Thoughts for the Day

The Glory of God’s Reign

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshippers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him...

The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

Thoughts

Psalms 93, 95-99 and 47 are all about the reign of God as King of the universe, and what lays in store for His people. They are often referred to as "Enthronement songs" because they focus on God's eternal kingship. The two either side of Psalm 97 (see Psalm 96 and Psalm 98) sing of God's homecoming, and capture something of the sheer happiness of such a time, as though He is a much loved master who has come back. Yes He comes to judge the earth and its inhabitants, but the overwhelming feeling is of happiness at His homecoming. But in Psalm 97 we see the coming of a warrior King who is a conqueror. His majesty is shrouded in clouds and deep darkness, and fire consumes His adversaries. Indeed the earth and its mountains melt before Him.

But if at this point we are terrified, we should see that God does not just come in power and might. His throne, indeed His whole being, rests on the twin principles of 'righteousness and justice', that is in doing what is right and in administering justice accordingly. These are the core elements of the King's rule, and those who worship Him should respond to this with thanksgiving for He has come to rescue the 'righteous', and overthrow the 'wicked'.

Psalm 97 reminds us then that God will appear one day at the end of time to bring His creation to completion. On that day the righteous (those perhaps who worship Him, and who try to live their lives according to His will, but who acknowledge their own failings) will rejoice we are told. The confident message of the psalm speaks of God’s reign in a world that seems at the moment to be under the control of evil. Our task in such difficult times is to hold on to the promise made at the end of our Bible: 'The one who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." (Revelation 22.20). Then may our prayer continue to be: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"

Almighty God,
King of the earth and of its inhabitants,
we pray for Your intervention
in a world that is damaged.
We try to combat the evil around us,
but are often unsuccessful because of fear
or our ignorance.
Help us to bring justice to those in need,
and peace and harmony to our families
and friends.
Then may we join the cry:
"Come, Lord Jesus."