Scripture Daily

Context No. 1093 of 4322 · Psalms

Context · Reflection

Psalms 98:1-9: in context

1Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2The LORD has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3He has 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. 4Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! 5Sing praises to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the voice of melody. 6With trumpets and sound of the ram’s horn, make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. 7Let the sea roar with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein. 8Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing for joy together. 9Let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Sing to the LORD a new song, the psalm begins, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and holy arm have worked salvation. And then a striking emphasis: the LORD has made known his salvation, openly revealing his righteousness in the sight of the nations; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. The psalm swells into a summons for all creation to celebrate, the whole earth, the roaring sea, the clapping rivers, the singing mountains, because the LORD is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and equity.

Two notes ring through this psalm. First, God's salvation is public. He has made it known, openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations; this is not a private rescue hidden away but a deliverance meant to be seen by the whole world, so that all the ends of the earth have witnessed it. God saves in a way that becomes a testimony to everyone, and the salvation of Israel was always meant to point outward, to the nations. Second, the response the psalm imagines is enormous, too big for humans alone: it calls the sea to roar, the rivers to clap their hands, the mountains to sing, drawing all of creation into the celebration. Salvation on this scale, a God who has openly worked rescue and is coming to set the world right with justice, calls for a joy that exceeds any human choir; even the rivers and hills are summoned to join. And the reason for the joy is not only the past salvation but the coming judgment, framed here not as terror but as good news, because he will judge with righteousness and equity, finally setting everything right. The world can sing at the coming Judge because his judgment is the healing of all that is wrong.

Do I see God's salvation as something meant to be known publicly and to draw even creation into joy, and can I welcome his coming judgment as the righteous setting-right the whole world longs for?

Sources