All Creation Sings – Psalm 98

A text – Psalm 98

¹ O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
² The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
³ He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

⁴ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
⁵ Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

⁷ Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the world and those who live in it.
⁸ Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
⁹ at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

A reflection:

Psalm 98 was probably written to celebrate a victory in battle, as we see in the first few verses. This psalm calls the people to worship and praise God because of what God has just accomplished. But what kind of worship, what kind of praise? Let’s pay attention to verses 4-8.

“All the earth” should break forth in joyous song. All the people, all the birds, all the elephants!

Humans should sing accompanied by the lyre. Break out whatever instrument you have and sing.

Use trumpets and horns! Be loud. Be joyful. Get your own attention and other people’s attention!

Even the waters have joined. The sea is roaring, the floods are clapping, the hills are singing for joy.

All of creation is singing praise to the Lord. Can we imagine that? And human beings are joining in, in whatever way they can. All of the earth is praising its Creator. Everything and everybody is singing. This image is tricky for a person whose faith is all in their head, or for a person who believes quietly in the privacy of his or her heart. The God to be praised is Creator of sea and sky, of animals and people, of trees and rocks. What starts out as a psalm of gratitude for a specific victory turns into a huge wave of every created thing, including us, singing with joy to our Creator. So this image is also tricky for people who don’t know they are creatures, created and sustained by God, but who instead think of themselves as independent beings who are masters of their domains.

We are creatures of our Creator, and every so often we need to sing praises to the One who made us and sustains us – the Lord God: our Maker, our Redeemer, and the One who keeps us connected into the life of God every day. We live within the joy of God. Join me in a song to celebrate that wondrous thing. Remember this one? “Joy to the world, all the boys and girls, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.” Joy, because we live inside the love of God forever, no matter what.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the psalms of praise that teach us to join everything on earth in praising God, our Creator, who protects and sustains us. Help us always, every day, to remember the joy right at our fingertips and participate in the song of praise each day, renewing our connection with our God. Amen.