When His Glory Is Revealed
Psalms 97
February 7, 2021
One of the remarkable statements
Made by John in his gospel account is this:
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
• John of course spoke of the incarnation.
• He spoke of the day that God became flesh.
One might ask, how John knew that Jesus was God?
John replied, “we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father”
Peter would echo the same:
2 Peter 1:16-17 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”
• Peter says “we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
And by now of course you know what event they are speaking of.
Matthew 17:1-3 “Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”
These men saw His glory.
You could also add Paul to this list:
Acts 26:12-15 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”
These were men who saw the glory of the Lord.
They saw the glorified Christ.
John would see Him a second time.
Revelation 1:12-16 “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”
These men saw the glory of the Lord.
They were given a chance to see the veil of His flesh pulled back
And were able to take a peek as to what He was really made of.
THE WORLD DID NOT.
Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
When the world looked at Jesus they saw an unimpressive man from Nazareth who did not bear any of the expected glorious features of a King.
• They attributed His miraculous power to Satan…
• They judged Him a blasphemer…
• And ultimately they crucified Him.
They did not see His glory.
Indeed much of the world still does not.
Now you and I have not seen His glory either,
Yet we believe it because of the testimony of the apostles,
But much of the world does not.
Much of the world has failed to understand who Jesus is.
But that reality won’t last forever.
For the next time Jesus comes the whole earth will see Him.
Matthew 24:27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Matthew 24:30 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.”
Those who failed to grasp the true glory of Christ will see it.
This is why “every knee will bow…
and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
And this is the day our Psalmist speaks of.
(6) “The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.”
We are talking about the coming reign of the Lord.
It is true that Psalms 96 and 98 speak of this coming reign as well,
But they do so in joyous terms.
Psalms 97 speaks of this coming reign with a terrible warning.
And in light of His coming
The Psalmist tells us how to live our lives.
What he shows us tonight is incredibly convicting and invigorating.
He gives clear direction regarding the conviction
You and I should have in light of the coming reign of Christ.
So let’s work through this Psalm tonight.
We’ll break it down into 3 main points.
#1 THE EXPLANATION
Psalms 97:1-6
There is actually a term for the verb tense used here,
But I can’t remember what it is.
It’s basically something like “the prophetic present” tense.
• What I mean by that is that the Psalmist speaks of future events,
• But through the spirit of prophecy he speaks of them with such certainty
• That he actually writes of them as though they have already occurred.
That is why in these first six verses the Psalmist speaks
In what appears at times to be the PRESENT TENSE (1-3)
And even PAST TENSE (4-6).
All of these events are yet future,
But the Psalmist writes with certainty of their happening.
(1) “The LORD reigns”
Now certainly we could say that this is currently happening.
• God does reign in the heavens
• God does whatever He pleases
• Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Peter noted it at Pentecost.
Acts 2:32-36 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”
• Peter noted that Christ is in fact Lord.
• Peter noted that Christ does in fact reign.
However, His current reign is from heaven.
The writer of the Psalms is speaking of the day
He comes to reign on earth.
(1) “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad.”
Adrian Rogers had a unique way of explaining the current evil our world. He said that, “Right now the criminal isn’t in prison, the bride isn’t with the Groom, and the King isn’t on the throne.”
In a spiritual sense you could make argument for all of those things,
But in a physical world and a physical sense he is absolutely right.
And this explains the frustration and rampant evil of our world.
• Satan is the god of this world
• he is continually blinding the minds of the unbelieving so that they won’t
believe the gospel.
• Satan is tempting and deceiving and devouring men in his evil plan of
destruction.
• Jesus is saving His bride,
• But she is currently saved from afar, left only to long for the return of her
Husband.
• And the earth suffers and groans under the effects of the sin curse.
• We do not have a land where righteousness dwells…
• We do not have a creation that is free from the curse…
• We do not have a just king on the earthly throne…
The Psalmist however looks to the day when we will.
And on that day “the earth [will] rejoice”
Of course it will!
We read it last week:
Psalms 96:11-13 “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”
Next week we’ll see it again:
Psalms 98:7-9 “Let the sea roar and all it contains, The world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.”
We read:
Romans 8:18-23 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
So we understand the anticipation and excitement of the world
For the day when the righteous king sits on the throne.
“Let the islands be glad.”
• “Islands” is a common term of Israel to refer to far and distant nations; or far and distant lands.
If you want to insert the United States into the Old Testament somewhere, then you can accurately put her here.
She would be one of those distant nations or islands.
And on the day when the Lord returns and reigns upon the earth,
She will “be glad” and “rejoice” like every other nation in the world.
It is certainly a joyous and anticipated event.
HOWEVER, the point of Psalms 97 is that
It is not an event that will be enjoyed or anticipated by everyone.
• For the Psalmist does not immediately speak of the great blessings and joys of the Lord’s reign,
• But rather the Psalmist outlines the way in which He will come to take His throne.
Verses 2-6 describe His terrible wrath and powerful second coming.
(2-6) “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.”
Perhaps we could break those verses down a little to give a more detailed picture.
1) HIS POWERFUL PRESENCE (2a)
“Clouds and thick darkness surround Him”
It brings a visual reference back to Sinai.
Remember the writer of Hebrews wrote of that day:
Hebrews 12:18-21 “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.”
You remember that awesome scene of the Old Testament
Where no one would dare even think of touching that mountain.
They learned that day that God is not to be messed with,
He is to be feared.
The writer of Hebrews took that reality and catapulted it into a conversation regarding the second coming and the heavenly kingdom.
Hebrews 12:25-29 “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”
The writer of Hebrews spoke of Sinai and the terrifying scene, but
“and that was only 1 mountain”
Next time He will “SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.”
And he closed by calling God “a consuming fire”
Which we will see referenced again in verse 3 of Psalms 97.
But you get the picture.
• When Christ opens the sky to return to this world,
• The sight of His coming will not be one of meekness and cheer.
• It won’t be like a baby in a manger surrounded by shepherds.
When He comes it will be a terrifying scene for this world.
In fact, even the elect are told to live righteous
So that even we won’t shrink back at His coming.
1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
He is coming with a powerful presence
2) HIS RIGHTEOUS CAUSE (2b)
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”
The FIRST TIME HE CAME John described His purpose like this:
John 1:16-17 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
We saw Him as One of mercy and salvation and grace and truth.
He came to save sinners.
Next time He comes with “righteousness and justice” as His cause.
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
3) HIS THOROUGH JUDGMENT (3)
“Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about.”
We already read that God is “a consuming fire”
• Fire is used as analogy because it is indiscriminate and thorough.
• It burns everything.
And the reminder is that no one will escape His coming fury and justice.
• No sinner will escape…
• No villain will endure…
• No evil man will simply be able to go into hiding and wait out His reign…
To be certain men will cry out to the mountains to fall upon them,
But as you will see in a moment the mountains will melt like wax.
There will be no hiding from the righteous King.
It will be a thorough and total cleansing of this world of evil.
It will be a purification by fire.
His Powerful Presence, His Righteous Cause, His Thorough Judgment
4) HIS TERRIFYING REVELATION (4)
“His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled.”
Ever been in a storm in the middle of the night?
• You can hear the wind, you can hear the hail, you can hear the thunder; and
you know it’s bad.
• But you can’t see how bad.
• You can’t get a good handle on the degree of the devastation.
However, in that storm you will be momentarily granted just flash moments where you can see the degree of the devastation.
At that moment when lightning strikes you get a split second of brightness where you can see the effects and the degree of the devastation.
That is the revelation spoken of here.
And on those brief moments where the Lord allows them to see
The full degree of His terrible wrath, “the earth saw and trembled”
It was even worse than they could have imagined.
Look there’s a reason Jesus describes His coming like this:
Luke 21:25-27 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.”
That’s why we read:
Luke 17:24 “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.”
And what men see will cause them to faint
And writhe in pain like a woman in labor.
5) UNSTOPPABLE ADVANCE (5)
“The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mountains are used because they are immovable.
• That’s why Jesus used them as analogy saying that “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, ‘jump into the sea’”
Earlier when the Psalmist wanted to speak of the most terrifying reality available, he wrote:
Psalms 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.”
Mountains were faithful, they were resolute,
They are majestic, and immovable.
But even the mountains will not be able
To stop the Lord’s advance when He comes.
Remember the 7th bowl judgment? (It culminates with the return of Christ)
Revelation 16:17-21 “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.”
Nothing can stop the Lord when He comes to reign.
6) HIS EVIDENT GLORY (6)
“The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.”
They all missed Him the 1st time, but none will miss Him the 2nd time.
• They will see His terrible wrath.
• They will behold His awesome power.
• They will fall beneath His thorough judgment.
This is reality about the second coming of the Lord.
And “every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
This is the Explanation of His coming.
And from there the Psalmist moves us to his second point.
#2 THE EFFECT
Psalms 97:7-9
What will the effect be of this righteous Judge who comes to hand out judgment and reign upon the earth?
Well for the wicked who worshiped and honored false gods,
There will be nothing but Total Shame.
(7) “Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods.”
Incidentally, many of you have recently seen the end of that verse.
Hebrews 1:6 “And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”
Back in Hebrews 1 when the writer was pointing out that
Jesus is greater than the angels, he quoted this verse.
That on the day of His reign every created thing will worship Him.
Trees, human, animals, even angels and demons.
And for everyone who had yet to worship and glorify Him,
But who had spent their lives giving glory to false gods;
They will be ashamed.
Isaiah described it like this:
Isaiah 2:12-21 “For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased. And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, Against all the lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, Against every high tower, Against every fortified wall, Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the beautiful craft. The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, But the idols will completely vanish. Men will go into caves of the rocks And into holes of the ground Before the terror of the LORD And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble. In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs Before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble.”
Certainly you see that men will be terrified at the return of the Lord, but did you notice what they will do with all their false gods?
“In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold…”
They’re going to bury them and try to hide them.
Why?
Because they’re trying to pretend like they never owned them.
That is the day
• When Islam becomes Waslam
• When Hinduism becomes Hinduwasm
• When Buddhism becomes Buddwasm
Men will shrink in fear and do anything they can
To disassociate themselves with all their false gods.
But for the redeemed, who have been ridiculed on the earth for holding fast to the true God, there will be Great Rejoicing!
(8-9) “Zion heard this and was glad, And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced Because of Your judgments, O LORD. For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.”
It will be a tremendous day of joy and rejoicing for the children of God!
On the day when Christ returns and every false religion dissolves
We will let out a cry of joy like the world has never known!
In fact, we are already told the song we will sing
On the day when false religion is abolished.
Revelation 19:1-6 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”
• The Hallelujah Chorus is not a Christmas song, it is a second coming song.
• And we will sing it with joy on the day our Lord returns to crush false religion and reign upon the earth.
NOW, ALL OF THAT IS PERHAPS OLD NEWS TO YOU.
No doubt you love that reality, but I doubt anything I told you there was new.
More important to us tonight, and the real point of the Psalm,
Is this final point.
The Explanation, The Effect
#3 THE EXHORTATION
Psalms 97:10-12
In light of the truths of verses 1-9 the Psalmist would encourage you and I regarding how to live on this earth until that day comes.
• If you know that Christ will return in terrible fury to judge the wicked…
• If you know that none of the wicked will stand before Him…
• If you know that all will bow in worship of Him…
• If you know that every false god will be abolished…
• If you know that Christ’s glory will cover all the earth…
Then should that knowledge influence the way you live today
While still in this corrupt and fallen world?
And the answer is a resounding YES!
And do you see the most immediate application?
(10) “Hate evil, you who love the LORD,”
It is a strong word to be certain, but it is clear.
As God’s people who are awaiting the return of our righteous King
• We are not to tolerate evil…
• We are not to ignore evil…
• We are certainly not to participate in evil…
• We are to “hate evil”
If you “love the LORD” you must “hate evil”
Amos 5:14-15 “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have said! Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
The calling here is to STAND FIRM!
Too often in our culture, because of fear of backlash
Or being ostracized by our “woke” communities,
The church retreats into fear regarding the evil world around us.
And often the church embraces what is evil
Under the banner of “love” or “tolerance” or even “missions”.
That is a hypocritical and cowardice farce!
God hates evil, we are to hate evil.
Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Romans 12:9 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”
What a statement from Paul.
You can’t claim to have genuine love for God if you love what God hates.
TURN TO: PSALMS 139
• We are familiar.
• We love the last 2 verses.
• But 4 verses are omitted.
LOOK AT VERSES 19-22
What?
• When David is asking God to search his heart, he is asking, “God can
you see that I really do hate those who hate you?”
• When David asks God to see if there is a hurtful way in him, he is asking,
“Do I love anything that You hate and thus hurt You?”
• When David says to lead him in the everlasting way, he is saying, “Help
me to love what You love and hate what You hate because only this
way will endure.”
Our call is clear to hate evil.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
It’s stated the opposite way, but it’s the same point.
You cannot love what God hates and call yourself a child of God.
And listen, the church must stand here.
• Things like abortion
• Things like sex trafficking
• Things like pedophilia and child trafficking
• Things like corruption
• Things like homosexuality and sexual perversion
We must “Hate evil, you who love the LORD”
Now, THE FEAR IS that if we rise up and stand against what is evil and hate it, then we know that we will receive great backlash.
That’s why people don’t do it.
They fear retaliation by those who do evil things.
To that the Psalmist gives a great reminder.
Speaking of the LORD, he says, (10b) “Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.”
You are afraid of evil people so you don’t stand against evil.
DID WE NOT JUST READ that the LORD will come and judge this world in righteousness and on that day those who stood for Him will greatly rejoice?
Do you believe that or not?
Then WAIT for the Lord and trust Him
And stand for what is righteous and good on this earth.
The Psalmist says (11) “Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart.”
Better translated as: “Light dawns for the righteous”
• Christ will come
• Light will dawn
• Evil will be obliterated
• So hate evil, be righteous, be upright, stand for what is right and just and good!
AND FINALLY
(12) “Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.”
In your struggle with an evil world,
• Rejoice that we win in the end!
• Don’t live in fear and dread, live rejoicing!
• Don’t live in complacency and cowardice, live with gratitude that we win!
Live like you really believe Jesus will return
And judge all those who participate in evil.
Live like you really believe Jesus will return
And reward those who walk in justice and righteousness.
To quote Adrian Rogers again:
“Live your life like Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.”
The Lord Reigns
The Lord Will Reign
Live in anticipation of that day!
