Most people seem to have a fairly dim view of the coming judgement of Jesus. For many, I can sort of understand that. However, it seems that many Christians also hold a similarly negative view of the whole thing. The writer of Psalm 96 would like to disavow this downer attitude among the people of God.
The entire Psalm is grounded in a sense of giddy and ecstatic joy. Right from the start, you are left in no doubt what mood the writer is in. This person is barely able to contain themselves in their effervescent joy about what God is going to do.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous deeds among all peoples.Psalm 96:1-3
The source of joy is the very person of God and what He does and has done for the people of God. The Lord is deserving of a tonne of praise simply because He is God and the Creator. He made the skies we see at night, along with performing many deeds among His people and the world. Not only that, the Lord is deserving of all the praise we could give Him.
There is a part where the psalmist says that we should worship the Lord and “tremble” before him. This little aside is in no way meant to detract from the overall glorying in a God who is so utterly holy and righteous as to beggar belief.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.Psalm 96:11-13
Just when you think the psalmist has finished, he gets even more out of control. God will judge the world and people in righteous and faithfulness, just after the psalmist lets out the theological equivalent of a “YAHOOOOOOOO!”. Even the very creation itself is called to rejoice in this judgement.
Is the psalmist completely out of his tree?
I don’t think so. I mean, think about it. Creation has laboured under the results of human sin since humans decided they knew better than God. Kudos to the adversary for that bit of salesmanship. Since Adam and Eve crapped on God’s limitations, it is not just humanity that has suffered. It has been creation itself in a very real way.
God’s judgement is a signal event in the redemptive plan that He put into place and culminated in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus finally returns to judge the world, this will mark the end of sin for all time. That means creation itself will be freed from the poison humanity stained it with. No wonder the trees in the forest start singing in the psalmist’s imagery. I would, too, if I were a tree.
Rather than a cause for sombre misery, the judgement should be seen by the People of God as a moment to look forward to. It should be considered with relish and anticipation. The judgement marks our own release, too, from the effects of sin and its stain. It marks the beginning of our time with Jesus Christ as our Lord. What more reason do we need to party it up and pray for its hasty coming?
In the very next Psalm, it says the Lord’s throne is built on a foundation of righteousness and justice (v.2). It is in the very character of God that the basis of our joy is to be found. He is faithful. He is just. He is righteous. He is full of splendour and majesty. Strength and glory are His. With a judgement from One who is all of these things and perfectly so, it is on the basis of God’s personhood that we can rejoice and celebrate.
The judgement of God is perfect and beautiful. Rock on and let’s blow the roof of this joint off because of it!
Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash.