Reflections
Psalm 98: 5-6, 7-8, 9 (Read)
“The
Lord comes to rule
the earth with
justice.”
The
Psalm is about the coming of God,
and
the promise is made that when the Lord
comes, He will govern the earth with justice.
Scripture
teaches us that we do not know
when the
Lord will come, and we are warned
to be ready because
it may happen like a thief
in the night. In
this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus
speaks about the day
of judgment, when
awesome sights and mighty signs
will come
from the sky and when the disciples will be
hated by all because of His name.
(Luke 21:11-12, 17)
Although
the Psalm is about the joy of the
Lord’s coming,
there may be reason for anxiety
on our part. The
Book of Malachi warns us that
the day is coming when
evildoers will be set on
fire and become stubble. (Malachi
3:19)
Should
we be afraid of the Lord’s judgment?
One
thing is sure—we need to be ready,
to prepare to
face the arrival of God. We do not
know when that day
may come; some in our
generation doubt that day
will come at all.
For those who have put their trust
in the Lord,
and learned to love their brothers and
sisters,
there will be
rejoicing and praise. For others who
have slacked off and
found fault with their
neighbors and have not lifted
a helping hand,
shame and destruction may be at
hand.
After all, we are called to be caregivers;
we
are indeed our brother’s keeper.
“The
Lord comes to govern the earth.”
We
may not always welcome someone who
comes to
rule over us. Or to judge us. But the
Lord brings His
“healing rays.” He is after all the
“sun of justice.” The
Book of Malachi assures us
that if we fear the Lord, “The
sun of justice will
arise with its healing rays.” (Malachi
3:20)
There
is hope for us, as we struggle not to be
idle, and
face those who hate us because of our
faith. Our
Lord liberates us from whatever holds
us back or
drags us down. And we kick up our
heels like calves
being released from the stall.
The
Psalm repeatedly tells us to be joyful about
the
Lord’s coming; to
sing praise to the Lord;
to
shout with joy to the Lord. We
join with our
surroundings,
“Let
the rivers clap their hands,
the
mountains shout with them for joy.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm speaks about the Day of the Lord, when He will come to rule
the earth with justice. Are you ready for the Lord's coming? Speak about how
you are preparing for it.
2. Our psalmist writes about those who dwell in the world shouting for joy
before the Lord, when He comes to rule the earth. Explain how you will sing
praise to the Lord and sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.
Let all the children of men rejoice in setting up the kingdom of Christ, for all may benefit by it. The kingdom of Christ will be a blessing to the whole creation. We expect his second coming to begin his glorious reign. Then shall heaven and earth rejoice, and the joy of the redeemed shall be full. But sin and its dreadful effects will not be utterly done away, till the Lord comes to judge the world in righteousness. Seeing then that we look for such things, let us give diligence that we may be found by Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
ReplyDeleteThe Psalm is all about the joy of the Lord's coming. He predicts, "The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice." He will judge the peoples of the world with equity. The Lord has made his salvation known, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
ReplyDeleteAnd so I sing the new song, shouting for joy before the Lord because He has done marvelous things for me. He is loving and faithful. He will give me a chance for repentance before his coming to this earth.
On my part I have to keep doing what He commands me to do. I want to prepare myself to be a good steward before his arrival by being a good and faithful unselfish servant. Almost impossible that I could be the person who I want to be without his grace and help.
I ask myself several times, "Are you ready for his coming?" Unfortunately I am neither ready nor prepared for it. But my heart is rejoicing because He promised us his salvation to all the ends of earth and He will judge us in righteousness. I can see with his mercy that I will be saved no matter what. My sins will be forgiven and washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, He has conquered evil for me. Now I sing for joy before the Lord.