Psalms 97-100 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

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I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

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Psalm 97

(A vision of the earth’s restoration at Jesus’s second coming.)

J

esus is King of the universe. Let all nations make his praise glorious. In a swirl of dark clouds, he is coming to judge his people and condemn all his enemies.

The earth will quake, lightning will light up the sky, and mountains will disintegrate as the Lord makes his entrance. All nations will see his splendor.

Idol worshipers will be disgraced. But those who love God, the angels in heaven, his Church on earth, and the faithful departed who have risen from their graves, will rejoice greatly because of the just judgment he will deliver.

Who deserves more praise than our God? Those who love the Lord and despise evil will be saved. His holy ones and the earth itself will be restored to their former glory, to the perfection our first parents enjoyed when God created them and gave them Paradise as their home. Let us be forever grateful to the Lord, for his great light has chased away the darkness of sin and the shadow of death. 

  

Psalm 98

(A vision of Christ’s two comings.)

L

et us praise the Lord in song for all the wonders he has performed. The Son of God became man to save his people, and God’s salvation was made manifest to all the world. In his mercy, he fulfilled his vow to the Jewish nation. Let all God’s children sing praise to the Lord.

Jesus will return in the fullness of time to judge the living and the dead. With the strumming of the harp and a fanfare of trumpets, let all God’s people raise their voice and shout with joy to Jesus, the King. The oceans teaming with life will froth and foam. The earth and all its inhabitants will stand in amazement. The sea will roil; even the mountains will rejoice at the coming of the Lord, for he comes to judge his people with justice and truth.⁴⁹

Psalm 99              

(A vision of the enthronement of Christ the King.)

T

he Father has made Jesus the ruler of heaven and earth. Let all peoples tremble at the sight. Jesus now rules his Church on earth and his angels and holy ones in heaven. Let them praise his name with reverence, for he is God.

In Jerusalem, they proclaimed Jesus the King of the Jews at his crucifixion. Now he reigns in glory over heaven and earth. Before Jesus was incarnated, it was God who ruled the Jewish people. He judged his people according to how effectively they obeyed the laws he gave them to govern their lives. With the incarnation of his Son, God invited the whole world to come and worship Jesus, their King, who now sits at the Father’s right hand.

The Jewish nation worshiped God the Father. When they called upon his name, he saved them. He gave them his commandments and they obeyed them. Now Jesus rules the nations, shows mercy to the faithful, and punishes the wicked. Let us adore the King who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.⁵⁰

Psalm 100

(A prayer of thanksgiving to Jesus Christ.)

L

et the whole world shout with joy to our Lord Jesus Christ and gladly serve him. We thank him for creating us, for being the Good Shepherd who leads his sheep, and for being so generous and merciful to us. Let us enter his Church on earth in jubilation, just as we will enter into heaven in the life to come. Thank you, Jesus, for the eternal truths that you have revealed to those who love you in this generation and in all generations to come. Amen.⁵¹

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Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

⁴⁹The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 747.

⁵⁰Ibid.

⁵¹The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 748.

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Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.