Day 172. Psalm 96-102

Psalm 96
This is an enthronement hymn—we will encounter several more in our reading for today-- a song in praise to Israel's God intended to be sung in the temple at a great national event, like the enthronement of a king. The voice of the psalm calls upon "all the earth" to "sing to the LORD a new song" (96:1). The LORD is to be "revered above all gods," who are merely "idols," pretend gods powerless to save (4-5). But the psalmist testifies to the unique "honor and majesty" of the LORD, and calls upon the "families of the peoples" to "bring an offering [to the LORD's sanctuary] and come into his courts" (8). God chooses Israel as his people, but the LORD is God of the whole earth, and it is the work of Israel to testify to the strength and glory of its God. "Say among the nations," the psalmist says, "'The LORD is king!'" The enthronement of a king of Israel is the occasion to reaffirm the kingship of the one who
made a covenant with David to establish his house forever. The purpose of singing God's praises him is to tell the good news of who God is and what he will do—"judge the world with righteousness" (13)—not only to Israel but to the whole creation.
Psalm 97
Here again is another enthronement psalm sung at the anointing of another Israelite king. "The LORD is king," the voice of the psalm says (97:1). He is the one from whom the authority to rule ultimately comes. The earthly king is but a servant and viceroy of the heavenly one, ruling at his good pleasure. His presence breaks upon the world in a storm of glory. The God of Israel is unique in having glory in himself that is not ascribed to him by human beings. They depend on him, not he on them. He is an authentic God who is worthy of worship because he establishes justice on the earth. His judgments put "to shame" the "worshippers of images," which are only "worthless idols" (7). Pagans are shamed by the glory of the LORD; "Zion hears and is glad" (8). The wicked will do their worst, but after every crisis "light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart" (11).
Psalm 98
Israel has endured a period of national crisis, but God has "done marvelous things" in delivering his people from their enemies (98:1). Justice has been done. He has remembered his promises—his "steadfast love and faithfulness"—to the "house of Israel" (3), and gotten them victory in battle. This calls for a "new song" to be sung in the temple. "All the ends of the earth" are called upon to see what the LORD has done for this people and to join in making "joyful noise to the LORD" with every musical instrument available (4-6) for establishing justice, which is the greatest of God's creations. Even the "sea" and "the floods" are called upon to join in the musical praise, because the LORD "coming to judge the earth, and the peoples with equity" (9).
Psalm 99
Here is yet another enthronement psalm which celebrates the holiness of God. "Holy is he," the voice of the psalm exclaims. But the holiness of the LORD is demonstrated not by who God is much as by what he does. He is the "mighty king" who loves justice and has "established equity" (99:4). God's justice is the reason he is worthy to be praised, and it is the duty of earthly kings, whom God establishes and supports, to model God's holiness and uprightness. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are cited as exemplars of Godly virtues. The LORD revealed to them his "decrees" and his "statues," and they obeyed them (6-7). For that reason they were "answered" when they prayed. Their lives were no means perfect, but when they failed in anything, God revealed himself to them as "a forgiving God" (8). So Israel is called upon to obey the law, as they did, and to "extol" the LORD and worship "at his holy mountain"—that is, in the
temple—because the LORD the God of Israel, who "is holy" (9), reveals himself there.
Psalm 100
This beautiful little psalm returns to the themes we have visited before. It is a song praise intended to be sung in the Jerusalem temple. But the call to worship goes out beyond the sanctuary and the holy city of Jerusalem and includes "all the earth" (100:1). The glory of God calls for universal praise. Worshippers are called upon to "make a joyful noise" in witness to the greatness of God. We owe our very existence to the LORD alone. He made us, not we ourselves. Israel is called upon to praise the LORD, because he chose them from among all peoples as a witness to his steadfast love and faithfulness. "We are his people," the psalmist affirms, "and the sheep of his pasture" (3). So God deserves the praise of those who gather to worship in his temple because he is at all times "good" (5). He does not forget his promises to Israel, and he upholds his end of the covenant faithfully.
Psalm 101
In this royal psalm a king from the house of David promises to uphold "justice" (101:1) and "walk in integrity of heart" (2). He reaffirms the covenant made when he was anointed king, promising to uphold the law of God and punish the evildoers. He promises not tolerate the haughty in his presence and those "who practice deceit" in his court (7). He promises to "look with favor on the faithful of the land," and to choose such as these to be his trusted servants and courtiers (6). He promises carry out the program God set up when he established the Israelite monarchy, following the example of the LORD in destroying the wicked (8), and making his land safe for "whoever walks in the way that is blameless" (6).
Psalm 102
The psalm--#102--is a prayer shared by all who are going through times of "distress." His days "pass away like smoke," the voice of the psalm declares, "and [his] bones burn like a furnace" (3). We are not told the exact nature of this distress, but he feels it is shortening his life and draining his strength. He is without appetite and wasting away. He is alone and abandoned "like an owl of the wilderness," the voice complains in what must be one of the most moving images in the psalms, "like a little owl of the waste places" (6). Isolated from other people, he lies awake, brooding upon the wrongs he has suffered at the hands of his "enemies" (8). The LORD, who had once lifted him up, has now "thrown [him] aside" (10). He withers like the grass. But his anxiety is not only for himself; it is also for Jerusalem, whose very "stones" and "dust" he holds "dear" (14). God's holy city also seems to have been
discarded, and the psalmist boldly suggests that now it is well past time for God to help his city in distress. By doing so the LORD "will regard the prayer of the destitute" (17) and prove himself deserving of praise by "people yet unborn," because he regards the suffering of his people and "set[s] free those who were doomed to die" (20). The psalmist decries the fact that God "has broken [his] strength in midcourse; he has shortened [his] days" (23). He begs for help, reminding the LORD that human life is fleeting, especially when it is compared with his own. He is "enthroned forever" (12)—human beings die. He pleads with the LORD not to forget this. In the human world there is such a thing as too late. Now is time to rescue those in distress. The LORD who created heaven and earth, will "endure," even when all his creatures have perished and worn "out like a garment" (26). There is no permanence. No one lives forever, but
there is some comfort in that "the children of [God's faithful] servants will live secure" (28). He gives to those who are faithful the promise that their children and grandchildren will "be established in [the LORD's] presence" (28).