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Psalm 98:1-3 God’s power to save, salvation for the nations, redemption of creation.
On this first Sunday of the New Year we’re going to focus our attention on the power of God, the One we look to. We are meeting here this morning in Roch in Pembrokeshire. Pembrokeshire is in Wales, in the continent of Europe. Europe is on the planet called Earth. Planet Earth is orbiting around a star called the Sun. The Sun belongs to a galaxy called the Milky Way, which contains about 100,000 million other stars. Our galaxy is not the only galaxy in this vast universe; it is one of maybe 100,000 million other galaxies. Who is our God? He is the One who made all of that.
If you were to get in a car that could drive on a new intergalactic highway on a journey to the Sun, driving at a constant speed of 150 miles an hour for 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, it would take about 15 years.
If you set off at the same speed to get to the next nearest star, Alpha Centauri, it would take you about 15 million years to get there. Consider the vastness of our universe. God made it all! This psalm begins,
“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.”
Psalm 98:1
There is a new song because God has done something new. We see that phrase in scripture, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things!
When you trace those verses, that phrase usually refers to something new that has happened. There is a new song because God has done something new. God has done something specific.
People speculate about what was the occasion of this psalm. What was the new thing that God has done? Possibly, this Psalm was written in response to the exiles returning from Babylon to Jerusalem. They had been away for 70 years but the Lord had brought them back from captivity. Perhaps this psalm was written in response to this. They sing a new song for this marvellous thing.
“His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.”
The sense is that only God could have done this thing that has happened. You will find these words in several places in scripture. They refer to things that only the Lord Himself could have brought about. God’s power is the only explanation.
If the event being remembered is the Exiles returning from Babylon to Jerusalem, certainly only the Lord could have brought that about. Why did the Exiles return from Babylon? It wasn’t because the fought a military campaign.
Ezra 1:1 tells us is this extraordinary thing, “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation.” Cyrus makes the proclamation. The people could return home to the city, to their temple, and start rebuilding because the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, the Persian king. He was a pagan king, yet, in Isaiah, God refers to him as, ‘My servant.’
“Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
(Isaiah 44:28).
The only explanation that the people could return was the Lord’s power at work, His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.”
Perhaps, this psalm doesn’t remember this event. The Israelites were a people who could trace their history and see the Lord’s hand and see His mighty arm at work. There are several events we could perhaps associate with this psalm. Think of when Israel was captive in Egypt for 400 years. Only the Lord could save them from slavery.
We can think of another deliverance, before exile, when the Assyrian King Sennacherib defeated Israel to the north. Jerusalem was under siege (2 kings 19). The Lord sent word, through Isaiah, that he himself would fight for Israel. Israel is in trouble. The city of Jerusalem is surrounded, but then extraordinary things happen. The deliverance is a deliverance where the Lord is the only explanation.
Maybe, at some point over Christmas, we may have read Luke chapter 1. There are similarities between where Mary sings the Magnificat and Psalm 98. Mary is saying the only explanation of what has been revealed to her is God’s power.
- God’s power to save.
Let us be strengthened by the theme of this Psalm. God is doing powerful things for the sake of His people. Can you look at your own salvation and say, ‘He has done wonderful things for me?’ As a Christian, in a secular society, you are quite strange! But the Lord has worked in your life, He has done marvellous things. Why are you here today? God is the only reason. It is the Lord’s power. Who do you look to? It is another year – you may be feeling weak. Perhaps we are discouraged? Look to the Lord. He has saved you.
2. Salvation for the nations.
“The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.”
Psalm 98:2
Think of the various deliverances of Israel. If this is a song that was written in response to the Exiles returning from Babylon, that was done in the sight of the nations. The mighty Persian Empire, the world superpower of the day, bound together by one king, king Cyrus, yet these people get to go home. The nations see it. The nations wonder at it.
Think of the deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Pharaoh pursued the Israelites but he didn’t return home. Where is Pharaoh? Where are the chariots that went out? They had been consumed by the Red Sea. As Israel journeyed to the Promised Land, the other nations heard about what the Lord had done for Israel. The nations feared because of what God had done for Israel.
When the Lord does marvellous things, works salvation in the lives of His people, the nations, the world around us, our community, see it. Do you want the world around you to see you are different? They may not believe the gospel, but they will wonder at it. They will wonder at the strangeness of it.
The Lord Jesus is the friend of sinners. The world sees. The world wonders. Do you want the world to see that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? You live in a world of service to Him. The world will notice, “All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.“ (v.3b).
3. Redemption of Creation
“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.”
Psalm 98:3
The Lord remembers something. We can forget things. God never forgets. He remembers His steadfast love. It is just the language of poetry. He never forgets. He is true to His covenants. If the Lord told people they would return from exile after 70 years, they would return after 70 years.
“He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.”
Psalm 147:4
However many stars there are, He gives them all names. He knows everything about every star. If that is the case, do you think He well forget His people? Won’t you commit to His care? Won’t you walk in His shelter? What is the problem of our lives? Sin. What is the answer? The Lord Jesus Christ. He came to deal with my sin. He died on the cross for my sin, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). There is the greatest demonstration of His love for you. If He Has done that, will you doubt He is with you in every circumstance in your life?
We are walking through the gravestones of this world. Life is difficult. The closer we walk with Him, the safer we feel. He cares for His people. Do you trust Him? Are you singing a new song? Are you living out your Christian life in the sight of nations, so that all who see you know that you belong to Him? Are you walking and knowing the joy of walking in His shelter?
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 