Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

Some of the verses of this psalm are reworked fragments of previous psalms authored by David although there is no designated author given in the Hebrew Bible. Delitzsch places it at the time of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem when the Jews returned to their land. The religious community sensed that the promised one was coming soon and there was a strong Messianic hope in the nation. Christ is seen in the psalm as returning King of Kings “The Lord is King! ” (1) It is outlined in four sec- tions:

I LET THE ISLANDS BE GLAD - 1,2 II EVERY NATION SEES HIS GLORY - 3-6 III EXALTED ABOVE ALL GODS - 7-9 IV LIGHT SHINES ON THE GODLY - 10-12

I LET THE ISLANDS BE GLAD - 1,2

“The Lord is king! (The Lord reigns, NIV) Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest islands be glad.” (1)

The leading thought is the absolute sovereignty of God in all things. Sovereignty ‘is an attribute of deity without which God could not be God…If he did not know what was going on, he would be constantly taken by surprise. If he were not omnipotent, he would not be able to control events. If he were not ab- solutely free, his actions would be predetermined by some other will or by unavoidable circumstances 1 …’ God is in control of all situations. The exuberance surrounding the Jews return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple are ex- pressed in this strongly Messianic psalm. “Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord be- cause the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.” (Ezra 3:11) It seemed that Yaweh had reemerged after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity as King of all the earth causing King Cyrus of Per- sia to make his decree for the Jews to return and rebuild the temple. In the historical language is the prophetical, while celebrating the immediate facts of the ‘return of Yahweh’ on the world scene, there remains the vision of the ultimate return of Christ at the end of the age. The second coming of Christ is both a joyful event for the believer and a terrifying one for the enemies of God. There are many parallels be- tween this psalm and the New Testament passages describing the times of the Christ’s coming again. • Clouds of glory- “Clouds and darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foun- dation of his throne.” (2) Matthew 24 is one of the principle chapters where Jesus describes his return: “And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Mt. 24:30) • Fiery judgment- “Fire goes before him and burns up all his foes.” (3) Peter reminds us that Christ’s return will be accompanied by a fiery judgment: “And God has also commanded that the heav- ens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish.”(2 Pet. 3:7) • Lightning- “His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles.” (4) His coming will be announced by the most spectacular lighting storm ever witnessed: “For as the lightning lights up the entire sky, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.” (Mt. 24:27) • Mountains dissolve- “The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.” (5) The mountains cannot withstand the glory that shines from the Lamb of God: “And all of the mountains and all of the islands disappeared…Then the kings of the earth, the rulers…all hid them- selves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Rev. 6:14-16) • Signs in the heavens- “The heavens declare his righteousness; every nation sees his glory.” (6) The natural heavens tell the world about the wonders of God; they will be particularly active as Christ’s return draws near: “And then at last, the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heav- ens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth.” (Mt. 24:30) II EVERY NATION SEES HIS GLORY - 3-6

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