Psalm 98
I read a lot of commentaries on this chapter. Most agree that the psalmist had Christ’s second coming in mind when writing this psalm. Commentator William D. Barrick wrote, “In 1719 Isaac Watts published ‘Joy to the World’ from the text of Psalm 98. His carol speaks far more about Christ’s return as King than it does about His coming as a baby in Bethlehem.” And to that, I say, as if He wasn’t a King in Bethlehem?
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After all this time, it’s still hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that God’s Kingdom is totally different from our kingdoms. His way of being a King is totally different from our way of being a king. His way of wielding power is totally different from our way of wielding power.
Psalm 98 says, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gotten Him the victory.” (vs 1) We read that, and we think, Yeah! God is going to come again with might and power, crushing the opposition!
Yet, when Jesus came to this Earth and gained the victory over sin once and for all, He didn’t crush anybody with might and power. His right hand? It was nailed to the cross. His holy arm? He didn’t even use it to deflect a single blow that was thrown His way, let alone use it to injure another person.
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God’s right hand and holy arm have not won Him the victory through beating His enemies, but through revealing His glory in the midst of evil and pain. God wins the war through freedom and submission, not through coercion and force. God gains the victory because of who He is. And He was Himself in the manger just as much as He will be Himself in the clouds. The baby who came to give His life isn’t going to turn into some rampaging brute at the end.
That’s what makes God an ironic King. He is King—just not in any of the ways we normally think of a king. And that’s why I love how the great Charles Spurgeon summed up this psalm in his commentary. I’ll leave you with it today:
The salvation which Jesus has accomplished is wrought out with wonderful wisdom, hence it is ascribed to his right hand; it meets the requirements of justice, hence we read of his holy arm; it is his own unaided work, hence all the glory is ascribed to him; and it is marvelous beyond degree, hence it deserves a new song.