Psalms · psalm 98 of 150
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Psalm 98 invites us to sing a new song to the Lord because he has done marvelous things: his right hand has won him victory and he has made known his salvation to the nations, remembering his steadfast love and faithfulness to Israel. It calls the earth to shout with lyre, trumpets and horn, invites the sea, rivers and hills to join in and ends with the Lord coming to judge the world in righteousness.
The title of Psalm 98 is simply Psalm. It belongs to the group of psalms about the Lord's reign (Psalms 93 and 95-99), in Book IV, and is much like Psalm 96 in its invitation to a new song and in its ending with righteous judgment. Its language recalls the prophecies of Isaiah 40-55, with God's salvation in the sight of the nations.
The psalm begins by inviting us to sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Verse 2 says the Lord has made known his salvation and revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. Verse 3 adds that he has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel, and that all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Verses 4-6 call all the earth to make a joyful noise to the Lord. The lyre and the sound of melody are mentioned, along with trumpets and the sound of the horn, to be used before the King, the Lord.
Then all creation joins in: let the sea roar and all that fills it, the world and those who dwell in it, let the rivers clap their hands and the hills sing for joy together before the Lord. The reason is that he comes to judge the earth: he will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord has done marvelous things, and his right hand and holy arm have worked salvation for him. The new song springs from an act of God that cannot be kept silent, and the victory is his, not the product of human effort.
The Lord has made known his salvation in the sight of the nations and remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen God's salvation, a promise that points to universal reach.
All the earth is called to make a joyful noise to the Lord with lyre, trumpets and horn. Praise is not limited to the voice: it includes music and shared joy before the King.
The Lord comes to judge the earth, to judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. It is news that gladdens creation, because God's justice will set right what is crooked.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because the Lord has done marvelous things and his right hand has worked salvation for him. — Psalm 98:1
Answer: His salvation and his righteousness. — Psalm 98:2
Answer: His steadfast love and faithfulness. — Psalm 98:3
Answer: The lyre, the trumpets and the horn. — Psalm 98:5-6
Answer: The rivers clap their hands and the hills sing for joy. — Psalm 98:8
Answer: Because the Lord comes to judge the earth with righteousness and the peoples with equity. — Psalm 98:9
Psalm 98 reminds us that praise springs from what God has done. A small group can set aside time to remember and tell specific victories of God in the lives of its members and turn them into song. Music and joy are not decoration: the Bible calls for them before the King.
It also widens our view. God's salvation has been seen by all the ends of the earth, and creation joins the singing. Whoever celebrates the Lord can ask who else needs to hear that news, and feel the gladness of knowing that the world is not left without a judge but under God's just rule.
Psalm 98 ends with the Lord's coming to judge with righteousness. Psalm 99 goes in the same direction but stresses holiness: the Lord reigns, the earth trembles, and three times it is repeated that he is holy.
Many Christmas hymns use its language of joy at the coming of the Lord, but the psalm does not explicitly speak of the birth of Jesus. It refers to the coming of the Lord as King and judge, and Christians read in it a hope fulfilled in Christ and in his return.
In the Bible God's right hand and arm symbolize his power to act. The psalmist affirms that the victory was not the work of armies but of God, and therefore the fitting response is to sing to him.