STUDY OF PSALMS - Chapters 98-102

PSALM 98 - “Joy to the World”
(A Psalm)

This psalm is considered a “companion psalm” to Psalm 96, with multiple overlaps of scripture. The biggest difference is that Psalm 98 is entirely praise.

Some commentators have found parallels between the first few verses of this psalm and Mary's Song in Luke 1:46-55. Maybe Jesus' Mom had this song in mind?

VERSE 1-3: PRAISE GOD AS SAVIOR

Vs. 1 – Another “new song”! It is inspiring to see how the worshipers composed new and special songs for specific occasions. They kept their praise to God fresh and dynamic.

Vs/ 2 – "Salvation" appears in each verse of 1-3 (“victory” in some translations). Both words imply judgment on the nations and salvation for all. The “marvelous” things God has done for Israel is ultimately for the saving of the faithful of the whole world,

VERSES 4-6: PRAISE GOD AS KING

Vs. 4-5 – This description does not depict a quiet and passive worship. Think: Super Bowl on steroids! The entire earth is invited to raise the roof with shouts of jubilation and harps harping and trumpets trumpeting and shofars blasting... a joyful praise worthy of the King of Kings.

VERSE 7-8: PRAISE GOD AS JUDGE

Vs. 7-8 – All of God's creation joins in on the praise: roaring seas, clapping rivers and joyfully shouting mountains. The whole earth is a joyful symphony (Compare to 96:11).

VERSE 9: CONCLUSION

The psalm ends in the same way as Psalm 96, with the announcement of a righteous and fair judge who is coming to “judge the earth” and reign over all the nations.

💛NUGGET: This psalm was the inspiration for Isaac Watts to write “Joy to the World” . He wrote it as a paraphrase of Psalm 98, never intending it to be a Christmas hymn. Let's listen again, with new ears focused on the Messiah rather than the Manger:

VIDEO:  "Joy to the World"

https://youtu.be/43JhtRD244Y

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PSALM 99 – “Holy, Holy, Holy”

This is the last of the collection of “Kingdom” Psalms which begin with Psalm 93. This psalm serves as a reminder of just how HOLY God is and why He is deserving of our total reverence and awe.

SECTION ONE: VERSES 1-3

Vs. 1a – “The LORD reigns”: This is the third psalm in the Kingdom Psalms that begins with this phrase (also Psalms 93 and 97).

Vs. 1b – “He dwells between the cherubim”: We know that God is surrounded by cherubim in Heaven, but He also met with Moses on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant between the cherubim. (Exodus 25:17-22).

Vs. 3 – God's holiness is proclaimed: “He is Holy”. To be “holy” primarily means “to be separate”. If we do not understand this concept of God's holiness and distinction, then we will never give Him the honor and reverence He deserves.

“Holiness is what defines God’s character most fundamentally, and a vision of this holiness should inspire his people and evoke their worship, sustain their character, fuel their passion for truth, and encourage persistence in efforts to do his will and call on his name in petitionary prayer.” (David Wells)

SECTION TWO: VERSES 4-5

Vs. 4 – I don't know about y'all, but I would love to have leaders who can honestly put “Loves Justice” and “Establishes Fairness” as bullet points on their resumes. I long for a King who rules with righteousness and equity.

Vs. 5a – References to God's footstool include:

• Ark of the Covenant (1 Chronicles 28:2)
• Jerusalem (Lamentations 2:1)
• Earth (Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:35; Acts 7:49)
• Temple (Isaiah 60:13)

Vs. 5b – For a second time, God's holiness is proclaimed: “He is holy”.

SECTION THREE: VERSES 6-9

Vs. 6-7 – Moses is given the title of “priest” along with Aaron and Samuel because he acted as an intercessor between God and Israel in administering God's justice. Their obedience in keeping God's testimonies and ordinances is acknowledged.

Vs. 8 – Even though God is quick to forgive repentant sinners, actions have consequences. God is faithful in both forgiveness and punishment.

💛NUGGET: God not only gives mercy without compromising His holiness, He gives mercy because of His holiness..

Vs. 9 – God's holiness is proclaimed: “The LORD our God is holy”. He is still holy but now... He is called “our God”. Intimacy without diminishing the majesty.

“The Bible calls God holy more than anything else, more than sovereign, more than just, more than merciful or loving. In fact ‘holy’ is the only epithet of God that is repeated three times for emphasis, like this: ‘Holy, holy, holy’ (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).” (Boice)

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PSALM 100 – “Make a Joyful Noise”

(A Psalm of Thanksgiving)

This song is also known as the “Jubilate” in Anglican/episcopal churches and is read as a Morning Prayer.  It is also an important reading in Jewish liturgy:

VIDEO:  "Psalms 100" 

https://youtu.be/r8uFRrK5kvc

Psalm 100 is an invitation to all the earth to come before the Lord in worship.  Within this song are seven commands to worship:

1. Shout joyfully (verse1)
2. Serve (verse 2a)
3. Come before Him (verse 2b)
4. Know (verse 3)
5. Enter (verse 4a)
6. Give thanks (verse. 4b)
7. Bless (verse 4c)

Vs. 1 – “Joyful noise” means “shout for joy”.

Vs. 2 – Two commands here:

• “Serve the Lord”
• “Do it with Gladness”

“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you.” (Deuteronomy. 28:47-48)

Vs. 3 – The overall message of this verse is SUBMISSION. We don't often think about submission and thankfulness going hand in hand, but they do. We are either submitting to self, to satan or to the Lord. We are not “self-made” and neither do we belong to satan. Our submission and gratitude for all He has done belongs only to our Father.

Vs. 4 – “Bless His Name”: Praise God for WHO HE IS, as revealed in His Word and through His Son. Through Jesus, God has given us the gift of salvation and eternal life with Him. We return the blessing by praising Him.

Vs. 5a – This verse gives us the reason to make a joyful noise... because “the Lord is Good.” The only time we doubt this is when we allow satan in. If satan can cause us to question the goodness of God, then he knows we will no longer trust Him. When we no longer trust God, we stop obeying Him. We trust and obey because the Lord is Good.

Vs. 5b - “His faithful love endures forever”: (also : mercy; lovingkindness) all come from the

word “hesed” or “chesed” which we've discussed before as referring to God's covenant love – His forever love. 

💛NUGGET: The Hebrew word “hesed” is actually derived from the word for “stork”. The Hebrews noticed how storks had an extraordinary way of caring for and protecting their babies by building nests in high trees (Psalm 104:17). They realized that God loved them in the same way, keeping them safe from their enemies. That's how God is – it's His nature. 

The full response to this call will later come when Jesus Christ establishes the Kingdom of God on the earth. Under His rule, everyone will experience the gladness (verse 2) of living in harmony with God. At that time singing with joy to the Lord will be natural and spontaneous. In the meantime, worshipers come before Him anticipating the future with joy—in spite of circumstances of the world.

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PSALM 101 - “The King's Psalm”

(A Psalm of David)

This is a Royal Psalm of David written as a commitment to covenant faithfulness, both in his personal life and in his court. One writer classified this as a psalm of dedication or a type of “oath of office”.

“In Europe the psalm came to be known as the ‘prince’s psalm,’ owing to the concern for the proper conduct of a Christian magistrate, prince, or king.” (Willem VanGemeren)

Vs. 1 - David sang a song of “faithful love” (hesed / chesed) exalting God's mercy, justice and integrity. All three traits belong together... mercy is only given in the light of justice and integrity.

Vs. 2a - “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart”: (or a heart of integrity). Wow. What a commitment. Because really, is there any place harder to walk perfectly than within the walls of your own house? Integrity should govern both our private and public lives.

“This is the hardest place to walk in perfectly. It seems easier to walk perfectly among strangers than in one’s own house. But you may rest assured that a man is really no better than he is to his own. You must not gauge your worth by what the outside world thinks and says.” (Meyer)

Vs. 3a – “Nothing wicked”: Literally means nothing of “Belial”, which is a word that embraces the idea of complete worthlessness and became a name for satan.

Vs. 3b – “Those who fall away” are not those who practice God's covenant love (hesed) that David spoke of in verse 1.

Vs. 5 – Slander and arrogance were not to be tolerated in David's kingdom. 

Vs. 6-8 – David chose to surround himself only with people of integrity. He wanted his moral standards to be reflected in those around him. But we've read the book. We know that in spite of his good intentions, David let a few knuckleheads in... like Joab and Absalom. Why? Because David, like us, is a mere mortal; fallible and full of sin. This psalm will only be perfectly fulfilled in the reign of Jesus Christ.

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PSALM 102 - “But You...”

(A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD.)

[This psalm is a prayer of Lament and is also one of the seven Penitential Psalms. There are also a few Messianic elements thrown into the mix.]

The afflicted one wrote this psalm during a time of deep personal and national distress (possibly the Babylonian exile) and clearly borrowed some of his phrasing from Job, who also knew a bit about affliction.

Charles Spurgeon called this psalm "A patriot's lament over his country's distress."

Vs. 1-2 – Similar to Job 13:22; 24, the psalmist cries out for God to hear his plea with no less than five different requests for attention:

1. "Hear me"
2. "Let my cry come to you"
3. "Don't hide your face from me"
4. "Turn your ear to me"
5. "Answer me quickly"

Vs. 3-4 – Do you see how satan can tempt us even with despair?

Vs. 5 – Compare to Job 19:20.

Vs. 6-8 – The psalmist is alone and ostracized by his enemies.

Vs. 9-11 – The psalmist perceived his affliction as punishment caused by God's wrath and anticipates imminent death: “My days are like a lengthening shadow” (i.e. the setting of the sun).

Vs. 12 – “But you...”: With these two small words, everything changes. The psalmist turns his attention from himself and onto God.

Vs. 13-16 – Zion (Jerusalem) is described as being in a state of ruin which indicates this psalm could have been written by someone who was in exile under Babylonian captivity after the destruction of Jerusalem. The psalmist anticipated restoration would come to Zion and the Lord's presence would return. Until then, even the stones and dust of Zion were precious to her people.

Vs. 17 – God does not despise the prayer of the destitute: “Only the poorest of the people were left to sigh and cry among the ruins of the beloved city; as for the rest, they were strangers in a strange land, and far away from the holy place, yet the prayers of the captives and the forlorn offscourings of the land would be heard of the Lord.” (Spurgeon)

Vs. 18 – “A people yet to be created”: This psalm was written in anticipation of a future audience, which tells us God already has plans for those yet to be created.

💛NUGGET: God doesn't conceive life in utero, He first conceives us in His heart and mind.

Vs. 19-22 – The psalmist knows that God hears the cries of the exiles and will set them free in anticipation of a nationwide assembly in Zion. This took place to a limited extent after the exile, but was prophesied in a big way for the end time in Isaiah 2:1-5 and Zechariah 14:16-21.

Vs. 23-24 – The psalmist turns inward again, remembering his own despair and contrasting his shortening days to God's eternity.

Vs. 25-27 – These verses are quoted in Hebrews 1:10–12 in describing the eternal nature of Jesus.

Vs. 27 – “But you...”: The revelation of God's unchanging and eternal nature gives the psalmist hope.

💛NUGGET: All suffering can be endured if viewed from an eternal perspective.

Vs. 28 – “The children of your servant will continue”: The psalmist concludes with a resounding hope for the future. Even if the psalmist's prayers were not answered in his lifetime, he had confidence that his children and grandchildren would see a brighter day and a restored Zion. The psalmist went from focusing on his own misery, to focusing on his community, the world, and finally... future generations to come.

💛NUGGET: Our future stands on the promises of God.

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READING FOR TOMORROW:  Chapters 103-107

LINK TO READING PLAN:

https://bibleplan.org/plans/psalms-in-a-month/