‘Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth…’ (Psalm 98:4)
Read Psalm 98
When we look at this Psalm it seems evident that it was written in celebration of some kind of victory by the people of Israel over some enemy, yet there is no certainty as to when that may have been. It may have been a victory over the Egyptians, the Babylonians or some other enemy. Either way it is clear that this victory was achieved by the power of the Lord and prompts the people to sing a new song to the Lord.
However, when we look at the Psalm more closely we see that there are a number of three-fold themes that run through it. The first of these is the idea of God the Saviour, God the King and God the Judge. The people are invited, called upon even, to sing for joy to God their Saviour, to worship Him as their King, and along with all creation pay homage to Him as the coming Judge of all the earth.
Also, the Psalmist’s call to praise here is not just because of God’s mighty acts in the past, they are also evidence of the present on-going reign of God and serve as a pledge that one day His righteousness will be established in all the earth. Indeed, whilst this is not perhaps a Messianic Psalm as such, there are words found here, ‘ all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God…’ that are very similar to those in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 52:10) which would ultimately be fulfilled with the coming of Jesus. And in the final verse we even perhaps catch a glimpse of what will happen when Christ comes again in all His glory.
Lord we praise You that You are Lord of all time and space, and that You are Lord and King over all creation. We too sing for joy with gladness in our hearts for all You have given and done for us and ask that You would help us to walk with You each and every day. And all this we ask in Jesus name…Amen.
Question Of The Day: Which prophet prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem?