#828 Soli Deo Gloria

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad!

2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

4 His lightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,

who make their boast in worthless 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, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the lives of his saints;

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is sown for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy name! Psalm 97 ESV

A Psalm of gospel proclamation.

The Lord reigns - Jesus is Lord, and all of the Bible points to and history depends upon His coming, His death as atonement, and His resurrection unto life.

…8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.… Romans 10: 8-10

- This is the watchword of the psalm-- Jehovah reigns. It is also the essence of the gospel proclamation, and the foundation of the gospel kingdom. Jesus has come, and all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth, therefore men are bidden to yield him their obedient faith. - C. H. Spurgeon

Let the many coast lands be glad - God has not revealed Himself as a locality, but God over all, everywhere, and beyond time and mortal capacity.

Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him - Now we see through a glass dimly, but then face to face. No man of reason would think himself able to kiss the sun, and for certain he would not survive the journey. Shall we presume upon God's great mercy, His grace and love, that He is no longer holy, or that He will not judge in righteousness? We treat it lightly, in a conversational fashion, that this was back then. Nadab and Abihu were the sons of the high priest, yet were killed by God when they offered strange fire. Obedience to His directions would have been the cloud to conceal themselves under, and taking His every word as instruction unto life, would have made the clearest night to gaze upon the stars of His revelation. Only humility can ever gaze upon the glory of God and live, because it is founded most safely inside of Christ. Oh Lord, that I may tremble at the thought of Your disappointment.

Nadab and Abihu

- This passage should teach us the impertinence of attempting to pry into the essence of the Godhead, the vanity of all endeavours to understand the mystery of the Trinity in Unity, the arrogance of arraigning the Most High before the bar of human reason, the folly of dictating to the Eternal One the manner in which he should proceed. Wisdom veils her face and adores the mercy which conceals the divine purpose; folly rushes in and perishes, blinded first, and by and by consumed by the blaze of glory. Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. There he abides, he never departs from strict justice and right: his throne is fixed upon the rock of eternal holiness. - C. H. Spurgeon

Fire goes before Him - This is a horrible thing in sin, but in Christ we are refined.

- Reading this verse in reference to the coming of Jesus, and the descent of the Spirit, we are reminded of the tongues of fire, and of the power which attended the gospel, so that all opposition was speedily overcome. Even now where the gospel is preached in faith, and in the power of the Spirit, it burns its own way, irresistibly destroying falsehood, superstition, unbelief, sin, indifference, and hardness of heart. In it the Lord reigneth, and because of it let the earth rejoice. - C. H. Spurgeon

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord - There are no obstacles to Him, they all must yield way, for what He says that will always come to past. Don't flee to the mountain, it will give way, nor say to the rocks, "fall on us", for they will not conceal you. 

…19 Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” … Matthew 17: 19-20

…16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. 18 But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”… Daniel 3: 16-18

28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”…

…31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you. 32 You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like cattle. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and He gives it to anyone He wishes.” 33 At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.… Daniel 4: 28-33

…5 One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.” 6 Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me. 7 Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.… Isaiah 44: 5-7

All worshipers of images are put to shame - No things, no governments, systems, works, everything made by man must bow before the Creator. Ideas, feelings, emotions, epiphanies, whatever men think great, must be checked against the Word of God. 

- A man who worships an image is but the image of a man, his senses must have left him. He who boasts of an idol makes an idle boast. Worship him, all ye gods. Bow down yourselves, ye fancied gods. Let Jove do homage to Jehovah, let Thor lay down his hammer at the foot of the cross, and Juggernaut remove his blood stained car out of the road of Immanuel. If the false gods are thus bidden to worship the coming Lord, how much more shall they adore him who are godlike creatures in heaven, even the angelic spirits? Paul quotes this passage as the voice of God to angels when he sent his Son into the world. All powers are bound to recognise the chief power; since they derive their only rightful authority from the Lord, they should be careful to acknowledge his superiority at all times by the most reverent adoration. - C. H. Spurgeon

Oh you who love the Lord, hate evil - Let me hate what You hate and love what and how You love.

8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. 9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.… Romans 12: 8-10

…5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. 6 But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.… Revelation 2: 5-7