(A Psalm.) Sing ye unto Jehovah a new song for he hath done wondrous things; his right hand and his holy arm hath wrought salvation for him.
Psalm 98 opens with a command to sing, and it gives the reason before the song starts: God has already won a victory. The commentators ask why the song must be new, whose victory it is, and who may join in.
Creation already had its song, and it was not enough. One writer contrasts the two occasions:
The morning stars sang over the foundations of the earth. That old song was not a conqueror's song. It did not celebrate a divine victory, won either to redeem God's chosen or to avenge them. There was no theme of victory then, for no battle had been fought and won. But sin has entered since then. A great counterforce has been at work, and the Lord has had to go out, and is still to go out, as "a man of war," the God of battles. And so at the end a new song must rise, a song with a new theme, to celebrate Him in this new action, this new character of glory. The song of Moses was a conqueror's song, and so is the song of the Lamb. The song over creation must give place, in compass and melody, to the song over the triumphs of Jesus.
Israel had sung to God once before, after He rescued them from Egypt. This new song answers a later rescue:
Once in their past Israel had raised a song to Jehovah. He had delivered them from the Egyptians and destroyed their enemies (Ex. 15:1). Now the nation is called to raise a new song to the Lord for this fresh and final intervention on their behalf. By power and by holiness — "His right hand and His holy arm" — He has triumphed over all His enemies. What is more, Israel's rescue from all their enemies becomes a witness to the nations, even to the ends of the earth, of the salvation, righteousness, mercy and faithfulness of God.
The word "arm" is a picture taken from the body:
The arm is the part of the body that lifts burdens and defends the person. It stands for the power and strength of God on behalf of His saints... The arm of Jehovah is often spoken of in the Old Testament. It redeemed, Ex. 6:6; it gathers His own, Isa. 40:11; and it rules for Him, Isa. 40:10, as in the kingdom. It is a holy arm, Isa. 52:10; Ps. 98:1; and it is a glorious arm, Isa. 63:12. The Lord reveals His arm to souls where there is repentance and faith in the report He sends. Isa. 53:1; Rom. 10:16.
The joy here belongs to people God has already rescued:
He has come, and delivered them — delivered this broken-down remnant — and they are delighting in His grace. They are full of joy. Only delivered people can truly sing, and in this Psalm they sing with great gladness... He has taken the kingly character. Israel is delivered. The Deliverer has come out of Zion, and His happy subjects are celebrating that moment.
Psalm 98 stands beside Psalm 96, but the call rests on different ground:
In the former Psalm the call proceeds on the ground of what Jehovah is, and that He reigns. In 98 the call comes again, for Jehovah is victorious over His enemies... But why should all the earth, and all nature too, care that the Lord takes up that despised people? They were so long without a country on earth, and without any real political standing. This is the prelude to the blessing of the coming kingdom, and to blessing world-wide.
One writer notes who is called to praise here, and who is not:
All the land (or earth) is summoned to celebrate Jehovah as king. The heavens are not summoned here, as in Psalm 96. They are already filled with His glory, and the angels have been called to worship. But the sea and all that fills it, and the world and all who live in it, are to rejoice before Jehovah. He comes to judge the earth and the whole world.
Three groups sing this new song, one after another:
Jesus sang the new song after His resurrection (Psalm 40:3). The church will sing it after her resurrection or ascension to heaven (Rev. 5:9; Rev. 14:3). Then Israel will sing it in the kingdom, which is their resurrection (Psalm 98:1).
- Victory first. The theme is new, so the song is new. Not creation this time, but a battle fought and won. The song over creation gives way to the song over the triumphs of Jesus.
- Won alone. "His right hand and His holy arm" mean power joined to holiness. The arm is God's own strength put out for His people, and He reveals it where there is repentance and faith.
- Sung by the rescued. Only delivered people can truly sing. This psalm is the joy of a broken-down remnant that God has rescued.
- Reaching outward. Israel's rescue becomes a witness to the nations of God's salvation, righteousness, mercy and faithfulness. It is the prelude to blessing world-wide.
- Still ahead. Christ risen sang the new song first. The redeemed in heaven will sing it next. Psalm 98 is the day Israel joins in, with the sea and the world behind them.
Jehovah hath made known his salvation his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the nations.
Psalm 98 calls for a new song. Verse 2 gives the reason: God's saving act is no longer private but public, shown where the nations can see it. Commentators ask three things here. Which salvation is this? What does "righteousness" mean beside it? And why must the whole world watch?
Commentators read Psalms 96–100 as one sequence. Psalm 98 is the point where the Lord has come.
In Psalm 96 the nations are called to acknowledge Jehovah, for He is coming to judge the world in righteousness. In Psalm 97 He is coming in the clouds. In Psalm 98 the Lord has come, and has made known His salvation. In Psalm 99 He is known on the earth again, and is sitting between the cherubim. And Psalm 100 calls on all nations to come and worship Him, now that His throne is set up on earth for blessing.
"Made known" implies something that was not known before. One writer draws the line between a salvation held by believers and a salvation seen by everyone.
He "has made known His salvation." For centuries the world at large did not know it. In fact only those who had received Christ as Savior knew it. But the whole world will know it in that coming day. "In the sight of the nations" He will then reveal His righteousness in a wonderful way (v. 2) — a righteousness far above anything man has ever thought righteousness to be.
So what does "righteousness" mean beside salvation? One writer answers from God's own character.
Here God's power steps in. It acts in keeping with His own character, and in grace towards His people, and so it must deliver them. God acts to defend His own character, and His power against evil. It is God's righteousness.
Israel had sung once before, when God delivered them from Egypt. This is a second song for a second rescue, and the rescue itself is what the nations see.
Once in their past Israel had sung a song to the Lord. He had rescued them from the Egyptians and destroyed their enemies (Ex. 15:1). Now the nation is called to sing a new song to the Lord for this fresh and final act on their behalf. … And Israel's deliverance from all their enemies becomes a witness to the nations, even to the ends of the earth, of the salvation, righteousness, mercy and faithfulness of God.
God takes up one nation. So why does the whole earth join in? One writer answers that this act is a beginning, not an end.
What will the nations see? The next verse tells us: "He has remembered His mercy and truth towards the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." But why should all the earth, and all nature too, care that the Lord takes up that despised people? They were so long without a country and without any real political standing. It is the opening of blessing for the thousand-year kingdom and for the whole world.
Israel's coming salvation and the salvation preached in the gospel are not the same thing. One writer sets the two side by side.
In the salvation of Israel yet to come, the Lord speaks through Isaiah of His righteousness as still to be revealed (Isa. 41:10; Isa. 46:13; Isa. 51:5-6, 8; Isa. 56:1). … But the salvation of Israel in the day to come is still very different from the gospel salvation we are dealing with here. Then righteousness will be displayed in judgment on the enemies of His earthly people. In the salvation we have here, judgment also acts, but we see the very opposite — this "strange work" indeed, to which the Cross is witness. Here is a judgment on sin which is the salvation of sinners!
The full display is still future. Yet one writer finds an answer to it already.
There will be joy and gladness for Israel when the Lord Jesus returns as the Arm of the Lord. He will save them from their enemies and bring in the long promised blessings of the new covenant. Yet even now there has been an answer to this prophecy. The Arm of the Lord has brought salvation for the world, and this has been made known to the ends of the earth.
- Come. In the run of psalms this is the moment of arrival: the Lord has come, and His salvation is now a fact to sing about.
- Made known. What was known only to those who received Christ becomes public knowledge for the whole world.
- Righteousness. God acting in keeping with His own character against evil — and His people are delivered as a result.
- Seen. Israel's deliverance is the visible evidence, read by the nations to the ends of the earth.
- Wider. This open display is the doorway to blessing for the whole world. Yet writers keep it distinct from the gospel salvation preached now, where judgment on sin becomes the salvation of sinners.
He hath remembered his loving-kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Psalm 98 is a song sung after the rescue, not during it. Verse 3 gives the reason for the song: God kept faith with a broken-down people and showed them mercy. It also raises a question: why can the whole earth see a mercy shown to one nation?
Commentators read Psalms 93–100 as one series. Psalm 98 is the turning point. What the earlier psalms wait for has now happened.
Psalm 95 calls them to return while it is still called "today." Psalm 96 summons the nations. In Psalm 97 He is coming. In Psalm 98 He has come. He has shown His righteousness; He has remembered His mercy. In Psalm 99 He has come and made His salvation known. He sits between the cherubim, taking His place in Jerusalem.
The praise of this psalm is not a plea for help. It is the answer of people God has already heard.
Psalm 98 goes further still. Here Israel celebrates its deliverance. The Lord has come and answered the cry of the remnant... He has come and delivered them. He has delivered this broken-down remnant, and they are delighting in His grace. They are wonderfully happy. It is only delivered people who can really sing, and they sing in this Psalm with great joy.
Where the ESV reads "steadfast love and faithfulness," older translations read "mercy and truth," and the writers quoted here use the older words. The two are not separate blessings. One writer calls them grace, and faithfulness to promises that grace itself made. He also notes where this rescue happens: on earth, in front of the nations.
This is not judgment from heaven but on earth. So it is not now "the heavens declare His righteousness"; He has shown it in the sight of the nations... "He has remembered His mercy and His truth toward the house of Israel." Grace, and faithfulness to promises founded in grace, are the songs of Messiah. And all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of their God.
Drop either word and the whole picture breaks. The cross holds them together:
Neither mercy at the expense of truth, nor truth at the expense of mercy, would be for the glory of God and the blessing of men. In the coming day God will bring all His purposes for Israel to their goal. Then His mercy toward them will prove great indeed, and at the same time His truth will stand for ever. The cross of Christ has already laid the foundation for all this. The same holds true when the gospel reaches us today.
The first half of the verse explains the second. What God does with one small people becomes a sight for the whole world.
What will the nations see? This verse tells us... But why is all the earth, and all nature too, concerned when the Lord takes up that despised people? They had been without a country for so long, and without any real political existence. It is the prelude to the thousand-year reign and to world-wide blessing.
Those distant onlookers are not left as spectators:
The Lord, as the Saviour of Israel, has shown His faithful mercy and perfect righteousness in full sight of the nations. The ends of the earth had seen His power. Now the rejoicing people of His mercy invite them to share their joy, and to swell the volume of their new and grateful song.
Commentators differ over how far the last line applies today. One writer sees a present answer as well as a future one.
There will be joy and gladness for Israel when the Lord Jesus returns as the Arm of the Lord. He will save them from their enemies and bring in the long-promised blessings of the new covenant. Yet even now there has been an answer to this prophecy. The Arm of the Lord has brought salvation for the world, and that news has gone out to the ends of the earth.
Another writer refuses to treat the line as proof that the church has already reached the whole world:
Of the professing church you have lost more than half. Of the unbelieving nations you have not gathered in a quarter. Yet you claim to be worldwide on the strength of texts like, "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." Have you no shame in quoting it?
- Remembered. God's memory is the cause of the whole song: He recalls mercy pledged long before, and acts on it.
- Mercy. God pays Israel no debt. He gives kindness to a people broken down and despised.
- Truth. Mercy never cancels God's word. On the ground of the cross, He shows mercy and keeps His promise in the same act.
- Seen. God acts on earth and in the open, so the nations watch a promise made to one people become a sight for all.
- Sung. The result is a new song, and only delivered people can really sing it — with the watching earth invited to join.
Shout aloud unto Jehovah, all the earth; break forth and shout for joy, and sing psalms.
Verses 1–3 announce what the Lord has done. Verse 4 calls for the answer: a shout from all the earth. Commentators ask two things here. Who is called to shout, and what has happened to make so loud a response fitting?
The shout is not worked up. One writer ties the singing to a rescue that has already happened.
He has come, and delivered them, delivered this broken-down remnant, and they are delighting in His grace. They are wonderfully happy. Only delivered people can really sing, and they sing in this Psalm with great joy... He has taken up His place as King. Israel is delivered, the Deliverer has come out of Zion, and His happy subjects are celebrating that moment.
Another writer names the cause. The Lord has won, and the nations see His mercy to a people long without a home.
In 98 the call is renewed, for Jehovah has won the victory over His enemies... But why should all the earth, and all nature too, care that the Lord takes up that despised people? They were so long without a country on earth, and without any real standing as a nation. It is the prelude to millennial and to world-wide blessing.
One commentator reads the words narrowly. In Hebrew they probably mean the land, with Israel leading the praise.
Israel and the land called to lead the praise to the Lord, the King for His intervention on their behalf. ("all the earth" can, and probably should, be translated "all the land").
Another writer notices who is left out here, and gives the reason.
All the land (or earth) is summoned to celebrate Jehovah as king. The heavens are not summoned here, as in Psalm 96. They are already filled with His glory, and the angels have been called to worship. But the sea and all that fills it, and the world and everyone in it, are to rejoice before Jehovah. He comes to judge the earth and the whole world.
Verses 4–6 do not just repeat one command. One writer finds an order in them, moving from the crowd inward to the King.
The praise for this is heard in widening circles. In this section Israel is in view; in the next, the world and all the dwellers in it. Yet in these three verses the order runs the other way. It begins with the people of the whole land, then the Levite choir, and then the innermost priestly circle, marked by the trumpets and the presence of the divine King. Jehovah is their King, and the music sounds along with Israel's praise.
One writer sets a false shout beside the true one. Israel once carried the ark of God out to the camp and shouted over it.
In this shout there is an echo of another shout — when Israel brought the ark out to the camp and supposed that God would join His holy name to their unrighteousness and give them victory over the Philistines. He would rather let His glory be carried captive into the enemy's land than dishonor His name among His people. This shout is like that. We are still waiting for the true shout of the King. But it will come, thank God, for Israel and for this poor, groaning earth — the time when all creation will burst out in the shout.
Does so loud a shout fit Christian worship today? One writer places it with the coming King instead.
Then, when the present Christian period is over, He will come again as King and Priest... blessing repentant Israel and bringing the glory of the Lord back to the earth. It will be the open sign that God has accepted His atoning work. The joyful shout of the people will fit the worship of that day, though it does not fit heavenly worship now.
Commentators differ on how far the psalm reaches the Christian. One holds that the believer can enter its joy already, because the Son has come to him.
Most fully does this beautiful Psalm offer itself to the enjoyment of the Christian. For to him the Son of God has already come, and has given him understanding. So the mighty results of redemption can be enjoyed now, in spirit, by his faith — both the heavenly calling of the Church and the earthly blessing the prophets promised for the future... A present Christ will make a happy world.
- Rescue first. The shout is a response, not a mood: "only delivered people can really sing."
- Then a King. They shout because Jehovah has taken up His place as King. The Deliverer has come out of Zion, and His subjects celebrate.
- Then a widening. Praise moves in circles: the people of the land, the singers, the priestly ring around the King — and then the whole world.
- Earth, not heaven. The heavens are not called here, as in Psalm 96. They are already filled with His glory. This song belongs to the earth He is coming to judge.
- Still ahead, already enjoyed. The true shout of the King is still to come. Yet by faith the believer can enjoy the psalm now, for "A present Christ will make a happy world."