TWO REASONS TO REJOICE TODAY (Psalm 98)

Every song has a story.

Through the years I have enjoyed researching hymns and gospel songs we sing, the backgrounds of the writers, and of the songs themselves.

The same is true of the psalms. Every one of them has a setting. We are not certain about all of them but we know many of them.

We are in the middle of a group of psalms that really go together: Psalms 97-100. The last of those psalms is the most famous. But all four revolve around a special event that happened in II Chronicles 7, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant back into the temple after it had been carried away by enemies and gone for many years.

When it was returned, there was a time of great rejoicing. David began to sing, dance, and praise God along with the rest of the people. The ark represented the visible presence of God among them. We believe that Psalms 97-100 were written during this occasion.

As we look at Psalm 98, we will first read the middle portion before going back to examine the beginning and the end.

Verses 4-8: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together.”

I think the tone of this psalm is fairly obvious. It is jubilant and wonderful.

There is nothing that brings joy like the conscious presence of God. No person in the world can do that for you; no amount of material gain can accomplish it. There is nothing you can do to produce that kind of joy. It is just the supernatural outgrowth of God’s nearness.

When you recognize how near the Lord is to you, and you draw near to Him, it immediately brings joy — and that joy comes out in a song and a shout. You cannot hold it in or bottle it up. When you have the joy of the Lord, you want to share it with someone else and give God praise and glory.

That is the theme and the tone of Psalm 98. However, if you look at the way it begins and ends, it will give you reason to rejoice every day.

Maybe you don’t feel like rejoicing. Perhaps you got up and found that this was not the day you hoped for or planned. Maybe the emotion is not there to sing.

I have learned that the days when I don’t want to sing are the days when I most need to sing. When I don’t feel like giving thanks, I need to give thanks. When I don’t sense a spirit of praise in me, I need the discipline of praise.

Psalm 98 not only commands us to sing and praise, but also shows us why we should.

Verses 1-3: “O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Psalm 98 begins by looking at what God has done. The past tense is abundant in the first three verses.

Take a moment and look back at what the Lord has done in your life. Certainly He has done some marvelous things for you and given you victories, not the least of which is your own salvation. Rejoice and give God glory and praise for what He has done in the past.

But don’t stop there.

Verses 8-9: “Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.”

Notice the shift from past tense to future tense. Aren’t you glad that the God of the past is the God of the future? He held you in His hand in days gone by and will always do so. The God who has worked will continue to work.

David noted that God had done some amazing things for Israel. The ark was back in its rightful place. But he also pointed out that God would come again. The same God who has ministered to you many times will come to you today in your time of need.

My mind flashed back briefly to Psalm 96, which ends the same way: “… then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth.” It is as if the psalmist just kept reiterating this thought about the Lord coming.

When the Lord comes, we will all have cause to rejoice. But just the promise of His coming gives us cause to rejoice today. So I want you to rejoice for the God of the past, the promise of the future, and the God who is present tense.

Sandwiched between yesterday and tomorrow, the Lord is present today. The same God who has worked in the past and will do so in the future is with you right now, and He has promised to “never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). With that mind, here are two primary reasons from Psalm 98 for us to rejoice.

Make a list of all that He has done.

I think you will find that list to be lengthy; in fact, you cannot exhaust or even remember all that God has done. But you know it has been a lot.

Go back and read an old journal or look through some old photos today. Walk through answers to prayers from your past and things the Lord has taught you. It will give you cause to rejoice.

Think about the day when He will come.

He will judge the world and everyone in it, bringing true justice and right every wrong. What a glorious thought. No matter how bad the news may be today, you can rejoice that the Lord is coming.

I don’t know what the future holds or everything God will do, but I know that He is coming. When He does, I am going to be with Him. As I stated at the beginning of this study, there is nothing that brings such joy as living in the conscious presence of God.

Live in His presence today. Give Him praise and glory, because the Lord has come and will come again.