Psalms 97:2-12

2 Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about.
4 His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory.
7 Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of 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, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Psalms 97:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 97

This psalm is ascribed to David by the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions. It is of the same argument, and upon the same subject, as the preceding, the coming and kingdom of Christ; and that it respects his first coming into the world, when angels were called upon to worship him, appears from Ps 97:7 compared with Heb 1:6 though it is expressed in such language as seems to agree with his second coming; and, perhaps, both are included, with various things between the one and the other; or it respects the kingdom of Christ, from his first to his second coming; to which agrees the inscription of the Syriac version, which is

``a Psalm of David, in which he prophesies concerning the coming of the Messiah, and again he intimates in it his last appearance.''

Footnotes 1

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.