Rejoicing in God's Reign of Righteousness and Justice

Psalm 97 is another of the royal psalms praising God's sovereignty. While it follows in theme from Psalm 96, it adds the benefits of God's rule to the people of Zion (thematically parallel to Psalm 99 following Psalm 98). As with the other psalms of this section, Psalm 97 may have been composed by David, as the Septuagint attributes it.

At the outset, we again encounter the key to the royal psalms in the phrase "the LORD reigns" (verse 1; see Psalm 93:1; Psalm 96:10; Psalm 99:1). The whole earth, even to the farthest isles, can be glad because His omnipotent rule is founded on righteousness and justice (verse 2b; compare Psalm 89:14).

The statement "clouds and darkness surround Him" (Psalm 97:2a) pictures the coming judgment of God on rebellious mankind. At that time, Christ will deal with His enemies in a great display of consuming power and global upheaval (verses 3-5), as detailed in many passages (e.g., Joel 2:2; Zephaniah 1:14-15; Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 2:19; Micah 1:3-4). This will demonstrate His sovereignty as "the Lord of the whole earth" (Psalm 97:5).

Verse 6 says, "The heavens declare His righteousness." In an ongoing sense, the heavens declare God's power and majesty (Psalm 19:1-4) as well as His establishment of cosmic order and stability. Moreover, in a future sense, the ominous signs in the heavens accompanying Christ's return will demonstrate His intention to bring justice to the earth.

The psalm calls for shame on those who serve idols, whether literal false deities or worthless pursuits that claim their time and attention. Anyone or anything that has been idolized will ultimately be placed in submission to the true God (see Psalm 97:7). As in the previous two psalms, we are told that God is "above all gods" (verse 9; see Psalm 95:3; Psalm 96:4).

Zion (Jerusalem) in Psalm 97:8 (see also Psalm 99:2) can refer to the physical city and its inhabitants, who are glad at the message of God's sovereignty and coming Kingdom. Jerusalem will in fact be the capital of the world during the reign of Christ. The "daughters of Judah" in Psalm 97:8 are taken to mean "villages of Judah" in the NIV, showing the rejoicing of Jerusalem and its outlying communities. In a prophetic context, "Zion" can also refer to God's spiritual people, His Church. So can the "daughters of Judah," as the spiritual people of God are Jews in a spiritual sense (see Romans 2:25-29).

Until Christ returns, those who love God must continue to reject evil (verse 10; see also Proverbs 8:13). God's people benefit from His protection and enlightenment--He is the foundation of their joy (Psalm 97:11-12).