Psalm 97: Foundation

One of the things that I have neglected to mention is that Psalms 93 through 99 are connected to one another and referred to as “royal psalms”. They each celebrate God as King over Israel, the nations, the hearts of His people and the future of all things. The statement that ties them all together is “The LORD reigns”, which opened the section in Psalm 93:1 and was then repeated in Psalms 96, 97. and 99. What exactly does it mean? Hebrew word translated as “reigns” in all these verses is “malak” it means “to reign, to be king; to possess”. In each of these psalms it is written in the perfect tense which means “The LORD reigns” is not only a fact to be known or believed, but also an action that God is performing. In Psalm 93 we talked about the need to tell our hearts “The LORD reigns”. In Psalm 96 we talked about the call to tell the nations “The LORD reigns”, but here in Psalm 97 I believe we need to see God’s character in all of His reigning actions.  

The author, which is probably David, tells us the proper reaction to God’s action; because God reigns, we should rejoice. Yesterday I talked to a friend that has suddenly experienced a change in employment. Without even a hint of warning he and many others in his department were laid off. As he was telling me the news, he immediately followed it up by giving me a list of the people that have already started to take action on his behalf. He was not sure what they could do or even exactly what they were doing, but because of who they are, because of what they have done for him in the past, because of what he has seen in their character, he is being comforted and encouraged by the fact that they are acting for him. When Jesus said, in John 5:17, “My Father is always at His work . . .” (NIV) it was a cause to rejoice. If God is always at His work, then no matter what is happening, no matter what is changing, no matter what is shaking, we can be confident that the God who sees us, who hears us, who knows and loves us is working for us.   

You can only trust in unseen actions when you know the character of the one at work. The psalmist gave a description of God’s presence that is similar to what Israel experienced at Mount Sinai in Exodus 24. He writes about clouds and thick darkness, fire that burns up God’s adversaries, lightning that lights the entire world, the earth shaking and mountains melting. It is the scene that caused Israel to tremble with fear and ask Moses to talk to God for them so that they would never have to experience the fear of His presence again. At that point in Israel’s history, they had seen God’s power, they had benefited from His work, but they did not yet know the beauty or gentleness of His heart. The glory of Gods’ presence on the mountain reminded them of what He had done to Egypt rather than what He had done for them. They feared (in the negative sense) God because they did not yet know God. 

Many of our fears come from lack of knowledge. We do not know how things will work out, we do not know where to go, we do not know what is happening and our first response is often fear. In the description of God’s presence, near the beginning, the psalmist, knowing our propensity for fear gave us a reason for peace, “righteousness and justice are the foundation of his (God’s) throne.” It was as if he were saying, “no matter what is shaking, concentrate on the One who is holding firm, trust the One in the midst of the fire more than you fear the fire in His midst.” 

To again look at the Hebrew, the word translated as foundation is “makown” and it means “a fixture; a basis”. The basis of all that God does, the basis of all that surrounds Him, comes from Him, and bows to Him is righteousness and justice. This does not mean that all will go according to our plan, fit into our desires, or even leave us feeling comfortable or confident, but we can assure ourselves that God is always working, that His reign is always active, and that His work and activity are always built upon righteousness and justice. 

This is a truth that we need to tell ourselves, tell each other and tell everyone around us. It is a truth that is often not obvious. A truth that is constantly attacked. The truth of who God is, is the only thing that will ever explain what God does. My ignorance does not signal your incompetence. If I do not understand what you have done it does not mean that you have done the wrong thing, but that is often the accusation is it not? How often have we had an opinion about what someone should have done even though we did not know all that went into the situation, the decision, or the action? Are we any different in our thoughts of God? 

We start at the beginning. Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden in the first place? If there were no tree, there would have been no sin and we would have had no suffering, but we would also not know what love is, the joy of chosen fellowship, or the beauty of redemption. What Psalm 97 teaches us is that when we do not understand the way God is working, we can and we must trust His character. There was righteousness and justice in the Garden of Eden, at the flood of Noah, in the slavery in Egypt, the victories of David, the exile into Babylon, the cross of the Messiah, the descending of the Spirit, the persecution and scattering of the church and the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John. There is righteousness and justice in the active reign of God right now. There is righteousness and justice in what we do not understand, do not agree with and are actively asking God to change. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne, they are the beginning of all that He does, they are the givens in every equation, and whether we can see them or not, they are the outcome of all things. There will be righteousness and justice, they are the basis, the foundation of who God is, He was, and He always will be. 

Today, as the crisis rages, the LORD reigns. He is working, He is active, He is sovereign, He is, as Psalm 75 and Colossians 1 tell us, holding all things together, which means that no matter how it looks or feels, we are not falling apart. Whether we talk about the big picture things such as pandemic, election, economy, vaccine, prejudice, or injustice the assurance of Scripture is that God is working. If we talk about personal things, the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, isolation, depression, the feeling of having no control over anything, God is working. Often, before we can see His work, we have to be willing to trust His Word and to believe in His character. I am not here to tell you that it will all be okay, that things will turn out well or even that “this too will pass”. I do not know the outcome of anything we are currently in together or that you are in apart from me, but I believe that God is working, and I am sure that His work always flows from one place, His heart of righteousness and justice. They are His foundation which means, as His children, they are our portion. The nations will rage, the earth will shake, our hearts may try to deceive us, our spirits may want to fail, but the LORD will reign, His mercy will endure and God’s will in, for, and through our lives will be fulfilled in righteousness and justice.