This stanza of Psalm 119 begins each verse with the twentieth letter of the Aleph-Bet, “resh.”  Like the previous stanza, it contains verses with pleas to the Lord for help, with the psalmist declaring his love for God’s word, as well as some that remind of God’s promises and His love for the righteous.  Like the previous stanza, it concludes with the eternal truth of God’s word.

Psalm 97 is a beautiful song of praise to God for His power, authority, and supremacy over the heavens, the earth, and mankind.  The psalmist is believed by many to be David, although just as many attribute the writing to some time after the Babylonian captivity.  The psalm does have the “feel” of celebration concerning some victory or similar grand event.

In fact, it reminds us quite a bit of the “Song of Moses” – particularly Exodus 15:6-18, which praised God for His deliverance after the crossing of the Red Sea, as well as sights and sounds from the mountain after their arrival at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19:16-20, with a dash of Psalm 19 for good measure.

The Lord reigns, 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

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.