Psalms 98

Verse-by-verse explanation

1. Psalms 98:1“A new song” is an expression that appears in several praise psalms after some victory or notable act by God. “New” here means a song composed specifically to celebrate that recent event, not a musical innovation in itself.
2. Psalms 98:2Saying that God “made known” and “openly shewed” His salvation describes a public, visible act, like a proclamation made openly before other peoples, not something reserved only for Israel.
3. Psalms 98:3“Mercy” translates the Hebrew word hesed, loyal love tied to a promise — the covenant with Israel; saying that this love reached “all the ends of the earth” widens a loyalty meant for one people to the whole world.
4. Psalms 98:4Stacking up similar verbs — make a joyful noise, rejoice, sing praise — is a common device in Hebrew poetry meant to intensify emotion through accumulation, more than describing four genuinely different actions.
5. Psalms 98:5The harp (kinnor) was a common stringed instrument in Israelite worship, played to accompany songs in the temple — its mention reinforces that this praise was literally sung with music, not just recited.
6. Psalms 98:6Trumpets and cornets (shofar) were the instruments traditionally used to announce a king ascending the throne; here they fit the theme of the psalm, which celebrates the Lord being acclaimed as King.
7. Psalms 98:7The sea “roaring” repeats the same personification found in other enthronement psalms, like 96:11: the natural sound of the waves is reimagined as if it were nature's applause for God's reign.
8. Psalms 98:8It personifies nature applauding and celebrating, as if rivers and mountains were an audience cheering God's arrival to judge the world — an image of cosmic celebration.
9. Psalms 98:9Closing the psalm with God coming to judge the earth “with righteousness” and “with equity” repeats almost the same formula that ends Psalm 96 — a refrain marking this set of psalms about God taking the throne of the world.