recognize that the Lord reigns and is a cause for rejoicing for all the inhabitants of the earth. The heavens have declared his righteousness and all nations have seen his glory. God reigns and his sovereignty endures forever. The glory of God is not vanity and is above those who pretend to call themselves gods and are made of wood by vain men themselves. God sows his light in the righteous and brings joy to the hearts of the upright, who praise the memory of the Lord's holiness. The composer of Psalm 97 wrote:

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice,
Let the many coasts rejoice.
2 Clouds and darkness around him;
Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire shall go before him,
And shall burn up his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings lightened the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax before the LORD,
Before the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens proclaimed his righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen his glory.
7 Let all who serve graven images be ashamed,
Let all who glory in idols be ashamed.
Let all the gods bow down to him.
8 Zion heard, and was glad;
And the daughters of Judah,
O Jehovah, they rejoiced at thy judgments.
9 For thou, LORD, art exalted above all the earth;
Thou art highly exalted above all gods.
10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil;
He keeps the souls of his saints;
He keeps the souls of his saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
And joy to the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice, ye righteous, in the LORD,
And praise the memory of his holiness. Reina-Valera 1960 (RVR1960).

_{Imagen source}

It is important to recognize that God has dominion and power over all that has been created by his right hand. God's lordship is for eternity, because his kingdom is eternal. The author of Psalm 97 tells us that God alone reigns and should be a source of joy and great happiness for the inhabitants of the earth. The peoples and nations that are found on the many shores should acknowledge God's lordship and should praise his holy name. The throne of God is established upon his righteousness, and his judgments decorate the foundations of his throne. God's righteousness shines upon the darkness to bring his light to the peoples who remained in it. God reigns and we should praise him with great joy.

The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice,
Let the many coasts rejoice.
2 Clouds and darkness around him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Psalm 97: 1-2

_{Imagen source}

The glory of God is like fire that goes before Him and consumes the wickedness of His enemies. Those who ignore God and choose to remain in darkness, God will consume them as an embracing fire around them. God will command his lightning and it will light up the world, the earth will see it and tremble. Just as Moses went up Mount Horeb to bring the Law of God to the people of Israel and there was lightning and thunder that shook the mountain of God, so the earth shook in his presence, because God dominates and exercises power over all his creation. At the presence of God the mountains will melt like wax because God is Lord of all the earth. How great is the power and dominion that God has over his creation. His enemies will tremble and there will be no hope for the day when God will bring his judgment upon them.

Fire will go before him,
And he will scorch his enemies all around.
4 His lightnings lightened the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax before the LORD,
Before the Lord of the whole earth. Psalm 97: 3-5

_{Imagen source}

God's angels were messengers who announced His righteousness and the peoples of the earth saw His glory. God's righteousness that would come with the Messiah awaited by Israel. God from the heavens has spoken and those who serve their gods of sticks should be ashamed, for the God of the whole earth is jealous and his wrath consumes the idolaters. Israel heard the voice of God, for to him was given the Moral Law from heaven, the Israelites rejoiced and thought that salvation was for them alone. They rejoiced in the judgments of Jehovah. However, God is exalted over all the earth and brings salvation that the gods of the heathen nations cannot give. Let the believing people rejoice, for God has proclaimed his righteousness from heaven, and there will be no idols to save but God alone.

The heavens proclaimed his righteousness,
And all peoples have seen his glory.
7 Let all those who serve graven images be ashamed,
Those who glory in idols.
Let all the gods bow down to him.
8 Zion heard, and was glad;
And the daughters of Judah,
O Jehovah, they rejoiced at thy judgments.
9 For thou, LORD, art exalted above all the earth;
You are exalted above all gods. Psalm 97: 6-9

_{Imagen source}

The author of Psalm 97 concludes by encouraging God's people to love our God and hate evil. God keeps the soul of his saints and delivers it from the hand of the wicked. The Lord will cause the light of his glory to shine upon all his chosen ones and will gladden the hearts of the upright. The oil of gladness will cover those who serve the Lord, and they will sing praises to the Lord in remembrance of his holiness.

You who love the LORD, hate evil;
He keeps the souls of his saints;
From the hand of the wicked he delivers them.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
And joy to the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice, ye righteous, in the LORD,
And praise the remembrance of his holiness. Psalm 97: 10-12

_{Imagen source}