Psalms 97 and 98

Both of our Psalms today are prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. They were penned by King David.

Psalm 971 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad.
2 Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes.
4 His lightning flashes out across 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; every nation sees his glory.
7 Those who worship idols are disgraced— all who brag about their worthless gods— for every god must bow to him.
8 Jerusalem has heard and rejoiced, and all the towns of Judah are glad because of your justice, O Lord!
9 For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right.
12 May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord and praise his holy name!
Way back in the 60's there was a song by Country Joe and the Fish that said "hold on it's coming, hold on it's almost here." The song was an allusion to fabled stories about folks who had picked up hitchhikers that happened to be angels. The message was always clear: Jesus is coming soon...and then they'd disappear. We were doing a lot of hallucinogenics in those days. Serious people thought it was silly. Maybe not.

But trust me...its very near. And I don't need Country Joe McDonald to remind me.

Psalm 97 reminds us that nothing can stand in the say of Christ's return. "Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes. His lightning flashes out across 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; every nation sees his glory. Those who worship idols are disgraced— all who brag about their worthless gods— for every god must bow to him."
I recall talking with a co-worker. He told me he didn't believe in a bodily return of Jesus. I wonder if Jesus knows that. I'm constantly amused at the authority with which so many people speak. Its as though saying it...or believing it...makes it true. So, if I don't believe Jesus is coming back...He's not? Psalm 981 Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!
2 The Lord has announced his victory and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!
3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!
5 Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song,
6 with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn. Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy
9 before the Lord. For the Lord is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.
Come to think of it...this is the root of sin: The idea that we can create something out of nothing. To paraphrase Descartes, "I think it...therefore it is!" Only God can pull that off.
I don't mean to be picky, but if the earth quakes, mountains melt like wax and all the gods of this earth will tremble and bow down...I'm not convinced one man's bright idea will do much to stop the inevitable.
Even as Christians we don't always live our lives with Christ's return in mind. How many times should we find ourselves thinking "I'd hate it if Jesus came back while I was doing this!" The truth is, we should live every moment as though Jesus is right around the corner. Why? Because "all the wickedness of this world will be disgraced" when Christ returns. That's more trouble than I need right now.
On the other hand ..."Joy shines on those whose hearts are right." Disgrace? Joy? Even I'm smart enough to make that choice. How about you?
Live boldly out there today...



Even for my skeptical friend, I think he's missing the big picture. The primary motivator for denying Christ's return is wishful thinking. They don't want it to happen. If they did, it's not difficult to see it in scripture. Why don't' they want it to happen? Because it will upset their equilibrium.

Have you heard the phrase "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know?" In this case, "the god you know is better than the god you don't know!"

We all have our earthly gods that dominate our lives. It is the task of believers to tear down those gods every day and worship the one true God. If we don't, we begin to get comfortable with our gods and really don't want to live without them. The thought of the Messiah coming
all of a sudden looks more like a threat than like deliverance.

I confess. When I was young, preparing for a life of ministry as a military chaplain I used to pray and ask God not to return before I had a chance to be a chaplain for awhile. I wanted it that badly. That is the gospel truth and that is an earthly god staring me straight in the face.

Talk about pathetic!

David reminds us "the earth will break out in praise and sing for joy! The sea and everything in it will shout his praise! The rivers will clap their hands in glee! The hills will sing out their songs of joy." So, when Julie Andrews sings "The hills are alive with the sound of music," where do you think that comes from? Straight from Psalm 98. And I'll wager she never actually thought it would happen.

When I think about it, there isn't much I'd rather witness than a Killer Whale shouting praise to the coming Christ. I need to be a little more careful about the treasures I lay up here on earth. they might quickly become gods.

How about you? Anything you have going on right now that you couldn't give up?

Live boldly out there today...