Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
In its setting the psalm proclaims that Jehovah reigns over the earth and the nations, and that righteousness and justice are the foundation of His rule. In its plain sense it declares that all who serve graven or carved images and boast themselves of idols will be confounded and put to shame, while all gods are called to worship Jehovah.
In the larger setting of Psalms 96-98 it belongs to the millennial jubilee, when the Lord reigns and the earth rejoices with heaven. The confounding of idol-servers and the command for all gods to worship Him take place at His personal coming to judge the earth with righteousness and equity. That coming is literal and pre-millennial, standing before the millennium, and at it the earth rejoices and millennial glories begin.
That coming to judgment is attended by clouds and darkness round about Him, fire before Him burning up His enemies, lightnings enlightening the world so that the earth sees and trembles, tempest, and hills melting like wax at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth, while the heavens declare His righteousness as judge. Psalm 97 describes this coming to judgment in the strongest terms, in language as plain and literal in style as the coming and judgment in Psalm 50, yet its context weaves in a millennial element that causes it to be denied a literal meaning. The pre-millennial place of that coming is shown by the whole structure of the psalms and by Hebrews 1:6.
Hebrews 1:6 applies the command that all worship Him to the Son, so that the verse presents the Son as worthy of divine worship as the angels worship Him. Like the second commandment, it condemns only idolatrous worship and such likenesses as are made for the purpose of worship, not the harmless and instructive making of likenesses or representations for ordinary purposes, such as letters, beasts, birds, buildings, fruits and flowers. It applies even when people claim they do not worship the image itself but bow before it and serve an invisible power they believe it represents. It rebukes the extreme of making and adoring likenesses and pleasant pictures, warning not to flood houses with them or pollute the heart by worshiping them.
In its setting the psalm proclaims that Jehovah reigns over the earth and the nations, and that righteousness and justice are the foundation of His rule. In its plain sense it declares that all who serve graven or carved images and boast themselves of idols will be confounded and put to shame, while all gods are called to worship Jehovah.
In the larger setting of Psalms 96-98 it belongs to the millennial jubilee, when the Lord reigns and the earth rejoices with heaven. The confounding of idol-servers and the command for all gods to worship Him take place at His personal coming to judge the earth with righteousness and equity. That coming is literal and pre-millennial, standing before the millennium, and at it the earth rejoices and millennial glories begin.
That coming to judgment is attended by clouds and darkness round about Him, fire before Him burning up His enemies, lightnings enlightening the world so that the earth sees and trembles, tempest, and hills melting like wax at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth, while the heavens declare His righteousness as judge. Psalm 97 describes this coming to judgment in the strongest terms, in language as plain and literal in style as the coming and judgment in Psalm 50, yet its context weaves in a millennial element that causes it to be denied a literal meaning. The pre-millennial place of that coming is shown by the whole structure of the psalms and by Hebrews 1:6.
Hebrews 1:6 applies the command that all worship Him to the Son, so that the verse presents the Son as worthy of divine worship as the angels worship Him. Like the second commandment, it condemns only idolatrous worship and such likenesses as are made for the purpose of worship, not the harmless and instructive making of likenesses or representations for ordinary purposes, such as letters, beasts, birds, buildings, fruits and flowers. It applies even when people claim they do not worship the image itself but bow before it and serve an invisible power they believe it represents. It rebukes the extreme of making and adoring likenesses and pleasant pictures, warning not to flood houses with them or pollute the heart by worshiping them.