Psalms 98:1

PSALM 98

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS;

A GLIMPSE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT DAY

"This is a jubilant song of praise to God, because of the marvel that the divine revelation of salvation should be known to the ends of the earth."[1] If all people really understood what a marvel the salvation of God actually is, perhaps there would be a more general song of thanksgiving arising from the hearts of mankind.

Just think! In all the history of the universe, there is no such thing as "forgiveness" until we come to Christ. None of the laws of nature ever forgave a violator even for the fraction of a second. All nature is red in tooth and fang and claw. No hawk ever forgave the prey; no wild beast ever forgave the victim. No serpent ever forgave the careless heel.

When the angels of God kept not their first estate, but sinned, there was no hint of forgiveness. The same verse of the holy text which tells of their sin speaks of their destruction and of their being reserved in chains of darkness till the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men.

Even under the Law of Moses, although a provisional "forgiveness" was extended to the righteous, even so, "There was a remembrance of sins year by year," due to the fact of its being impossible that, "the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin" (Hebrews 10:3-4).

At the World's Fair in New York City in 1964, the Moody Institute staged an exhibit showing the marvel of forgiveness. The nearest star to our earth is four light years distant, and this means that the light we see began its journey to our earth two million years ago! God, being ubiquitous, everywhere simultaneously throughout His whole universe, sees all things continually. All the sins of everyone's past life are clearly visible to God; in a sense, He is still seeing everything anyone ever did. How can He forgive us, when He is still seeing us commit whatever sins may have marred our lives? It is a marvel indeed; and not only does God forgive, He can and does forget the sins He forgives!

The very first verse of this psalm calls it a "New Song"; and we believe that is because it sings of "salvation," that is, the forgiveness which God brings to mankind in Christ. What a gloriously new thing indeed is God's forgiveness! Halley's remark that, "Since this is a new song, it may be one of those which will be sung in heaven,"[2] is undoubtedly the truth.

Adam Clarke has this regarding Psalms 98:

"In the Hebrew, this psalm is simply called `A Psalm.' In the Chaldee it is labeled, `A prophetic Psalm.' In the Vulgate, the LXX, and the Ethiopic it is called, `A Psalm of David.'

"In the Syriac, it is attributed to David and stated to have been composed concerning the restoration of the Israelites from Egypt. Spiritually, this psalm applies to the Advent of the Messiah and the calling of the Gentiles into the Christian faith.

"It was probably written to celebrate the deliverance of Israel from their Babylonian captivity; but it is to be understood prophetically of the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ."[3]

The closing verses of the psalm are eschatalogical and relate to the Final Judgment of the Great Day. "The psalm closes with the prophecy that the Judgment will be characterized by righteousness and equity."[4]

"In this psalm, there are no comparisons with the heathen, no instructions for correct worship, all is joy and exhilaration."[5] It is one of the happiest of the psalms.

Barnes observed that, "This psalm does not admit of a particular analysis,"[6] We shall study it one verse at a time.

Psalms 98:1

"Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song;

He hath done marvelous things:

His right hand, and his holy arm, have wrought salvation for him."

"A new song." (See the chapter introduction for comments on this.) The second and third clauses here may be understood as reference to that "forgiveness" (salvation) which God has achieved for mankind.

"Salvation for him." This means salvation "for God" in the sense of it's being God's achievement, not for himself, but for mankind.