The Bible is clear in calling us to joy—strong, pure, deep, abiding, resilient joy
Philippians 4:4-‘Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice’
Nehemiah 8:10-‘The joy of the LORD is your strength’
Psalm 118:24-‘This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it’
Isaiah 61:7-‘Everlasting joy will be theirs’
Gal 5:22-joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit
But we are often at a loss in identifying the source of such joy. You can ignore the problems, or lose fear in diversion or entertainment but that is not real joy. How, we ask, are we to be joyful in a world like this with injustice, suffering, abuse, confusion, etc?
The question itself is skewed. It assumes that joy comes from our situation. The Bible points us out, away from ourselves.
But we are stubborn in our error: If only I can do well in this class, I’ll be happy. If only can:
Finish college Get into grad school Get this job Get married Have children Make more money But none of these are sturdy enough bases for real joy. The Bible roots joy in the sovereignty of God- ‘Rejoice the LORD is King.’
As Calvin stated: ‘ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all miseries; the highest blessedness lies in the knowledge of it’ (Calvin, Institutes I.17.11).
The basic point of Psalm 97 is to draw us in to rejoicing in the sovereignty of God
v.1-The truth of God’s sovereignty should lead us to joy. This is a good thing.
Sovereignty of God is not to be speculative, but is in fact one of the most pastoral of doctrines
Note the reference to ‘earth’ and ‘many islands’-this is not just for Israel but for all peoples; ‘islands’ is often used in Scripture to refer to outposts of humanity
Why is this such a good thing that is should cause the whole world to rejoice?
1) because the evil that seems so rampant, that seems to be unbridled is not in control, instead it is bridled under the hand of the Sovereign God
Friend of Luther, Frederick Myronius to Calvin: “I am glad that Christ is Lord of all, for otherwise I should utterly have been out of hope” (cited by Boice)
“The truth is that all things, including the fruit of your own blunders and stupidity, sinfulness and ignorance, including the things we cry to God from . . . work together for good to those who love God” (Leith Samuel)
2) because this God is good
v. 2- Clouds and thick darkness—mystery, aweàtranscendenceàSinai
righteousness and justice—part of the reason His reign is a cause for rejoicing, He is just
vv 3-5-take up the awesomeness of God
Fire, burning up His adversaries-‘Our God is a consuming fire’; He is unstoppable
His reign is sure and unthreatened. Awesomeness in judgment
So While we should be concerned about actions of the anti-God folk, we should not fret. God cannot be kicked out of anything!
As “the glory of children is their fathers” (Prov 17.6) so the glory of believers is God. We boast in Him!
Lightnings-His sheer power seen in nature
Thunderstorm while preaching at Chickasaw on awesomeness of God
Thunderstorm in Kenosha, young guy and girlfriend at door visibly shaken, ‘I was just looking for a light with a house on!’
The earth’s response to the presence of God is to be instructive to us:
It trembles before God (v4b)—Isa 66:2
The mountains melt like wax-Mountains were the place of refuge, the most prominent symbols of stability and durability (Kidner). There is no such thing as earthly stability before God.
The Highlands become like Scotch broth, the Himalayas like a thin curry!
If this God be for us, who can stand against us?
Especially since while we were His enemies He gave His son for us, will he not now freely give us all things?
This calls us to a proper fear of God-no trite triviality here. We should melt as if we were before Him (cf. Isa 6). Do we have this sense of trembling before God? I think we are far too casual.
v. 6-Natural revelation; sums up these natural phenomena saying this portrays God’s glory so that all peoples have seen it (note universal scope again)
2. The Shaming of all other gods (vv7-9)
In light of this splendor of the LORD, all the sham gods are show for the puny frauds they are.
Those who worship idols, or build their lives on things other than God, or live their lives more concerned about the approval of man than the approval of God, should and will be ashamed when they see the surpassing awesomeness of God.
Also our subtle idols: money, power, prestige, indulgence all pale before this God gods=where we turn for joy Indeed the very idols are called to pay homage to the true God: ‘Fall down before the LORD, O Baal and Buddha. Prostrate yourself Mohammed and you pantheon of Hinduism. Fall before Him Confucius, Rev. Moon and all who would claim to be gods.’ Or as Spurgeon said, ‘Let Jove do homage to Jehovah, let Thor lay down his hammer at the foot of the cross.’ In light of this, the people of God rejoice (v. 8). God’s supremacy is cause for joy, because He is true and supreme. Too often though in our PC age, this truth causes people embarrassment rather than joy. So will you turn from your idols even now and trust this God?
3. Response to God’s Supremacy (vv 10-12) Hate evil and love God. To do one requires the other. Do this because: He will preserve those who seek Him and shun evil He will deliver you from the wicked who will hate you for doing so He will destroy those who oppose Him (v. 3) So if you would be serious about loving God: You must hate evil-strong words. This is not distaste for sin, or uneasiness about it, but seething hatred, unremitting hostility, no holds barred combat. You cannot coddle and clobber at the same time. Hatred of sin is one of the clearest marks of conversion. You can count on opposition from the world-don’t expect people around you to encourage you in this We might think mention of sin, especially hating sin is out of place in a discussion of joy. But the hatred of sin is a key element of true joy. Sin is the cancer eating away at your soul. If you would have joy, you must declare holy war against your own sin. v. 11-Blessings for those who love god and hate sin. Holiness leads to gladness. We are tempted to think that joy is found in our sin, or at least that a serious battle against sin and temptation will lead to dreariness and drudgery. God says, ‘Not so!’ Rather He will bless with gladness those who are upright in heart. Purity leads to joy. Unbeliever-Kingship of Christ is not in question, just whether you can rejoice in it. Bow to this Christ and know this true joy. Believer-REJOICE!! The sin you now hate once dominated, even defined, you has been removed by this Sovereign God! Romans 8:1 –There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! So, we come to the Lord’s table rejoicing that this sovereign LORD took on flesh that it might be broken and blood that it might be spilled to redeem us. And now this LORD has given us this symbol to remind us that he has declared us forgiven. Let us partake rejoicing that the Lord is King.