Tradition gives credit to David for writing this psalm. He foresaw the Coming of the Messiah to judge the earth. Yet, in verse 1, he wrote, “Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad.” Why should the earth rejoice at coming judgement?
It was because the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, was coming to judge sin and pay the penalty for sin so that no person would have the excuse his sins were not paid for. Jesus specifically stated this to Nicodemus: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18). This is saying that someone may die in their sins but not because of their sins (eternal death) because the punishment for sin was paid on the cross.
I feel for those who are troubled by their sins because all Christians continue to sin after we trust Christ. But Satan keeps whispering in our ear that we can’t be saved because of our continued sinning. But because we have put our trust in what Christ did on the cross, we are children of God, not just by creation, but by re-creation. As His children feeling the guilt of our sin, we can come boldly to God and confess our sin and know that we are forgiven.
We have a law in the United States that says an adopted child can never be disowned and disinherited. This is the same type of relationship we have with God. All believers are adopted into His family. We may disappoint Him, but He will never disown us. Jesus said, “All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and I will lose none of them.” (paraphrase). “May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord and praise His holy name.” (v. 12).