"A Psalm.
Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous 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."
Psalm 98
Here is a Psalm wholly given over to praise. As Kidner says, 'Here there are no comparisons with the heathen, no instructions in right worship: all is joy and exhilaration'. The commentator Delitzsch points out that the opening and closing of the Psalm comes from Psalm 96:1, 13, and that almost everything in between is taken from the latter chapters of Isaiah (1c-3, see Isaiah 52:10; 63:5; for 4, see Isaiah 44:23; 49:13; 52:9; for 8, see Isaiah 55:12). The association of ideas is very wonderful, for if what is in view is the return from the exile, and this manifestation of Divine power in setting free His people from captivity in Babylon, then there is something indeed to sing about (cf Isaiah 49:13ff).
Let us look first of all, however, at the Psalmist's own message here. Once again we have the twofold thrust: on the one hand the Psalm speaks of an accomplished victory. God had made bare His holy arm and wrought mightily for His people. Any number of situations in Israel's history would match this statement, in addition to the return from exile. On the other hand, it will be seen from 4ff that the call to rejoice in the Lord is based on a future coming, or an imminent coming, of the Lord to judge and vindicate (9). It can hardly be doubted that, in the mind of the Psalmist, the two events are somehow linked together, and that the first is an illustration and earnest and foretaste of the second. The fact that the Lord had made bare His holy arm in delivering His people was to him an inevitable evidence and indication, a specific instance, of a general principle that would finally be manifested on a universal scale.