Psalm 98 — 99
God, and God chose Mount Zion to be His dwelling place. The prophet Isaiah saw the heavenly throne (Isa. 6) and so did the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 1). The name "Lord" is used seven times in this psalm, for God made His covenant with Israel alone and they were His special people. "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). When the Gentiles beheld what God did for Israel, they should have trembled with awe and put their trust in Him (96:9; 114:7). God's throne is awesome because He is holy (Lev. 11:44–45; 1 Peter 1:15–16). "The Holy One of Israel" is a name found thirty times in the book of Isaiah. The word holy means "separate, set apart, totally different." God's nature is "wholly other," yet He was willing to dwell with His people and meet their needs. (Note the repetition of "he is holy" [vv. 3, 5, 9], and see Isa. 6:3.)
3–4, 9), and the world (vv. 7, 9). It appears that the psalm points ahead to the return of Jesus Christ. (See Isa. 52:1–10.)
A Joyous Celebration (vv. 4–6) The command went out to all nations of the earth to shout joyfully in praise to the Lord for what He had done for Israel, and the emphasis is on the King (v. 6). Again we are reminded of what the prophet Isaiah wrote concerning the Jewish "exodus" from Babylon (Isa. 14:7; 44:23; 49:13; 52:9; 54:1; 55:12). But the shout was only the beginning, for singing and the playing of instruments followed. Loud music played and sung with enthusiasm was characteristics of Jewish worship (2 Chron. 5:11–14; Ezra 3:10–13; Neh. 12:27–43).
A Just Throne (vv. 4–5) The Lord ruled His people of Israel through the kings in the Davidic dynasty (Deut. 17:14–20). The Lord is perfectly righteous in His character and just in His actions, and He wanted the throne of Israel to be just. A leader who loves justice will have the strength to obey God's Word and will seek to please Him. Romans 13 teaches us that civil authorities are the ministers of God, not just the employees of the government. In Scripture, the "footstool" (v. 5) could be the ark of the covenant (1 Chron. 28:2), the sanctuary of God (132:7; Isa. 60:13; Ezek. 43:7), the city of Jerusalem (Lam. 2:1), or even planet earth (Isa. 66:1; Matt. 5:35). Solomon's throne had a footstool of gold (2 Chron. 9:18), and visitors would kneel there in homage before him. The sanctuary on Mount Zion was God's chosen dwelling place, and the ark in the sanctuary was His appointed throne, so when the Jewish pilgrims came to Jerusalem, they were worshipping at His footstool. Note that verse 5 is the central verse of the psalm and emphasizes the three major themes of the psalm: God's holiness and our privilege and responsibility to worship Him and exalt Him (see vv. 3, 9).
A Glorious Expectation (vv. 7–9) The psalmist has written of the Lord as Deliverer and King, and now he presents Him as the Judge who will one day come and deal with the world as He once dealt with the kingdom of Babylon. He had seen Israel delivered from bondage (vv. 1–3), and he had heard the nations of the world praising the Lord (vv. 4–6). Now he heard all creation eagerly anticipating the Lord's return, for the second advent of Jesus sets creation free from the bondage of sin caused by Adam's fall (Rom. 8:18–25). The lapping of the waves of the sea on the shore sounds to him like a prayer to the Lord and the flowing of the river like applause in response to the announcement, "The King is coming!" The play of the wind on the mountains sounded like a song of praise. (See Isa. 55:12.) All nature combined to sing, "Even so come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20). There will come a day when all wrongs will be righted and all sins will be judged, and the Judge will bring justice and equity to the earth.