Psalm 98

Psalm 98 Sing to the LORD

Tod Kennedy

Theme of Psalm 98

Yahweh has done many great deeds throughout history and his people ought to recognize those great acts and joyfully praise him for doing them; and all creation ought to rejoice because Yahweh is coming back to earth and will judge creation righteously and justly. This praise in song is based in Yahweh’s revelation to Israel about himself and his promises and his actions. The response in song that glorifies Yahweh is rooted, founded, based in, and controlled by Yahweh’s doctrine revealed to Israel and mankind.

Psalm 98, the historical background unknown, but is true for many events

  1. When the Lord saved Israel from Egypt (Exodus 15).
  2. When the Lord saved David from Saul, from the Philistines, and from others (2 Samuel 22.1).
  3. When the Lord saved Israel from Babylon and returned Israel to her land.
  4. When the Lord is on our side and blesses us all the time and at specific blessings.
  5. This Psalm is similar to Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55.

Psalm 98 Outline

  1. Psalm 98.1-3. Sing to the LORD because he has done wonderful things.
  2. Psalm 98.4-6. Shout joyfully to the LORD because the LORD is king.
  3. Psalm 98.7-9. All creation should roar, clap, and sing for joy because the Lord is coming to judge righteously and fairly.

 
Psalm 98, Verbs, actions called for

  1. The commands are Hebrew imperatives in Psalm 98.1-6. They appeal to human volition and they express God’s volition.
  2. The let… are jussives in Psalm 98.7-8. Jussives express the desire or intent of the speaker, and therefore they present God’s desire for his creation.
  3. The specific actions of the Lord in Psalm 98.1-3 are perfects. Perfect verbs express a completed action as an action without emphasis on the time.
  4. In Psalm 98.9 the Lord’s two actions 1. Qal participle plus infinitive construct (completes the main verb—purpose here), and 2. and Qal imperfect. They express a future action or a continuous action.

Psalm 98, Statements about the LORD

  1. He is God, Psalm 98.3
  2. He is the King, Psalm 98.6
  3. He is the Judge, Psalm 98.9
  4. He is coming to judge the earth, the world, the people Psalm 98.9.

So what? or principles of doctrine for application.

  1. We, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, have a great LORD and God. As in the Psalmist’s time, so it is true now. He rescues his people. He keeps his word. He is coming back to earth to judge—to punish sin and reward righteousness—and to rule his creation.  Because of this, we ought to joyfully praise him by song, word, and attitude.
  2. This to God in song is based in God’s revelation to Israel about himself and his promises and his actions: past, present, and future. We have seen it before: God, revelation, glory. The response by song that glorifies God is rooted, founded, based in, and controlled by God’s doctrine revealed to Israel and mankind.
  3. The doctrines upon which this Psalm is written include
    • God reveals himself and his plan—Revelation and Inspiration
    • God’s Nature and Attributes
    • God is creator and king—Divine Origin of all Creation, and God’s Kingship
    • God will come to earth to judge and rule—The second coming of Christ to earth, and the Millennial Kingdom
  4. Praise to Yahweh in Israel was important and associated with different parts of life: coronations of kings (1 Kings 1.39-40), family gatherings (Genesis 31.27), funerals (2 Samuel 1.18-27), military victories (Judges 5.1; 1 Samuel 18.6-7; 2 Chronicles 20.28), God’s deliverance Exodus (15.1), special events (2 Samuel 6.5; 1 Chronicles 23.5).  (See The Lexham Bible Dictionary.)
  5. Paul said about music, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16).   “And for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Thy name.” 10 And again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.” (Romans 15:9-11). Paul and Silas sang when they were in jail in Philippi (Acts 16.25).
  6. General comments about music in the church.
    • Martin Luther said “I place music next to theology and give it the highest praise.”
    • “The ministry of music prepares the congregation for the ministry of the Word,” Cliff Barrows.
    • Good music lifts the soul and human spirit (encourage, give confidence and hope, bring out thankfulness, and challenge to live right) and orders the soul and human spirit (remove or lessen confusion, put emotions in proper perspective with truth, and give peace).
    • Therefore, any ministry of music—congregational or otherwise—should be based and rooted in God’s revelation, the Bible, and it should lift and order the soul and human spirit and direct people to the revealed God of the Bible.
    • The ministry of music should prepare the congregation for the ministry of the Word by directing the believer’s attention to God and to his revelation.
  7. There are three categories of songs found in the NT (Ephesians 5.19; Colossians 3.16). These categories include instrument and voice, joyfulness, thanksgiving, praise of God and his works, singing about God’s ways, and they are directed to the Lord, to people, and to self: Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs.
    • Psalms: thalmos, thallw, to sing Bible passages. Examples are “The Twenty-third Psalm”   Psalm 23, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” Isaiah 6.3, “Ephesians.”
    • Hymns: humnos, to sing doctrinal words to God. Examples are “How Great Thou Art,” “Praise The Savior,” “Revive Us Again.”
    • Spiritual songs: hode pneumatike, to sing songs to yourself and others that witness about your faith. Examples are “O For A Thousand Tongues,” “Onward Christian Soldiers,” ” He Lives,” “Victory in Jesus,” Christian Soldier.”
    • James reminds us to sing praises when we are cheerful (James 5.13).
  8. Prominent Application principles of Psalm 98
    • We, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, have a great LORD and God. He rescues his people. He keeps his word. He is the main participant in human history. He is coming back to earth to judge—to punish sin and reward righteousness—and to rule his creation.  Because of this, we ought to joyfully praise him by song, word, and attitude.
    • This praise or giving glory to God in song by Israel is based in God’s revelation to Israel about himself and his promises and his actions. We have seen it before: God, revelation, glory. The response by song that glorifies God is rooted, founded, based in, and controlled by God’s acts and words revealed to Israel and mankind.
    • Praise in song in the church needs to be based in God’s revelation. All music and praise associated with emotion should be rooted, founded, based in, and controlled by God’s doctrine revealed through his apostles in the New Testament writings.  (It should be centered on God and not done as entertainment. Ben Witherington).