Psalms 98
Big idea: The salvation has already happened — his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation — and the whole earth has watched: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. So the music starts. Harp, trumpets, ram's horn, and then instruments nobody manufactured: the sea roaring, the rivers clapping their hands, the mountains singing together. The psalm's final note is the same as 96's, and just as counterintuitive: all of this because he comes to judge.
Psalm 98 has the rivers applaud. Psalm 99 makes the peoples tremble, and calls him holy three times.
98:1–9 — Let the rivers clap their hands
A short new-song psalm whose argument moves outward in three stages and ends with rivers applauding. Salvation is worked, then shown to the nations, then joined by the landscape — and again the thing being celebrated is a judge arriving. What makes it unusual is verse 3: God 'REMEMBERED' his loving kindness, which implies an interval in which it looked forgotten.
1 A Psalm. Sing to Yahweh a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! 5 Sing praises to Yahweh with the harp, with the harp and the voice of melody. 6 With trumpets and sound of the ram’s horn, make a joyful noise before the King, Yahweh. 7 Let the sea roar with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing for joy together. 9 Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).