EXUBERANT OVERFLOWING CELEBRATIONS

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” – Psalm 98:4

God desires EXUBERANT OVERFLOWING CELEBRATIONS from His people: “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (Psa.98:4). Celebrations should never cease in the domain of the righteous. However, there is no better time of the year to practise exuberant sanctified celebrations than the end-of-the-year season, when heaven is echoing carols such as “JOY to the world,” which Isaac Watts based on Psalm 98. This is the season for God’s chosen people to praise Him, and all of His creation to celebrate Him.

Psalm 98 actually calls for a new psalm: “Oh, sing to the Lord a NEW SONG!” (v.1a). Indeed, calls for new songs are ample in Scriptures: Psalm 96:1, 33:3, 40:3; 144:9; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10.  The Psalmist implied that rather than hang with nostalgia onto the “good old songs,” we need to hear something fresh, new, and contemporary. We need to celebrate our God with fresh unction! When we think of all that God has done and is doing, we cannot but praise Him with new psalms and songs: “The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations” (v.2).

Psalm 98 is one of seven ‘Enthronement psalms’ used to celebrate God as King. These are Psalms 47, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99. They typically contain the cry, “The Lord is king” (93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1). They differ from the royal psalms, which are associated with events in the life of the king, namely: Psalms 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 89; 101; 110; 132; 144). God is the King in the enthronement psalms, while in the royal psalms, the king is the king.

Psalm 98 is a psalm of celebration, gratitude and joy. It has nine verses, divided into three stanzas of three verses each.  The first stanza is a call to celebrate in song God’s saving acts on behalf of His specially chosen people; to praise Him because of mighty deeds in the past (vv 1-3). The second stanza is a call to every person on planet Earth to join in on the celebration; to praise the Lord, the ruling King in the present (vv. 4-6). The third stanza is a call for created thing to celebrate; a call to nature also to praise the Lord who will come in the future to set things right in the world (vv. 7-9). Envision the rivers clapping and the mountains singing to their Creator. Whether humanity acknowledges it or not, creation will perpetually praise the Lord! God’s glory is being reflected through everything that He is unfolding on planet Earth.

Notably, this psalm calls for instrumental accompaniment; with both stringed and brass instruments “Sing to the Lord with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn…” (vv.5-6). This was definitely not quiet music: “SHOUT joyfully to the LORD, all the earth, break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (v.4). It’s a great thing to play instruments to celebrate the Almighty God, using harps, trumpets and blasts from a ram’s horn to show joy to Him.

God wants us to use all types of Music to praise Him. You can sing songs to celebrate Him. You can sing a solo to celebrate Him. You can play an instrument to celebrate Him. You can join choirs to sing songs to celebrate Him. With a splendid voice, you can join a quartet or be a part of a duet to celebrate God. But it is one thing to make beautiful music to God and another thing to know why you are doing so. It is one thing to read or sing a Psalm and another thing to know why it was written and to really appreciate the words of the Psalm. The lyrics of Psalm 98 are full of hope and promise, to bring joy to the believer’s life. You and I have every reason to celebrate with exuberant, overflowing, and joyful thankfulness what God has done and is doing in their lives.