Psalm 97

¹ The LORD reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!

² Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³ A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side.

⁴ His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.

⁵ The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶ The heavens declare his righteousness. All the peoples have seen his glory.

⁷ Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!

⁸ Zion heard and was glad. The daughters of Judah rejoiced because of your judgments, LORD.

⁹ For you, LORD, are most high above all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

¹² Be glad in the LORD, you righteous people! Give thanks to his holy Name.

Around Psalm 97

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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