Rejoice in the Righteousness of the Sovereign LORD

Psalms 97:1-12 

1 The LORD reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad!

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.

What a wonderful song of praise to the Sovereign LORD our God!  Because He rejoices, we should likewise rejoice as well.  Though He is hidden from us as far beyond the clouds and in as if in darkness because the spiritual realm is not visible to human eyes unless they are opened (2 Kings 6:17), we worship Him joyfully (1 Peter 1:8).  His rule, His throne, is founded on the absolute bedrock of righteousness and justice.  All He does is right and true, and how He deals with us is our just due (Romans 3:21-24, 26), including atoning forgiveness and grace in the mercy of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice of Himself for us.  He can send fire to consume His enemies, cause men to tremble in the fear of God by lightning all around, melt away the highest mountain men attempt to hide behind - but in the end, He declares His righteousness and our eyes see His glory, unhidden and we are exposed.  Those who worship false gods, either in idol statue or other form, these will be put to shame in the final judgment as all will bow to the only true God (Isaiah 45:22-23, 24-25, Philippians 2:10-11).  All God’s children, however, hear with gladness of His righteous judgments of us, and the good news of His grace in good will to men He has chosen.  There is none higher than Him!  Because of who He is and all He has done, we hate evil as much as we love Him.  This means we flee from all evil (Proverbs 8:13, Romans 12:9, 1 Corinthians 10:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:22) as we rely on His care to keep us in the day of judgment, and out of the hands of the wicked while we stand upon the earth.  As it is written here, He sows light in our lives because we are righteous in Christ and pursue righteousness in living in response.  Rejoice in Him and His holy name with thanksgiving as we meditate on who He is and all He does!  We truly rejoice in the righteousness of our sovereign Lord.  Amen.