(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."
Sing psalms unto Jehovah with the harp with the harp, and the voice of a song;
Psalm 98 belongs to a run of psalms that trace the LORD's coming to reign. Verse 5 is where the celebration turns to instruments and voices, and it raises three questions: who is singing, why this instrument, and what a Christian does with a command written for the temple.
Commentators read these psalms as one connected series. This one is where the waiting ends.
In Psalm 95 is the summons to them to return while it is still called "today." In Psalm 96 the nations are summoned. In Psalm 97 He is coming. In Psalm 98 He is come. He has shown His righteousness, He has remembered His mercy.
That timing explains the tone of the music. The instruments do not beg for rescue. They celebrate a rescue that has already come.
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 really sing, and they sing in this Psalm with great joy.
Verse 5 is not a general invitation. The instrument marks out one group, and the next verse names another.
It is Israel in particular that is told to shout aloud to Jehovah, that is — "all the land" — break forth and sing for joy. Verse 4 speaks of the people as a whole. Then verse 5 — "Psalm unto Jehovah with the harp, with the harp and the voice of a psalm" — plainly refers to the ministry of the Levites, since they used the stringed instruments in the worship of God (2 Chron. 5:12). Then verse 6 points to the ministry of the priests, who used trumpets and rams' horns (Josh. 6:4). So that in these 3 verses Israel is prominent.
(Grant is quoting an older translation; the ESV reads "with the lyre and the sound of melody.")
The psalm as a whole widens out. These three verses narrow in.
The praise for this is heard in widening circles. In this section Israel is in view; in the next, the world and all who live 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 chorus, and then the innermost circle of the priests, marked by the trumpets and the presence of the divine King.
The harp was not part of Israel's worship from the beginning. Its arrival marked a change in what music was for.
They have "harps," symbolic of praise. David brought the harps in. Before that they had trumpets to call to war and the like, but David introduced instruments for praise. They are called instruments of God. (1 Chron. 16:6.)
The verse pairs the harp with a sung psalm. That is the harp's usual company, and there is a reason it is named so often.
In the direct praise and worship of Jehovah of old, the harp seems to have been used more often than any other musical instrument. Under the hand of a skilful player it has a rare combination: solemn, grand notes together with soft and tender strains (Isa. 24:8; Ps. 33:2; Ps. 43:4; 1 Chron. 25:6). Song and harp are usually named together.
The verse asks for the sound of melody. Commentators do not carry that instruction straight across into Christian worship: the melody, they say, has moved from the strings to the heart.
So along with the tuneful voice there must be the melodious accompaniment of the heart. This is to take the place of the musical instruments of the temple worship. The Christian is not invited to praise the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, with stringed instruments and the harp and the loud cymbals. Still, his song should be alive with the deep feeling and holy enthusiasm of the inner man.
This is not a loss. The song of Psalm 98 waits for a world put right. The Christian sings now, surrounded by what is wrong.
But is there no song now? Yes, truly the choicest of songs, which more than anticipates the one to come. When that future song is heard, everything around it will be in harmony with it. Now we sing surrounded by evil, by things out of tune — the discords of sin and sorrow and death. But our song is the melody of the heart that knows redemption, a present redemption through His blood. The melody that rises from the church of God is richer and sweeter than Israel's will be in the future, just as faith is a closer link with God than the sight of the glory.
- Deliverance first. The LORD has already come and shown His righteousness. Only rescued people can sing like this.
- Then the song. The music of verse 5 answers a rescue; it does not ask for one. Joy is why the strings are taken up.
- Then the instrument. David brought the harp into Israel's worship. Instruments that once called men to war now carried praise.
- Then the circles. Praise narrows inward: the whole land, then the Levites with their strings, then the priests with trumpets before the King.
- Then the heart. For the Christian the temple instruments give way to melody inside. We sing among discords, but we sing of a redemption already accomplished.
With trumpets and sound of cornet, make a joyful noise before the King, Jehovah.
Psalm 98 is a song for a victory already won. Verse 6 sets the instruments to it — trumpets, a horn, and a shout raised in front of a King. Two questions sit under the line: who is this King, and when does this music sound?
Older translations render the second instrument "cornet"; the ESV has "horn". Commentators trace the Hebrew word behind it. It is the word usually translated "trumpet" in other places.
In Daniel 3:5-15 the word is qeren and means "horn or cornet." … In the four other places the word is shophar, which is often translated "trumpet." 1 Chronicles 15:28; 2 Chronicles 15:14; Psalm 98:6; Hosea 5:8.
Verses 4, 5 and 6 do not repeat one another. Each names different instruments, and the instruments show who is playing them.
Then verse 6 implies the ministry of the priests, who used trumpets and rams' horns (Joshua 6:4). So in these three verses Israel is prominent.
The call goes out to the earth, the sea and the world's inhabitants. One realm is left out of the invitation, and there is a reason for it.
Psalm 98 is the result celebrated by Israel on earth. Jehovah has made known His salvation, and remembered His mercy and truth toward Israel. 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 everything in it, and the world and its people, are to rejoice before Jehovah. He comes to judge the earth and the whole world.
Psalm 98 does not stand alone. Read together, Psalms 93 to 100 move like a story, and this psalm marks a specific moment in it.
Look at the Psalms from 93 to 100. They describe the bringing in of the Firstborn into the world. It is a most beautiful series, from the beginning in Psalm 93 to the completion in Psalm 100. … In Psalm 96 the nations are summoned. In Psalm 97 He is coming. In Psalm 98 He is come. He has shown His righteousness, He has remembered His mercy. In Psalm 99, having come and made known His salvation, He sits between the cherubim, taking His place in Jerusalem. Then Psalm 100 summons the nations to come up and worship in peace.
The trumpets do not create the joy. They answer it. The King of this verse has already come and rescued His people.
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 truly sing, and in this Psalm they sing with great joy. … He has taken the place of King. He has delivered Israel, the Deliverer has come out of Zion, and His happy subjects are celebrating the joy of that moment.
So when does this music sound? One writer points to a day still ahead, and to who will join in.
We still wait 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.
- Horn. The "cornet" of older translations is the shophar, the word often translated "trumpet" in other Old Testament passages.
- Singers. Verse 4 is the whole nation. Verse 5 is the Levites with their harps. Verse 6 is the priests with their trumpets and horns.
- Earth. The heavens are not called in here. They are already full of His glory. This psalm is the earth's turn — the sea and the world's people included.
- Come. Psalm 97 has Him coming; Psalm 98 has Him come. The trumpets sound after the rescue, not before it , and only delivered people can truly sing.
- Waiting. Earth has not yet heard the true shout of the King. The verse invites us to a celebration still ahead, when all creation joins in.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein;
This psalm starts with Israel singing. Then it hands the song over to creation: the sea, everything in it, and every person alive on earth. Why should the ocean's roar count as praise, and why does the psalm ground that praise in a coming judgment?
One writer compares this psalm with Psalm 96, and notes who is called here and who is not.
Psalm 98 is the result celebrated by Israel on earth. Jehovah has made known His salvation, and remembered His mercy and truth towards Israel. 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 everything in it, and the world and all who live in it, are to rejoice before Jehovah, who comes to judge the earth and the whole world.
The sea's noise is not neutral here. One writer contrasts two things those waves can express.
Nature is therefore called to rejoice in harmony. A song that began in heaven is taken up on earth, and the sea too lifts up its waves in gladness, not rebellion.
Creation groans today. One writer explains what ends that groan, and why creation itself waits for it.
Creation has a deep and personal interest in our being in glory. Its own condition, made subject to futility, must stay unchanged until then. Then it "will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21)… Now, the whole creation groans and suffers pain together. When the Lord comes back in power, its key-note will be changed, and created things will give Him a glad welcome.
Commentators differ on how literally to read the imagery. Some take it as the physical creation set free; another reads the terms as pictures of peoples and powers.
But the praise is taken up by the entire world. "Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!" (v. 7). The sea stands for the nations (Rev. 17:15). The rivers too, as sources of refreshment, are told to clap their hands. The hills, which stand for governmental authorities, will have reason to rejoice before the Lord (v. 8).
The verses that follow give the reason for the noise: He comes to judge. One writer explains why that reads as good news.
With this breaking of Satan's chain comes the removal of the curse on the earth. Creation fell with its head, man, and waits until God's grace toward man is openly shown in the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:19-21). The earth has good reason to rejoice, the floods to clap their hands, and the hills to be joyful together before the Lord. The Redeemer is the Creator, and the "rule" of the rod of iron is a shepherd-rule, as the word means. The judgment itself is the effect of love as well as righteousness, to "destroy the destroyers of the earth" (Rev. 11:18).
One writer places this scene in time, and marks it off from the final state, when there is no sea at all.
In the eternal universe there will be no more sea (Rev. 21:1). For the millennial state it is written, "Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity." It is the kingdom of God before being given up.
The world is called to rejoice here. That is not the world's condition today, and one writer draws out what believers do in the meantime.
God displays His salvation to the ends of the earth, and the psalm summons the world and its inhabitants to rejoice in it (verse 7). But the word of the Spirit now is this: "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19). … So God's people are urged to be patient, and to establish their hearts in hope of the coming of the Lord (James 5:8).
- Song starts small — Israel celebrates a salvation God has already made known. Only then does the song widen.
- Summons widens — heaven is not called here. The sea, all it holds, and the world's people are called instead. This psalm is about earth receiving its King.
- Roar rejoices — waves that now surge in rebellion will lift in gladness. His return changes creation's key-note.
- Judgment is love — the coming Judge is the Creator and Redeemer. His rule is a shepherd-rule, and it destroys the destroyers of the earth.
- Wait for it — that world-wide joy is still ahead. Until then, believers hold on in hope of His coming.
Let the floods clap [their] hands; let the mountains sing for joy together,
In this verse water and hillside behave like a welcoming crowd. Rivers applaud. Hills break into song. Older translations say "floods" instead of "rivers." Why is lifeless nature told to celebrate at all? And what event makes the noise fitting?
The psalm opens with a delivered people singing, and by verse 8 the summons has spread far past them. One writer points out which parts of creation this psalm calls on, and which it leaves out.
Psalm 98 is the result celebrated by Israel on earth. Jehovah has made known His salvation, and remembered His mercy and truth towards Israel. All the land (or earth) is called to celebrate Jehovah as king. The heavens are not called here, as they are 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 the people who live in it, are to rejoice before Jehovah, who comes to judge the earth and the whole world.
The images are not random. Rivers and hills each carry a settled meaning.
The praise is taken up by the entire world. The sea stands for the nations (Rev. 17:15). The rivers (sources of refreshment) are told to clap their hands, and the hills (typically governmental authorities) will have reason to rejoice before the Lord (v. 8).
Read that way, the applause runs back to the One who supplies it.
The full praise joins together the sea and the solid land. Then come the ministries of blessing, which the rivers and the hills, their sources, both seem to stand for. The rivers are clearly this — the types of refreshment, which the hills distribute... elsewhere the "hills" also speak of authorities that pass blessing on in this way (Psalm 72:3). The last verse reminds us once more of that supreme rule in righteousness. That rule is the great ministry, and the other ministries get their being from it. All these, like the cherubim of the throne, celebrate Him from whom they came. They proclaim the goodness of Him who has come once more into a world that is His own. Man is with God, and in fullness of blessing.
Creation still groans under corruption. This celebration belongs to a day that has not yet come.
For the millennial state it is written, "Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together," for He comes to judge the earth... Then creation will not be burnt up, as at the end, but delivered. For the revelation of the sons of God has come. They are no longer waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body. So creation groans no more. It is set free from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of God's children (Rom. 8).
The reason given for the applause is that the Lord is coming to judge. That sounds like bad news for the earth, until you see what this judgment does.
But the glory will still be revealed, and the kingdom will be set up. The whole earth, corrupt as it will be, will pass through the crisis into the glory. God will judge; but His judgment will purify, not destroy. The earth outlives it. The rainbow pledges this — the rainbow of Gen. 9 and of Rev. 4 and 10. These distant parts of the Bible tell the same story of mercy and salvation towards this earth. God gave it to the children of men at the beginning, and He still loves it so well Himself.
None of this is visible yet. Still, one writer says the Christian can enter this gladness ahead of time.
This beautiful Psalm offers itself fully to the enjoyment of the Christian. For him the Son of God has already come, and has given him an understanding by which the mighty results of redemption... can be enjoyed now, in spirit, by his faith... It is a happy thing to be able to dwell like this, in the middle of a scene of darkness and emptiness, on the bright and hopeful picture that the Spirit of Jesus has drawn with a sure hand in the fair and lasting colours of prophetic truth... A present Christ will make a happy world.
- He comes. The applause has a cause: the Lord comes to judge the earth. His judgment purifies rather than destroys, and the earth outlives the crisis.
- Creation answers. What now groans under the bondage of corruption will celebrate, because the release it waits for has come.
- Rivers refresh. The clapping rivers stand for refreshment. The singing hills stand for the authorities that pass that blessing on.
- Praise returns. Every channel of good celebrates the One it came from, and every lesser ministry traces back to His rule in righteousness.
- Faith sings early. The Son of God has already come to the believer. So he can enjoy this song now, in a dark scene: a present Christ will make a happy world.
Before Jehovah, for he cometh to judge the earth he will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
The psalm has just told the sea, the rivers and the hills to make noise. This verse gives the reason: a Judge is coming — so why does that news make creation cheer instead of tremble?
The word "for" at the start of the verse carries the weight of everything before it. Commentators read the sea, the floods and the mountains as pictures of the world's peoples and their rulers.
The psalm calls the world and all who live in it to praise the Lord. No longer will the floods lift up their waves in rebellion against Jehovah's throne, nor "the mighty breakers of the sea" oppose His power, as in Psalm 93. Earth's crowds, free and happy — pictured by the sea and the floods — will swell the chorus of praise to Jehovah. The authorities of the earth — pictured by the mountains — will all share the same joy in the Lord. For at last One will have arisen whose worldwide rule will bring righteousness and equity to the peoples.
One writer hears more than human voices in this praise. He ties the psalm to the promise that creation itself will one day go free.
The praise here is not simply human. It is like the bursts of praise in the Psalms, where the sea roars, the rivers clap their hands and the hills sing for joy before the Lord, "for he comes to judge the earth" (Ps. 98:7-9). This is when creation gets what it has been waiting for: "the creation waits with eager longing… because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:19-22).
Judgment sounds like the end of everything. Here it is the door into blessing, because it removes the evil and leaves the earth standing.
The whole earth, corrupt as it will be throughout, will pass through the crisis into the glory. God will judge; but His judgment will be purifying, not destructive. The earth outlives it. The rainbow guarantees this — the rainbow of Genesis 9 and of Revelation 4 and 10. These are distant parts of the divine book, brought together to tell the same story of mercy and salvation towards this earth. God gave this earth to the children of men at the beginning, and He still loves it so well Himself.
Another writer asks what this judging is actually for.
Why? Because "He is coming to judge the earth," not to punish, but to use discerning judgment in ruling in perfect righteousness. This will be true of the whole world generally, but just as true of all the people of the world. "Come, Lord Jesus!"
The verse promises righteousness and equity — two things no government has ever supplied. One writer sets that promise against the hope that better laws will one day deliver it.
All injustice will be put right at once. This must go together with the Messiah's righteous rule… People foolishly dream that this is the goal of human enlightenment and progress. But they are ignorant of, or forget, the incurable corruption of human nature. So they do not see that even if the whole world were given just and equal laws, those laws would still fail — either when men enforce them or when men apply them. No; Christ is the only hope for the earth, as for the saint, for He comes to judge the earth with righteousness and equity.
The psalm does not name the Judge. One writer names Him: God judges by a Man, and it is the Man the world rejected.
There is not a single cloud of judgment in the present grace, and there will not be one single ray of grace in the future judgment. He will judge the earth by the Man whom the world spat upon and trampled under its feet. That is the Man whom He has ordained, and He has given the most undeniable proof of it by raising Him from the dead.
- He comes. The joy of the psalm rests on an arrival, not on progress; the "for" of verse 9 is the reason the sea roars and the hills sing.
- He comes to judge. This judgment purifies; it does not destroy. The earth outlives it, and creation goes free.
- He judges with righteousness. Even just and equal laws fail when men enforce them. Christ is the only hope for the earth.
- He judges the peoples with equity. Crowds and rulers alike — sea, floods and mountains — share one joy under one worldwide rule.
- He is the Man they rejected. God proved who the Judge is by raising Him from the dead. So the honest response now is "Come, Lord Jesus!"