Psalm 98— 1 Oh, sing to Yahweh a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. 2 Yahweh has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
“This psalm is to be understood prophetically of the redemption of the world, as well as the judgment of the wicked...” (C. H. Spurgeon) at His coming again for salvation in Psalm 97. “Yahweh looked if there were any to help, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His own arm brought salvation, and His righteousness sustained Him.”(Isaiah 59:16)
“Oh, sing to Yahweh a new song!’ An excellent one unto the Lord Christ, on account of the great work of redemption and salvation wrought out by Him; and because of the new and living way opened by Him...” (John Gill)— “For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.’ 'His' is emphatic, and exclusive.— 'Yahweh has made known His salvation;’ His way of saving his people by his Son, Christ, Matthew 1:21 : this mystery, so long kept secret, is now made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, Romans 16:25-26.” (John Trapp) ‘His righteousness’— revealed in the Person of Christ— ‘He has revealed in the sight of the nations.’” It is made ours by imputation, at first, but by imitation, that is, sanctification of the Spirit by the Word, in time.— “’He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;’ He hath now actually given that mercy which He had promised to the Israelites. ‘All the ends of the earth’— all the inhabitants of the earth, from one end to another— ‘have seen the salvation of our God,’ i.e. enjoyed it, as this word is oft used…” (Matthew Poole)
4 Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. 5 Sing to Yahweh with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, 6 with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
“‘Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.’ Because you all now partake of the same privileges with the Jews, join with them in worshipping and praising God… Here again, as in Psalms 92:3, the worship of the New Testament is described in phrases taken from the rites of the Old— ” (Joseph Benson) as follows:
""Sing to Yahweh with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm,' Israel was to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus19:6a) “Sing unto Yahweh with harps, with the harp and the sound of a psalm,’— “The song and the stringed instruments belonged to the Levites…. The harps and voices made the sweetness…— ‘with trumpets and the sound of a horn’ and the trumpets [belonged] to the priests alone. “ (C. H. Spurgeon) “These were the straight trumpets (such as are seen on the Arch of Titus) used by the priests for giving signals. Numbers 10:2-10; 1 Chronicles 15:24; 1 Chronicles 15:28, etc. The shofar, rmwv (cornet), was the ordinary curved trumpet, cornet, or horn.” (William Kay) “The trumpets and horns added the strength; melody and energy should combine in the worship of God.” (C. H. Spurgeon)—
“’Before the Lord, the King’ (v. 6b) and Judge of the people (v. 9) . Since it is distinctly added before Jehovah the King, and the words, with trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise, are used, there seems to be a reference to that public rejoicing commonly manifested at the coronation of kings, or the celebration of undertakings for the public safety.” (Venema)
“The trumpet was mainly employed for convening a public assembly for worship, or for assembling the hosts for battle.” (Albert Barnes) ”Origen calls the writings of the evangelists and the apostles trumpets, at whose blast all the structures of idolatry and the dogmas of the philosophers were utterly overthrown. He teaches likewise that by the sound of the trumpets is prefigured the trumpet of the universal judgment, at which the world shall fall in ruin, and whose sound shall be joy to the just, and lamentation to the unjust.” (Lorinus) As Euthymius interprets it, “we must praise God in our actions, and praise Him in our contemplation; praise Him in our words, praise Him in our works; praise Him in our life, praise Him at our death; being not only temples (as Paul), but (as Clemens Alexaudrinus calls us) timbrels also of the Holy Ghost.” (John Boys)
7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; 8 let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before Yahweh, 9 For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.
“‘The psalmist, beholding in spirit the accomplishment of the promises, the advent of Christ, and the glory of his kingdom, thinks it criminal in any creature to be silent: he bids the whole earth break forth into joy, and exult in God her Saviour, with every token of gratitude and thankfulness.’ He even calls upon ‘the inanimate parts of creation to bear their parts in the new song, and to fill up the universal chorus of praise.’ He bids the sea roar, as men in triumph make a loud and vehement noise, and the floods to clap their hands, as men do in token of delight and approbation, while the hills, in like manner, resound their joy. ‘Before the Lord, for He cometh,’ etc. Here we have ‘the subject of this general joy, as before in Psalms 96:13, namely, the coming of the Messiah to… execute judgment upon the wicked, and to establish a kingdom of righteousness upon the earth. We expect His second advent to restore all things, to judge the world, to condemn His enemies [to death], Genesis2:17], and to begin His glorious reign. Then shall heaven and earth rejoice,’ etc. - Horne.” (Joseph Benson