Introduction
We are continuing our short series in the book of Psalms that I am calling “Jesus in the Psalms.”
Today I would like to look at Psalm 98.
Isaac Watts is known as the “Father of English Hymnody” and he is credited with writing more than 600 hymns, including “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World!”
“Joy to the World!” is often classified as a Christmas carol but it is really Watts’ Christocentric interpretation of Psalm 98. It is a description of the Advent of Christ, particularly his Second Advent.
The inspired superscription of Psalm 98 simply states, “A Psalm.” That means that it is identified primarily as a song.
We don’t know the name of the author of Psalm 98. It is one of fifty anonymous Psalms.
The Psalm was written to praise the Lord for a great victory over Israel’s enemy.
Scholars believe that this was the victory that led to the return of the Jewish exiles from their Babylonian captivity (cf. Daniel 5 and Ezra 1). The Psalmist celebrates a recent victory that also points to the ultimate victory of the Lord.
Scripture
Let’s read Psalm 98:1-9:
A Psalm.
1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Lesson
Psalm 98:1-9 teaches us to make a joyful noise to the Lord.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Lord Is Savior (98:1-3)
2. The Lord Is King (98:4-6)
3. The Lord Is Judge (98:7-9)
I. The Lord Is Savior (98:1-3)
First, let us make a joyful noise to the Lord because the Lord is Savior.
Psalm 98 begins with these words in verse 1, “A PSALM. Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”
God had rescued his people. He had saved them. He had done marvelous things for them.
So the people of God were called to sing “a new song.”
This was to be a song about the Lord who was the Savior of his people.
James Montgomery Boice notes, “So the call to sing a new song is actually a call to sing about some new thing God has himself done.”
What is this new thing that God has done himself?
The Psalmist continues in verse 2, “The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.”
The Psalmist wants all the nations surrounding Israel to know that the LORD is their powerful Savior. He has made himself known in the salvation of his people.
The reason that the Lord is the Savior of his people is revealed in verse 3, “He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”
The Psalmist encourages his people with the truth that God is always faithful to his covenant. He rescued his people from their enemy.
And he will rescue his people once again.
How will he do it?
The Lord rescues his people as their Savior in the Advent of Christ. The First Advent of Christ took place two millennia ago.
And the Second Advent of Christ will take place in the not-too-distant future. That is when Jesus will return in person and set up his kingdom on earth.
Heather Thompson was living halfway across the world from her sister when she hit upon the perfect Christmas gift.
Heather’s family lived in Canada when her sister moved to Australia to study speech pathology. When she completed the degree, Heather hoped to attend the December graduation, but her schedule left her missing the ceremony by fewer than 48 hours.
Her sister was very disappointed but understood.
When Heather mentioned the frustration at work, her supervisor permitted her to take off a few days early. So she excitedly started putting plans into motion.
She reached for the phone to tell her sister she would arrive the day before her graduation but paused long enough to realize it would be so much more exciting to surprise her instead. With adrenalin flowing, Heather crafted “the ultimate gift.”
Via the Internet and her phone, Heather created a strategy to be delivered to her sister’s doorstep in a box.
CouriersPlease stopped a few blocks from her sister’s residence, secured Heather in a reinforced box, and then delivered her.
Perplexed by such a large parcel on her porch, Heather’s sister opened the box and it left the speech pathologist utterly speechless when she saw her sister!
To this day it remains the most ingenious, unique Christmas present in the history of their family.
And it’s a great picture of what God did for us that first Advent.
He arrived in our world, just in time, to reveal that he wasn’t sending a message or telegram.
He delivered himself to be “the ultimate gift”—our exclusive Savior.
But why did God send us a Savior?
He sent us a Savior to deal with our sin.
And what is sin?
I heard someone quote John Stott who said something like this: “The essence of sin is to put yourself in the place of God. And the essence of salvation is God putting himself in your place—on the cross.”
Our sin deserves eternal judgment and punishment. But God sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be our Savior. He took the penalty for all our sin and died on the cross in our place.
So, let me ask you: Are you able to make a joyful noise to the Lord because the Lord is your Savior?
II. The Lord Is King (98:4-6)
Second, let us make a joyful noise to the Lord because the Lord is King.
The Psalmist writes in verse 4, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!”
If anyone has a song to sing, it is the people of God. We have been rescued from sin and Satan and hell. We have been rescued from the wrath of God. And we are expecting our coming King to come and complete our redemption.
The Psalmist continues in verses 5-6, “Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!”
In ancient times, as in modern times, whenever there was a coronation it would also include a great procession. Among those participating in the procession would be instrumentalists and singers marching and singing praises to their King.
Here the Psalmist is encouraging God’s people to use instruments to aid their singing to the Lord.
Lyre and trumpets and horn are listed here as aids to our songs of praise to the Lord.
The Psalmist wants our highest expressions of music to bring praise and adoration and glory to our Creator and Redeemer and King.
It wasn’t intended to be a Christmas song, yet “Joy To The World” is one of the most beloved Christmas carols of all.
And interestingly, it didn’t stem from a heart overflowing with joy, but one that was filled with pain.
Isaac Watts wrote more than 600 hymns, plus hundreds of other poems, but “Joy To The World” is his most famous, and it has an interesting genesis.
Watts was a fiery, passionate, stubborn man who experienced great acclaim as a young minister through his hymns and theological writings.
As his fame grew, he attracted the attention of Elizabeth Singer, who had become his biggest fan.
They wrote to each other and she actually proposed to him via the mail. He accepted and she set on her way to meet him in person.
But it was a relationship better suited for writing. After seeing him in person, she called off the marriage.
Singer would later say, “He was only five feet tall, with a shallow face and a hooked nose, prominent cheekbones, small eyes and a deathlike color.”
The heartbroken Watts poured himself into his writing and swore off the idea of ever marrying, which he never did.
While studying Psalm 98, which admonishes us to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord,” the young, rejected minister found inspiration to write a four-stanza poem called “Joy To The World.”
It was then sung to the tune of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” but it was not readily received by British Christians.
Nearly a century later on a different continent, Lowell Mason wrote a new melody that was inspired by Handel’s Messiah. He had spent three years looking for words befitting his music when he came across Watts’ poem. The union seemed providential, and then 50 years later, early in the 20th century, Americans embraced “Joy To The World” as a new Christmas standard.
Only God could orchestrate the workings of a broken heart to use an Old Testament passage as the foundation for the New Testament promise of a King who would bring good tidings of great joy.
So, let me ask you: Are you able to make a joyful noise to the Lord because the Lord is your King?
III. The Lord Is Judge (98:7-9)
And third, let us make a joyful noise to the Lord because the Lord is Judge.
The Psalmist has written of the Lord as a Savior and as a King. Now he presents the Lord as a Judge who will one day come and deal with the world as he once dealt with the Babylonians.
He writes in verse 7, “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!”
The seas and the world and all those who dwell in it are to praise the Lord.
The Psalmist concludes Psalm 98 with these words, “Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity”(98:8-9).
The rivers and the hills are now summoned to praise the Lord. And the reason they are to praise the Lord is given: it is because the Lord is coming.
Like Psalm 96, the Lord is coming to judge the world with righteousness and the people with equity.
This is a reference to the Second Advent of Jesus. When he returns, it will be to judge all the people.
All history as we know it will be over. At that time, the Lord will set up the new earth with the New Jerusalem at the heart of it.
Following the final judgment, all the elect will spend all eternity with the Lord on the new earth.
So, let me ask you: Are you able to make a joyful noise to the Lord because the Lord is your Judge?
I have shared this illustration before and many of you are familiar with it, but it bears repeating.
On his first day of teaching his class of 250 college freshmen, Dr. R. C. Sproul carefully explained the assignment of three term papers—due on the last day of September, October, and November.
Sproul clearly stated there would be no extensions (except for medical reasons).
At the end of September, some 225 students dutifully turned in their papers, while 25 remorseful students quaked in fear.
“We’re so sorry,” they said. “We didn’t make the proper adjustments from high school to college, but we promise to do better next time.”
He bowed to their pleas for mercy and gave them an extension, but warned them not to be late next month.
The end of October rolled around, and about 200 students turned in their papers, while 50 students showed up empty-handed.
“Oh, please,” they begged, “it was homecoming weekend, and we ran out of time.”
Sproul relented once more but warned them, “This is it. No excuses next time. You will get an F.”
The end of November came, and only 100 students turned in their papers. The rest told Sproul, “We’ll get it in soon.”
“Sorry,” Sproul replied. “It’s too late now. You get an F.”
The students howled in protest, “That’s not fair!”
“OK,” Sproul replied, “you want justice, do you? Here’s what’s just: You’ll get an F for all three papers that were late. That was the rule, right?”
“The students had quickly taken my mercy for granted,” Sproul later reflected. “They assumed it. When justice suddenly fell, they were unprepared for it. It came as a shock, and they were outraged.”
Oh, my dear friends, never presume upon the mercy of God.
One day, he will come again as Judge. Then it will be too late.
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed Psalm 98:1-9, let us be prepared for the Second Advent of Jesus.
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro tells the story of his three-year-old daughter Amy. She was in her preschool Christmas concert. About 30 preschoolers came on stage and filled all the risers. A teacher had an old nylon string guitar that she probably had not played since the Christmas program the previous year.
She was leading them in the singing of “Joy to the World!”
The children were only three years old. They could barely speak in complete sentences, let alone sing full measures of music.
Undaunted, the teacher began, “Joy to the World!”
But the children were more interested in finding their parents: “Hi, Dad! Hi, Mom!”
The teacher kept singing, “Joy to the World!”
Then Amy saw her Dad. He took a picture of her.
The teacher kept singing, “Joy to the World!”
Just then one of the boys in the back of the risers began to fall backwards. He bravely took four others with him. Bang!
The teacher kept singing, “Joy to the World!”
It was absolute chaos! When the song was done, all the parents jumped to their feet and gave the children a standing ovation.
After it was done, Wayne thought, “We just gave a standing ovation to the worst concert we’ve ever heard. I just took pictures of the worst concert I’ve ever heard.”
Why?
It was because Wayne’s daughter Amy was singing. He applauded not because of her performance but because of their relationship.
Jesus came on that First Advent so that you can have a relationship with him.
Repent of your sin and believe in him so that you can begin your relationship with him tonight.
That is the only way to be prepared for the Second Advent of Jesus. Amen.
