Psalms 98:9, commentary and pictures

The Lord himself is coming to judge the whole earth and world, judging its peoples with righteousness, equity, fairness and truth. The promise is plain and literal, one of the strongest descriptions of his personal second coming to judge, solemnly repeated across Psalms 96, 97 and 98. That coming stands before the millennium, not a spiritual coming, and belongs to the millennial jubilee when his everlasting kingdom is established and he reigns as King over the redeemed earth. His coming to judge is cause for joyful praise through all creation, with sea, rivers, hills and floods summoned to rejoice before him as King. Then the creation now under vanity, bondage and curse will be delivered and renewed to new heavens and a new earth by a refining fire, and when sin and sinners are destroyed forever and the redeemed receive everlasting life all creation will praise both his mercy and his justice.

Coming to Judge Justly

The Lord comes to judge the whole earth and the whole world, judging the world with righteousness and its peoples with equity, fairness and truth. His coming is a coming to judgment connected with the second advent, announced by natural upheavals and disasters as last-day signs of the approaching final judgment. It marks the triumph of his kingdom, a prophetic vision and hope of his return that is cause for joyful praise throughout creation and anticipates the joyful song rising before the great white throne.

Its language is plain and literal in style, as literal a coming and judgment as Psalm 50, in language very much like that psalm. It is one of the strongest descriptions of his coming to judge the earth, whose coming and judgment is the final coming to judgment. Its context has millennial matter interwoven with that coming and judgment, and its coming and judgment stand connected with millennial descriptions and belong to the time before the millennium.

The promise of his personal coming to judge with righteousness and fairness is solemnly repeated three times across Psalms 96, 97 and 98. That threefold repetition belongs to millennial times, the millennial jubilee when the earth rejoices and millennial glories begin, proving the coming is before the millennium and not a spiritual coming of the Holy Spirit. The coming to judgment it promises comes with clouds and darkness round about, fire burning up enemies, lightnings enlightening the world so the earth trembles, and hills melting like wax at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth, which is the day when the elements melt with fervent heat, and its whole structure together with the use made of these psalms in Hebrews 1:6 shows it is pre-millennial.

His judgment gives just judgments rather than judging by appearances. His law witnesses to the justice of that judgment and provides its authority, because the law expresses his character and is true, righteous and everlasting. He judges the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity, and creation is summoned to rejoice before him at that coming to judge the earth.

The judgment gives justice to those who have rejected mercy and grace. When sin and sinners are forever destroyed and the redeemed receive everlasting life, all creation praises both his mercy and his justice. This is the final judgment, when the wicked suffer the second death and those who overcome receive eternal life.

Second Advent Before Millennium

The verse is David's testimony that the Lord himself will come to judge the earth, and it stands as proof of the promised personal return of Christ and his second advent. In that coming he judges the whole world with righteousness and treats its peoples with fairness, equity and truth. The surrounding call for sea and world and rivers and hills to rejoice before him belongs to that same coming judgment, which is the second coming of Christ. That promised return is a hope that strengthens believers amid the world's suffering.

It is a prophetic vision of his coming to earth and expresses the hope of Christ's second coming, giving reason for joyful praise throughout creation. The earth's natural upheavals and disasters are part of the last-day forecast announcing that approaching final judgment and second advent.

The coming belongs to millennial times, the millennial jubilee when the earth rejoices and millennial glories begin at Christ's personal return in a coming to judgment. Millennial matter is interwoven with that coming and judgment in its context, making it one of the strongest descriptions of his coming to judge the earth. It is connected with the establishment of God's everlasting kingdom on the redeemed earth, where Christ reigns as King over all and the renewed earth rejoices at his coming.

The coming and judgment it describes stand connected with millennial descriptions and belong to the time before the millennium, proving the coming is before the millennium and not a spiritual coming of the Holy Spirit. Its language is plain and literal in style, as literal a coming and judgment as Psalm 50, in language very much like that psalm, and it is the Lord's final coming to judgment. The psalm contains distinct allusion to millennial times, and its whole structure together with the use made of these psalms in Hebrews 1:6 shows it is pre-millennial. The same threefold solemn repetition across Psalms 96, 97 and 98 confirms its personal coming to judge with righteousness and fairness.

That coming to judgment arrives with clouds and darkness round about, with fire burning up enemies, with lightnings enlightening the world so that the earth trembles, and with hills melting like wax at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. This is the day when the elements melt with fervent heat.

His coming marks the triumph of his kingdom, when he will end sorrow and pain and death. The earth and its creatures rejoice as it draws near, in a song of praise and joy that anticipates the joyful song rising before the great white throne. That hope both strengthens believers amid suffering and calls people to prepare through consecrated service.

Creation's Joy and Renewal

The coming of the Lord to judge the earth is cause for joy throughout all creation, for he comes to judge the world with righteousness and its peoples with equity and fairness. It is the great judgment day and the promised personal return of Christ, announced as a prophetic vision of his coming and a hope that strengthens believers amid the suffering of the world. The sea and the world, the rivers and hills, even the floods, are summoned to rejoice and to break into joyful praise before him at his coming.

The verse stands in a song of joy over the coming and reign of the Lord, in which the earth receives him as King and makes room for him, hearts are prepared for his entrance, and heaven and nature join together in praise and singing to welcome him. His coming marks the triumph of his kingdom, and the earth with its creatures rejoices as that triumph draws near, anticipating the joyful song that will rise before the great white throne. The summons for even floods and hills to rejoice before him is a command, and to refuse that joy is to disobey the gospel.

The rejoicing of the whole frame of nature, especially this lower world of inanimate and sensible creatures, belongs to the time of the restitution of all things at the second coming of Christ. Then the creation now subject to vanity and to bondage and corruption under the curse will be delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God. All curse and filth adhering to the creature will be done away, the lower world will be renewed into new heavens and a new earth, glory will be conferred upon all creatures in proportion to their natures, and those who suffered with Christ on earth will reign with him on earth. The fire of the last day toward which the cursed creation hastens, and by which the burdened world will be freed from the curse, is a refining and renewing fire rather than a destroying and annihilating fire, and the whole creation looks and longs for that manifestation and redemption.