Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 5 (7)
Pray Psalm 98.1.
Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
Sing Psalm 98.1.
(Duke Street: Come, Let Us Sing Unto the Lord )
Come, let us sing unto the LORD new songs of praise with one accord!
Wonderful things our God has done: Jesus has our salvation won!
Read and meditate on Psalm 98.1-9.
Preparation
1. What has God made known to the world?
2. How should we respond to this?
Meditation
The writer of the book of Hebrews refers to “so great a salvation” (Heb. 2.3) that we have in Jesus. Is this the way we think about our salvation? Do we seek a greater measure of our salvation each day, exceedingly and abundantly more than we’ve ever dared to ask or think? That we might be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3.19, 20)? Even the psalmist seems to have had a larger view of salvation than many of us do, to whom that great salvation has come in these last days.
The psalmist describes the work of Jesus—God’s “right hand” and “holy arm”, cf. Pss. 2, 110—as “marvelous” and a “victory” (v. 1). His salvation entails righteousness, mercy, and faithfulness before all nations and to the ends of the earth (vv. 2, 3). This is a salvation so great that it provokes joyful shouts, breaking forth into songs of praise, and playing loud instruments before the LORD, the King (v. 5-6). Even the vast and groaning creation knows a measure of healing in the great salvation of the LORD (vv. 7, 8), and especially as it looks forward to His coming to judge the world and its peoples with equity (v.9).
The salvation that we have in Jesus, Who rules at the right hand of God, should elicit from us constant paeans of praise and thanksgiving, shouts of rejoicing, and lives of righteousness, mercy, faithfulness, and restoration, even to the creation within our reach. This is that “so great a salvation” that Jesus has gained for us in His victory on the cross and out of the tomb and which the psalmist foresaw in Psalm 98.
Is this the salvation we seek more of each day?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“…For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
and the peoples with equity” (Ps. 98.9).
The fact that God judges us with equity helps us understand that Someone else was involved in His decision.
Without the saving death and resurrection of Jesus, without His merciful covering of our sins, without His taking the full burden of our iniquities upon Himself, without His overcoming death, we would be sunk.
And our equitable judgment would have been death. Guilty as charged.
But because Jesus paid it all and declared the judgment “was finished” (Jn. 19.30),
we now are redeemed by His blood. However, we dare not ignore the truth of our salvation.
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,
how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,
and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders,
with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit,
according to His own will?” (Heb. 2.3)
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love, and power.
Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth Is to feel your need of Him.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden, Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better, You will never come at all.
I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O, there are ten thousand charms.
(Joseph Hart, 1759)
This “So Great a Salvation” is equitably ours because of Jesus.
“Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
For He has done marvelous things…” (Ps. 98.1).
Reflection
1. What is your approach to realizing more of our great salvation?
2. How can you encourage your fellow Christians to seek more of God’s great salvation?
3. Why can we who believe look forward with joy to Jesus’ coming to judge the earth with righteousness and equity?
The kingdom of Christ will be a blessing to the whole creation. We expect his second coming to begin his glorious reign. Then shall heaven and earth rejoice, and the joy of the redeemed shall be full. But sin and its dreadful effects will not be utterly done away, till the Lord comes to judge the world in righteousness. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 98.4-9
Pray Psalm 98.2-9.
Praise and thank the Lord for the salvation we have now and that which will be ours when Jesus comes again.
Sing Psalm 98.2-9.
(Duke Street: Come, Let Us Sing Unto the Lord)
Now is God’s saving mercy known; His glory to the world is shown.
Faithful and kind is God our LORD; earth has the Name of Jesus heard.
Raise to the LORD your loudest voice! Break forth and sing! Rejoice! Rejoice!
Praise, praise to You our God and King, with all our hearts and strength we bring!
Now let the whole creation ’round burst into song with joyous sound!
Jesus will come to judge the earth; let all proclaim His matchless worth!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
