Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 98

Psalm 98 is the primary psalm that Isaac Watts refers to in the great psalm, Joy to the World. Though we sing this song only at Christmas time, it is not really about the birth of Christ; it is about the second coming of Jesus. Obviously, if Jesus hadn’t come to the earth the first time, we’d have no reason to talk of a second coming. But He came and left us with the admonition to be ready when He returns. It is in His second coming that we can have hope for a world filled with violence and sin. Thus, we can have joy in this world.

Psalm 98:1-3

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.

God chose Israel to be His people, not because of their faithfulness, but because of His. They were the vehicle by which the Gospel was taken out to all the world, because through them came the very oracles of God, the Holy Scriptures.

Psalm 98:4-7
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!  Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!

Praise and worship are key elements of our faith. But many Christians today fail to live in joy. Many of us focus too much on the past. Our hurts and our sorrows will hold us down, if we let them be what defines us. For other Christians, it is the present that robs them of their joy. The Bible commands us to not let the past control our feelings. It commands us to be content in what we have today.

Isaiah 43:18-19
 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

That is God speaking. He goes on in in verses 20-21 to say that “…I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” The past will hinder that call to praise God.

As to the present circumstances we are in, they must not prevent us from being dedicated worshipers of Almighty God. Listen to the words of Paul.

Philippians 4:11
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

Whatever your current place in life, Paul instructs us to be content, to even be weak. This contradicts worldly psychology, which tells you to be strong in yourself.

2 Corinthians 12:10
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So today, whatever things you have suffered through, or suffer with, Jesus is coming back to make them right. Your hope is in Him and Him alone.

Psalm 98:8-9
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.

Christians must show the world a different response to all the wrongs of this world. Begin by following the refrain of this psalm.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!  Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!

Amen.