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.