“Oh sing to the
Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm have worked
salvation for Him. The Lord has made
known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the
nations. He has remembered His steadfast
love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God…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.” -Psalm 98: 1-3, 7-10 (ESV).
Psalm 98 is a hymn that celebrates
God’s position as a universal King over humankind. Readers are reminded that His steadfast love
was first revealed to Israel, the chosen nation, but in the covenant with
Abraham all the nations of the earth were promised blessings. All peoples on earth should join in the
celebration of salvation for God is also their King. To celebrate salvation, peoples everywhere
are invited to “sing to the Lord a new
song.” This is common to the same
invitation given in Psalm 96 and elsewhere. Exuberance and anticipation are
exemplified in this Psalm. The sea and
its undulating waves are testimony to the Lord’s greatness and power; so is the
whole world and they who dwell in it.
Rivers rejoice as people clapping their hands. Having observed beautiful, clear waters of
mountain streams, I’ve seen the rapids “split at the rocks and together again,”
as Sidney Lanier wrote in his poem, “Song of the Chattahoochee.” It is delightful to think that even the
streams are clapping their hands in the presence of Almighty God.
If an idea holds great importance, it
is repeated. We begin to realize how
important salvation is, for the word is repeated three times in the first three
verses, with a synonym—His righteousness—used to reinforce the importance of
salvation. God has done ‘marvelous things” and He has ‘remembered His steadfast love and
faithfulness’ to the people.
Salvation denotes material and temporal; deliverance from danger. We normally think of salvation as a New
Testament concept that means God’s grace extended to those who accept His
conditions of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom alone
salvation can be attained. How then did
the writer of this Psalm dwell so firmly and positively on the availability of
salvation in those Old Testament days?
Think of the Israelites being delivered from Egyptian bondage. That act of mercy was God’s salvation to
them. Think of the great roll-call of
the faithful patriarchs mentioned in Hebrews 11. Their belief was counted unto them for
salvation. And then comes the judgment
as mentioned in Psalm 98:10. God will
judge all peoples with righteousness and justice. And in this judgment will be
all of Israel and all the world. Just as
judgment is for all people, so salvation is made available to all people. None are omitted in God’s great plan for
salvation. But it must be accepted, must
be assimilated into the life of each individual believer. According to the Psalmist, it is very easy
for the seas, the rivers, the hills to express gratitude and adoration to God
their Maker. In their splendor and
exuberance they make known the existence of the Creator God who allows their
elements to be, to exist. How much more
should the human creation turn to God for salvation? The turning should cause a new song to spring
forth, and gratitude to well up!
Prayer:
Lord, I express deep gratitude for my salvation. Amen.
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