Psalm 98:1-3 celebrates the first coming of Christ. He is the One who sat at the righthand of the Father. He is the One who came down from heaven and conquered sin, death and the devil. He is the One who commissioned His Church and baptized us with His Spirit so we can make known His salvation to the nations. We declare His righteousness. God credits the righteousness of Christ to the account of all who profess faith in Him.
Paul wrote in Romans 4:21-22 that when Abraham demonstrated faith in God, God credited his faith as righteousness.
Paul wrote in Romans 4:24-25, “It [the righteousness of Christ] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification..” Thus, we have great cause to rejoice. Christ paid the price for our righteousness. Our part is to profess faith in Him.
Mary sang a new song after the angel Gabriel and later her cousin Elizabeth confirmed to her that she would give birth to the Messiah. Some of her song’s words correlate with Psalm 98.
In Luke 1:49, she sang, “He who is mighty has done great things for me.” In Luke 1:51, she sang, “He has shown strength with His arm.” Psalm 98:1 says, “His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.”
In Luke 1:54, Mary sang, “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy.” Psalm 98:3 says, “He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
Even before Christ was physically born into the world, God birthed spiritual prophecies about Messiah through David. His psalms are filled with prophecies about Christ.
Zechariah’s words in Luke 1:72 correlate with the words of Psalm 98:3. Zachriah prophesied, “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant.” Psalm 98:3 says, “He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
In Luke 2:10, the words which the angel spoke to the shepherds... “I bring to you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people.” ...correlate with the words of Psalm 98:2. So do the words of Simeon in Luke 2:39-32, he prophesied, “My eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples. A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Psalm 98:2 says, “The Lord has made known His salvation. His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.”
Psalm 98 contains a mini version of the Gospels and Acts. First, the righteousness of God was proclaimed. Second, people understood it and were changed by it. Third, the converts took this good news to all nations, so that “all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.”
The birth of Christ into the world confirms that God remembers His mercy and truth. Every promise made to Abraham, David, and the prophets finds its fulfillment in Jesus. As Zacharias declared in Luke 1:72, God sent Christ “to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant.”
Salvation is not earned by human merit but was fulfilled in God’s covenant love and faithfulness.
A new heart produces a new song. When believers experience the grace of God through Christ, their worship changes because their joy has changed. The redeemed sing not merely because circumstances are favorable but because Christ has accomplished salvation, won the victory, revealed the gospel, and fulfilled every promise of God.
Even now the Church sings new songs, and we will continue to sing new songs to the Lord in heavenly Jerusalem... always praising the Lamb who was slain and who lives forevermore.
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn. Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:4-9
This passage reveals the way in which the people of God impact the world for Christ. We shout joyfully to the Lord. We break forth into songs, rejoice and sing praises. We employ wind and string instruments to enhance the beauty of our songs. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
When I worked with Youth for Christ in Hong Kong, we did rallies in secondary schools... high schools... with teenagers. The format of the programs always began with joyful music including singing, standing, clapping and choreography as well. This prepared the hearts of young people to hear what the messenger of the Lord had to say about Christ. Evangelists like Billy Graham also use this format to prepare the hearts of people to hear the Gospel.
Singing is not merely an expression of joy but also a means of proclaiming Christ’s reign to others. We announce His triumph with the sounds of stringed instruments and trumpets.
Our rejoicing is to God alone. Our worship is filled with gratitude and reverence before Him.
As humankind praises the Lord, the “sea roars,” “the floods clap their hands,” and “the hills are joyful together before the Lord.” Creation already declares the glory of God, but as people praise the Lord, creation begins to really rock with joy.
In Romans 8:19-21, creation is portrayed as waiting for the sons of God to be revealed because humankind’s sin cursed creation, but humankind’s turning to Christ reverses the curse. Galatians 3:13-14 declares, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Christ took the curse of sin. He gave the blessing of God to believers in Him.
In Jeremiah 4:23–26, Jeremiah uses language reminiscent of Genesis 1:2 to describe imminent destruction. He sees the earth reverting to a state of being “without form and void,” where the lights are gone, the mountains tremble, the land is barren, and all the birds have fled, all caused by the Lord’s fierce anger. Jeremiah directly connects environmental suffering to the wickedness of its inhabitants. In Jeremiah 12:4, he laments how the land mourns, the grass withers, and the animals and birds die out because of the evil deeds of the people. In Jeremiah 2:7, God recalls giving His people a rich and bountiful land to enjoy, but instead, they entered it and “defiled” it through their sins, turning it into an abomination. In Jeremiah 2:13, God’s people committed “two evils.” They forsook God, “the fountain of living waters” and instead dug for themselves “broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Departure from God yields curses.
Whoever cares about the environment should repent of sin and give God glory. That’s what Revelation 16:9 indicates to do: “Men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.” When people repent of sin and give God glory, He lifts the curse and brings the blessings.
Psalm 98 concludes with the return of Christ: “with righteousness He shall judge the world.”
In Revelation 19:11-16, John received a vision of Christ’s return. He wrote, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” This is what Christ will look like when He throws the antichrist into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20).
It is vital for every soul to profess faith in Christ because Revelation 20:15 says, “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” How is anyone’s name entered into the Lamb’s Book of Life? They profess faith in Him. So, let us profess faith in Christ. He is the Lamb who was slain, and took away the sin of the world. He is worthy of our faith and worship!
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