2/2/18

Tom Lowe

 

Psalm 98

(A Messianic Psalm, a Coronation Psalm)

 

Title: A New Song

Theme: The psalmist exhorts Jews, Gentiles and all of creation to praise God for His truth and salvation.

 

 

Psalm 98

 

1O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Psalm 98 is one of the coronation psalms, intended for the great enthronement festival of the New Year.  It begins with a summons to praise.  The psalmist’s spirit is alive with a sense of the nearness of God’s presence with him, and with His People.  Hence old songs will not suffice; a new song must greet the newly enthroned King.  And that new song is now being sung by the choir in a call to the congregation.  Like the others in the series, it was included in the Psalter: (1), to praise the Lord for a great victory over Israel’s enemies [perhaps the victory of the Medes and Persians over Babylon (Daniel 5)]; (2), to commemorate the return from Babylon; and (3), to anticipate the coming kingdom of Christ.  It deals with three magnificent themes:

  1. The Lord’s Might (98:1-2)
  2. The Lord’s Mercy (98:3-6)
  • The Lord’s Majesty (98:7-9)

 

 

COMMENTARY

1O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

 

O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done [2}marvellous things

God wants His people to sing.  He wants someone to sit down and compose a poem of praise, to create a melody.  For this is to be a new song. The psalmist calls for a new song, and then he sits down and writes it himself!  It was so good that the Holy Spirit put it into the Word of God, where it will outlast the sun. 

 

The new song is the song of the repatriates from Babylon, those who had just experienced a second exodus and had been delivered from a second Egypt.  The old song and the new song suggest two other songs.  There was the old song of creation, sung by the Angelic hosts on high as they saw galaxies spring out of the void of nothingness to turn the black velvet of eternal night into a banner of blazing light.  And there is the new song of redemption that now awakens the echoes of the everlasting hills: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”

 

The psalmist makes it clear what the theme of this “new song” is and introduces it by the familiar “for.” The theme is the wonderful acts which the Lord’s mighty right arm has produced.  These are threefold;

  1. He has achieved victory over the chaotic forces, cosmic and historical, that have hindered His dominance.
  2. He has made possible the [1}salvation of His people Israel. Their rescue and blessing at His hands have brought about the vindication of His own character, along with that of His people, before the nations to the far ends of the earth.
  3. He has granted to the Israel of the present the renewal of the spiritual blessings of His covenant of loving kindness and faithfulness, first made in the days of the Hebrew fathers.

 

his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

The Lord needed no help to overthrow Babylon and raise up Persia.  The recurrent, history-making, time-changing events which had resulted in a transfer of world power were breathtaking to these Hebrews who stood at last on the soil of the promised land, right on time, exactly as foretold by the prophets.  Man might interpret world events in terms of Persian military power; these people viewed events in terms of God. With His strong “right hand, and his holy arm” He had won a clear and complete victory, not only for Himself, but for us also, for we through Him are more than conquerors.  He got this victory by His own power; there was no one to help, no one to support Him, and no one that dared to venture into that service; but “his right hand and his holy arm,” which are always stretched out with good success, because they are never stretched out except in a good cause. These have gotten him the victory; have brought him relief or deliverance.  God’s power and faithfulness, called here his right hand and his holy arm, brought relief to the Lord Jesus by raising Him from the dead, and exalting Him personally to the right hand of God.

 

That is always a good way to look at the passing events of time.  God is in control.  Events might be great or small, of merely personal interest or of international significance, but behind them all are God’s hand and God’s arm.

 

Observe God’s right hand, and behind that hand, His holy arm!  Behind that holy arm stand all the resources and resolve of absolute Deity. That’s something to sing about.  And that same right hand and that same holy arm are just as involved in the little affairs of our everyday lives.  Of course, God is a spirit (John 4:24).  He does not have a body, so the reference to His hand and arm are metaphorical (17:7; 18: 35; etc.).  What God did for Israel was a witness to the Gentile nations and a vivid demonstration of His faithfulness to His covenant and His love for His chosen people.

 

 

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[1}Salvation [His salvation]―that great work of the redemption and salvation of the world by the Messiah.

[2} Marvelous things.—Who can describe them when they include such marvels as redemption, forgiveness, deliverance from the power of sin, the overthrow of Satan, and the glory of God through the mystery of pain and evil?  And what could be more marvelous than the right hand that was nailed to the cross, and the holy arm that would not ward off a single blow leveled at Him.

 

2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

 

The heart of the matter, so far as this psalmist is concerned, is the salvation which God arranges for men.  It is an amazing fact that God desires our salvation.  We cannot produce that salvation, so He has provided it—fully, freely.  Righteousness and salvation are often put together (Isaiah 91:10; 46:13).  Salvation denotes the redemption itself, and righteousness the way in which it was obtained, by the righteousness of Christ. Even the heathen are forced to admit that Israel’s God is mighty to save.

 

3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

 

“This thing was not done in a corner,” was Paul’s pointed word to King Agrippa as he testified to him of the great salvation Jesus had procured for men by His death and resurrection (Acts 26:26).

 

The salvation God had just wrought for Israel was without precedent in history.  That a mighty, all-conquering world power should deliberately open its hand and let its captives go home, give them financial help and even promise protection on the way, was unique.  “God had remembered His mercy.”  Now Israel must remember it, too; as well as the accomplishment of the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament.  Even heathen nations could not help but take note of what God had done. That is how it often is in the first flush of salvation.  We are so grateful; we think we will never forget.  How wonderful that, even though we forget Him He does not forget us.

 

The next part of the psalm (98:4-9a) takes us into the ritual of the enthronement ceremonies but also concludes the majesty of poetic elements which are aglow with deep feeling.  The basic features are similar to the ceremonies accompanying the enthronement of an earthly monarch.  We hear, in our imagination, the pent-up enthusiasm now breaking forth in glad devotion from all parts of the earth, thundering forth praise to the enthroned King from the inhabitants of the whole world.  We hear the glad enthronement shouts and the lively music of liar and clarion.  We hear the ritual blast of the priests on the ram’s horn.  The sea, which in the primeval age was a storming, antagonistic enemy, now thunders its loyal acclaim.  The floods that had once lifted up their voice in opposition to the Lord (93:3) now in devout loyalty applauded Him.  The towering mountains in united chorus utter ringing cries of joy to their Creator and King.

 

4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, [3}all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

 

It is the crowning day!  The King has come, He has ascended to His throne, all the earth is summoned before Him, and the people are invited to participate in His joy by rejoicing and singing praises, singing Hosannas (Matthew 21:9),and  singing Hallelujahs (Revelation 19:6).  The world is to ring with the noise of music and with the sounds of praise.  Musical instruments are brought to add to the ever growing volume of sound.  Loud music played and sung with enthusiasm was characteristic of Jewish worship (2 Chronicles 5:11-14; Ezra 3:10-13; Nehemiah 12:27-43). Let all this joy be directed to God, and expressed in a solemn religious manner.  The scene anticipates the millennial reign which will begin with a burst of heart-felt gratitude to God that at last the King has come. 

 

We must rejoice before the Lord whenever we draw near to Him (Deuteronomy 12:12), before the Lord Jesus, and before Him not only as the savior, but as the King, the King of kings, the churches King, and our King.

 

 

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[3} All the earth.― The hum of bees, the rustle of woods, the murmur of rivers, the gloom of ocean waves, are consistent voices in the “joyful noise” of “all the earth”; inarticulate to man, but precious to God.

 

 

(98:7-9)

He is not only King of the Jews, not only King of kings and Lord of lords over all the Gentile lands, but all creation acknowledges His authority.  It was so when He was here the first time; it will be so again.

 

When He was here before, He could walk calmly on the waves or just as simply hush them to sleep.  He could ride an unbroken colt through cheering, shouting, palm-waving crowds.  He could command the fish of the sea to fling themselves into Simon Peter’s net, or He could summon a single fish to rise to Peter’s line.  He could command the cock to crow.  Water blushed into wine at His word; loaves and fish multiplied in His hands, and graves gave up their dead, demons and disease fled before Him, creation’s rocks shook beneath Him, the very sun in the sky extinguished its light.  All creation acknowledged that its mighty Maker had come. And now, as the psalmist looks down the centuries, he sees that He has come again.  Creation goes delirious with delight. 

 

7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

 

“Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord.”  This implies that the kingdom of Christ would be a blessing to the whole creation; and that, as the inferior creatures declare the glory of the Creator (Psalm 19:1), so they declare the glory of the Redeemer, for by Him all things not only exist, but flourish in their kind.  It implies likewise that mankind would be lacking in paying their due respects to the Redeemer, and therefore that He must look for His honor from the sea and the floods, which would shame the stupidity and ingratitude of mankind.

 

Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth (9a)

The Rivers and the seas, the mountains and the earth all join in exultation.  Too often when the sea has roared it has been to destroy, when the rivers have risen to flood it has been to drown, when the hills have moved it has been to devour the cities of men.  The coming of the King will change all that. The prophets excelled in describing the revolutionary changes to take place in nature when the King comes back, for nature will be redeemed.  No longer will the wild beast roar and kill, no longer will the scorpion sting.  The lion and the lamb will lie down together.  Nature’s wildness will be tamed.

 

Wildness, after all, is a direct result of the fall of the first man.  God placed dominion over all things into Adam’s hands in paradise, but the fall changed all that.  There is evidence from biology that thorns are aborted branches and leaves, and that the unpleasant character of thistles results from an aborted state of the leaves.  Paul tells us that the whole creation groans and travails [agonizes] in sorrow at the present time.  When Jesus comes, however, nature will be tamed.  As the second man, the last Adam, He will take dominion over the forces of nature, over the beasts of the earth, over the resources of the planet and will graciously restore them all to their unspoiled splendor.  The church will be removed; paradise will be restored.  In the great restoration that will follow His return, the King will restore to plants and animals their original nature and splendor.  Thus, jubilation will fill the earth.  Even nature itself will join in the universal hymn of praise—a new song indeed.

 

with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity (9b)

The psalmist has written of the Lord as Deliverer and King, and now he presents Him as the Judge who will one day come and deal with the world as He once dealt with the kingdom of Babylon.  He had seen Israel delivered from bondage (88:1-3) and he had heard the nations of the world praising the Lord (88:4-6).  Now He heard all creation eagerly anticipating the Lord’s return for the second advent of Jesus sets creation free from the bondage of sin caused by Adam’s fall (Romans 8:18-25).

 

This is not judgment in a terrifying sense; that is, all over and done with at Megiddo and in the valley of Jehoshaphat.  But rather, this is judgment in the glorious sense of a King reigning who is an absolute stranger to bribery and corruption, to injustice and unfairness.  There will come a day when all wrongs will be righted and all sins will be judged, and the Judge will bring justice and equality to the earth.

 

Righteousness is the quality of always doing what is right.  Think of it!  A King who never makes a mistake, with whom there is no miscarriage of justice!  A King who knows not only the word or the deed, but the heart and the motive, as well!

 

We have all smiled happily at the godlike wisdom of Solomon when faced with two harlots and a little baby.  Both the women claimed the child as their own.  Solomon called for a sword and proposed dividing the baby between the two of them—and at once the true mother was revealed!  The Lord Jesus could say that when he lived on earth, “a greater than Solomon is here!” and so He is!  What brilliant decisions will be handed down from His throne during the millennium!  He will make Solomon’s wisdom look like that of a toddler in the kindergarten.

 

There is something wrong with every one of us.  We have bias; we have an inherent tendency to run off the straight and narrow.  And, even with the best willpower in the world, our natural tendencies are so great that they can overcome our better judgment.  Often even our better judgment is afflicted with bias.

 

But not Jesus!  He was born free of sin, free of bias.  That is what sets Him apart from all other men.  There was no natural tendency to error and sin in Him.  Never once did He depart from the straight and narrow.  His whole life was directed at coming alongside the known will of God.  And when He comes back that is how He will reign.  He will reign with fairness.  No bias, no favoritism, no off center judgment.  No wonder the psalmist urges us to sing a new song.

 

God is now King, newly installed over His people, yet how much still remains to be brought under His dominion!  And here our psalmist, out of profound hope and optimism inspired by the prophets, dreams of God’s ultimate lordship over the world and all its peoples.  Ultimately His role in bringing justice and equality to mankind will be a fact.  Ultimately he will be Lord of all.