Psalm 98
9 verses · BSBPsalms book hub →
Speaks with:Psalms 96×4Psalms 22×2Revelation 19×2Isaiah 52×2Exodus 15×1Isaiah 62×1
Summary
Chapter summary
'Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him.' Jehovah hath made known his salvation; his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the nations; 'he hath remembered his lovingkindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.' Sea, world, floods, and hills join the orchestra (harp, trumpets, and the sound of cornet), 'before the King, Jehovah,' who cometh to judge the earth with righteousness. The seed-psalm of 'Joy to the World.'
Context
Poetry · David, Asaph, Sons of Korah, others — Psalms overview
The world behind this chapter
Psalms 98The history
A new song in Israel marked a new act of God, not new music for its own sake. Something had been done that the old words did not yet cover — his right hand and his holy arm have gotten him the victory.
Two very different instruments are named. The silver trumpets were made at God's instruction for Moses, blown by priests to gather the assembly, to break camp, and to sound the alarm in war. The ram's horn was the older signal instrument. Neither carried a tune; both announced something. That is exactly the function here, because a coronation is an announcement.
The LORD hath made known his salvation, his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. The nations are witnesses, not merely spectators; the act was done in public and the ends of the earth have seen it.
Let the floods clap their hands, let the hills be joyful together. In the stories Israel's neighbours told, the sea was the enemy of the throne. Here the sea is in the audience, applauding.
What it meant to them
The psalm ends where the one before it ended, with God coming to judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity — and the tone is celebration, not dread.
For hearers who could do nothing about the injustice around them, a judge finally arriving was the best news available.
Sources cited
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Psalms 98. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.