...sing a song to the Lord...

Paul Ferrarone
59 minutes ago
3 min read

“4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,

burst into jubilant song with music;

5 make music to the LORD with the harp,

with the harp and the sound of singing,

6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—

shout for joy before the LORD, the King” Psalm 98:4-6.

These verses are obviously Psalms about worshipping the Great King!

All life on earth must join the joyful celebration of God’s kingship. The earth must prepare itself for His coming with an open welcome, shouting “for joy,” bursting “into jubilant song,” and making “music” with a variety of instruments. The earth responds “with a shout of joy (v.4). The particular form of the joyful expectation of the Great King expresses itself in a wide variety of musical instruments. The “new song” celebrating the “marvelous” acts of the Great King is accompanied by instruments used in the worship of God in the temple.

The people of God respond with joyful singing to the accompaniment of musical instruments in celebration of Yahweh’s universal kingship. Moses and Miriam led Israel in song in celebration of his victory over the Egyptians and of his deliverance of Israel

(Exodus 15:1-21).

“7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it.

8 Let the rivers clap their hands,

let the mountains sing together for joy;

9 let them sing before the LORD,

for he comes to judge the earth” (Psalm 98:7-9).

In Verses 7-8 the Creator-Redeemer-King has made the world to be inhabited and will restore everything to Himself. The restoration of His people inspires anticipation of the final restoration of all things. The arena of God’s “marvelous” acts is the world, and nature forms the stage on which God, the Great King, acts. Nature echoes and reverberates the joy of God’s people as they anticipate the coming of the Great King (see Isaiah 55:12). The rejoicing of animal and plant life in the sea and on earth (v.7) denotes the totality of created life (see Psalms 24:1 and 96:11), as also noted by the contrasting pair of “rivers” and “mountains” (v.8). The “groaning” of nature (Romans 8:19-21) will give way to rejoicing at his coming.

At His coming, the Great King will fully establish His dominion over the created world when He comes “to judge the earth” (v.9). He will establish His victory (“righteousness”) on earth by His judgment and will continue to rule over his subjects with “uprightness.” The reign of universal peace, justice, and happiness has begun in the psalmist’s prophetic vision.

What is also of note here in this Psalm is the fact that the Psalms were accompanied by music and sung by the assembly in worship. I always try to imaging the melodic quality to the psalms, lingering in the background.

So sit back, close your eyes, and imagine the congregation singing these words: