Psalms 98:1 - Meaning and Application

We are called again to sing to the Lord a new song, as in (Psalm 96:1). Sing the best song you have, the noblest song, the most excellent one. The song of Christ’s love is like Solomon’s Song of Songs, a song above all songs. A song of praise for redeeming love is a new song, because it celebrates a wonder that had not been sung before. It was a mystery hidden for long ages and generations.

Those who are converted sing a new song, one very different from the old one. Their wonder changes, their joy changes, and so their song changes too. If God puts a new heart in us, he will also put a new song in our mouths. In the new Jerusalem, the holy city of the future, new songs will be sung forever, and they will never grow old. Let this new song praise God for four things.

First, praise him for the wonders he has done. He has done marvelous things, as (Psalm 98:1) says. The work of our salvation through Christ is a work of wonder. If we look at every step of it, from God’s plan before time began to its final completion and lasting effects when time ends, we must say that God has done marvelous things. It is all his doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The more it is known, the more it will be admired.

Second, praise him for the victories he has won. His right hand and his holy arm have gained him the victory. Our Redeemer overcame every difficulty in the way of our rescue. He broke through them all and was not discouraged by the work or suffering set before him. He also defeated every enemy that stood against our salvation. He conquered Satan, stripped him of his power, and drove him from his strong places. He spoiled principalities and powers (Colossians 2:15), took the prey from the mighty (Isaiah 49:24), and gave death its deadly wound. He won a full and clear victory, not only for himself, but for us too, so that through him we are more than conquerors.

He won this victory by his own power. There was no one to help him, no one to support him, and no one who dared join the work. Yet his right hand and holy arm, which always succeed because they are always used for a good cause, gained him the victory and brought him rescue. God’s power and faithfulness, called here his right hand and holy arm, brought relief to the Lord Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him to the right hand of God. So Dr. Hammond explains it.

Third, praise him for the way he has made the work of redemption known to the world. What he has done for us, he has also revealed to us, and he has done both through his Son. The gospel revelation is the foundation of the gospel kingdom, the word that God sent (Acts 10:36). The opening of the sealed book should be celebrated with songs of praise (Revelation 5:8), because through it the long-hidden mystery was brought to light.

Notice the subject of this revelation: his salvation and his righteousness, as in (Psalm 98:3). These two are often joined together, as in (Isaiah 61:10), (Isaiah 46:13), and (Isaiah 51:5-8). Salvation means the rescue itself, and righteousness means the way it was carried out, through Christ’s righteousness. Or salvation may include all our gospel privileges, while righteousness includes all our gospel duties. Both are made known, because God has joined them together and we must not divide them. Or righteousness may mean the way we are made right with God through Christ, which the gospel reveals to be by faith (Romans 1:17).

Notice also how plain this revelation is. He has openly shown it, not in the signs and shadows used under the law, but as clearly as if written in a sunbeam, so that the runner can read it. Ministers are appointed to preach it with complete plainness.

Notice too how far this revelation reaches. It is made known in the sight of the heathen, not to the Jews alone. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God, because the word of salvation was sent to the Gentiles as well.

Fourth, praise him for the keeping of the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament in this work. He has remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel, as in (Psalm 98:3). God had mercy stored up for the seed of Abraham, and he had given them many strong promises about the kindness he meant to show them in later days. In keeping all those promises, he raised up his Son Jesus, not only as a light for the Gentiles, but as the glory of his people Israel. He sent Christ first to bless them. In sending Christ, God is said to fulfill the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant (Luke 1:72). He did this in view of that covenant, not because of their merit.