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.