Latest / Reformed Thinking / Joy to the World: The Coming King (Psalm 98) | Charles Spurgeon
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to Reform thinking. We are thrilled you're joining
- 0:02us today. Let us get right to it.
- 0:04We have a custom tailored deep dive prepared specifically for
- 0:07you. Our mission today is to examine
- 0:09Charles Spurgeon, renowned commentary The Treasury of
- 0:12David, and specifically his analysis to Psalm 98.
- 0:18Yes, and before we get going, we need to clarify the lens for
- 0:22today's discussion. We are approaching this text as
- 0:25Protestant Christians who hold firmly to the tenets of Reformed
- 0:27theology and the Westminster Confession.
- 0:29Right. That means throughout our
- 0:30conversation we will be highlighting God's sovereign
- 0:33grace, His fidelity to His covenant, and the absolute
- 0:37sufficiency of Scripture. These are the core pillars of
- 0:40the faith, and they are brilliantly displayed in this
- 0:42particular text. We're not just reading ancient
- 0:43poetry here. We were looking at a magnificent
- 0:46declaration of who God is and how He operates in the salvation
- 0:49of His people. So to set the historical stage
- 0:52properly, what kind of text are we actually looking at here?
- 0:56Well, we are looking at what Stolars designate as a
- 0:59coronation hymn. It does not stand alone in
- 1:01isolation. Rather, it is part of an
- 1:03intricate mosaic of royal psalms.
- 1:06If you look at the sequence, the preceding text describes the
- 1:09setting up of the Kingdom of heaven, and then Psalm 98
- 1:12officially proclaims the conquering Messiah as the
- 1:14reigning monarch over all the nations.
- 1:17It is a text filled with the blast of trumpets, the clapping
- 1:20of hands and the joyful celebration of absolute triumph.
- 1:24And there has been some debate about who actually wrote it.
- 1:26Right there has. Some critics in the past have
- 1:28tried to attribute this text to the prophet Isaiah because the
- 1:31language is quite similar to his writings, but Spurgeon rejects
- 1:34that idea. He argues that similar
- 1:36expressions do not dictate authorship, pointing out that by
- 1:39that logic, half the English language could be attributed to
- 1:42Shakespeare. Instead, the apostle Paul
- 1:44actually ascribes this specific group of Psalms to David because
- 1:48this group functions as a complete and unified collection.
- 1:51Spurgeon and other commentators attribute this Psalm to the son
- 1:55of Jesse as well. It is a bold, lively song,
- 1:58standing among the most devout and stirring sacred lyrics ever
- 2:01written. That sets the table nicely.
- 2:03Verse one opens with a resounding command.
- 2:06O sing unto the Lord a new song for he have done marvelous
- 2:10things. The the command to sing a new
- 2:13song is incredibly striking is not just, you know, an
- 2:16invitation to sing something freshly written.
- 2:18It points to a total shift in reality.
- 2:21We had a new song previously in Psalm 96 because the Lord was
- 2:23coming, but now the context has shifted.
- 2:26We have another new song because He has come, He has seen, and He
- 2:29has conquered. The requirement for a new song
- 2:32comes up quite a bit in the commentary.
- 2:34John Boyes gives us a fascinating way to understand
- 2:36this. Yes, John Boyes provides A
- 2:38staggering theological distinction here.
- 2:40He says that the old man who is trapped in the old atom sings
- 2:43old songs. Let us unpack what that means
- 2:46for a moment. In Reformed theology, we talk
- 2:49about federal headship. We are all born into the line of
- 2:51the old Adam, meaning we inherit a fallen nature.
- 2:54The language of that old man is the language of Babylon or Egypt
- 2:58is the language of a fallen, rebellious world.
- 3:00But the new creature in Christ speaks with an entirely new
- 3:03tongue. Precisely when someone is
- 3:06regenerated by the Holy Spirit, they walk in new ways, they do
- 3:09new things, and consequently they sing new songs.
- 3:13Their communication is completely different.
- 3:15It builds up other people and glorifies God.
- 3:18The song of the new creature is the language of Canaan, the
- 3:20language of the Promised Land. It is a fresh response to a
- 3:24fresh benefit from Almighty God. I want to pause on that because
- 3:27boys list some very specific practical situations that call
- 3:31for this new song from the believer.
- 3:33For instance, he asks, have you been sick and now you are made
- 3:35whole? Then you should praise God like
- 3:38the leper and the gospel of Luke, who returned to give
- 3:40thanks. That physical healing requires a
- 3:42new song for a new salve. And he extends that to spiritual
- 3:46awakening as well. He does.
- 3:48He asks, Do you now hunger and thirst after righteousness,
- 3:52whereas before you could not stand the words of doctrine or
- 3:54exhortation that demands a new song for a new grace?
- 3:58Or perhaps Almighty God has given you a true sense of your
- 4:01own sin. Before, you might have been
- 4:03given over to all sorts of uncleanness, with greediness
- 4:07dragging iniquity around like a cart rope.
- 4:09But now you have obtained mercy and a true conviction of sin.
- 4:13That radical change in your heart is the perfect occasion to
- 4:16lift up a new song to the Lord. If we connect this to the bigger
- 4:19picture, Boys also brings this command into the context of the
- 4:22incarnation of Christ. This new song is intensely
- 4:25prophetical. He points out that the song the
- 4:27glorious Angel sang at the birth of Christ, glory to God and the
- 4:31Highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men, was a song
- 4:35the world had absolutely never heard before.
- 4:37The promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's
- 4:40head was an ancient promise, the very first one ever given in the
- 4:43garden, but it was just a shadow until Christ manifested himself
- 4:46in the flesh. So the geography of the song
- 4:48changes too. It absolutely does.
- 4:51In the Old Testament, the songs were sung specifically in Judea,
- 4:55but in the New Testament the sound of the Gospel goes out to
- 4:57all the earth. The salvation brought by Jesus
- 5:00Christ demands a song that is entirely new, sung by new men
- 5:04from all nations. That brings us right to the
- 5:07reason for the song. The verse says we must sing this
- 5:10new song, for he hath done marvelous things.
- 5:13And when we talk about the marvelous things Christ has
- 5:15done, the commentator Adam Clark provides an incredible,
- 5:19comprehensive list of these marvels.
- 5:21This list really outlines the entire scope of the Gospel.
- 5:25I want us to walk through these because they are so central to
- 5:27our faith. Let us go through them.
- 5:29They are quite remarkable. First, he was conceived by the
- 5:32Holy Ghost. Second, he was born of a virgin.
- 5:34Third, he healed all manner of diseases. 4th He fed thousands
- 5:38with just a few loaves and fishes. 5th He raised the dead.
- 5:416 And Clark notes this is even more marvelous.
- 5:44He died himself. Let us stop there for a second.
- 5:47Why does Clark point out that his dying is even more marvelous
- 5:49than raising the dead? That is a brilliant observation
- 5:52by Clark. Raising the dead is a display of
- 5:54divine might, but the Creator of the universe submitting himself
- 5:58to death is a staggering display of condescension and grace.
- 6:02The Author of Life allowed himself to be killed by his own
- 6:05creation to satisfy divine justice.
- 6:08That breaks every human expectation of how a conquering
- 6:11monarch should act. And that leads right into the
- 6:13rest of Clark's list. Right.
- 6:15The victory does not end at the cross.
- 6:16Not at all. Seventh, He rose again by his
- 6:19own might. 8th He ascended into heaven. 9th He sent down the
- 6:23Holy Ghost. And 10th He made his apostles,
- 6:26in their testimony, the instruments of enlightening and
- 6:28converting the world. Every single one of those acts
- 6:31is a marvel that breaks the boundaries of human limitation
- 6:34and proves His absolute deity. The sheer scope of those marvels
- 6:38leads directly into the theological core of this first
- 6:40verse. The text says his right hand and
- 6:43his holy arm had gotten him the victory.
- 6:45This is where we see the doctrine of sovereign grace
- 6:47displayed with crystal clarity. Martin Luther makes a sharp
- 6:51observation about this specific phrasing.
- 6:53How does Luther connect this verse to the concept of human
- 6:55merit? Luther points out that because
- 6:57the psalmist attributes the victory entirely to Christ's
- 7:00right hand and his holy arm, it does not just prove his divine
- 7:04infinite might, it also entirely excludes all other means of
- 7:08salvation. It completely eliminates any
- 7:10concept of human merit, Luther says.
- 7:13It excludes the so-called meretricious works of men.
- 7:15By meretricious, he means things that look flashy on the outside.
- 7:19Correct things that might look attractive or pious to human
- 7:21eyes, but are actually spiritually bankrupt and offer
- 7:23zero value for securing our salvation.
- 7:26It also excludes any reliance on the merits of Saints.
- 7:29Salvation is accomplished by God's unaided hand.
- 7:32There is no cooperation here between man and God in achieving
- 7:35the victory over sin, death, and hell.
- 7:37This is monarchism in its purest form.
- 7:40Jesus Christ accomplished the solitary prowess alone.
- 7:42He did not need the aid of anyone else.
- 7:45His unweaponed hand smote the idols and errors of mankind.
- 7:48That concept of the unweaponed hand is fascinating.
- 7:51Spurgeon adds another layer to this idea of Christ's victory.
- 7:54He knows that the victories of Jesus among men are achieved by
- 7:57means that might appear completely inadequate to the
- 8:00secular mind. Jesus does not stoop to use
- 8:03political policy or brute force or physical coercion to win his
- 8:06battles. Instead, his victories are won
- 8:09through moral energy. He conquers through goodness,
- 8:12through justice, and through truth.
- 8:14His unsullied perfections guarantee a lasting victory over
- 8:17all the forces of evil. It is the influence of His
- 8:19Holiness that secures the success of His Kingdom.
- 8:22He strikes His adversary and stretches Him prone upon the
- 8:25earth, but He does it by the authority of His Word and His
- 8:27Spirit, not by earthly weapons. This truth about resting
- 8:31entirely on the sovereign grace of God's right arm is
- 8:34beautifully illustrated by a historical account included in
- 8:37our sources. It is a narrative regarding a
- 8:39clergyman in County Tyrone, Ireland.
- 8:42The scene takes place in the 19th century in a very rugged
- 8:46rural setting. The clergyman noticed a young,
- 8:48ragged boy who started coming to his church.
- 8:50Every Sunday. This boy would place himself in
- 8:53the center aisle, directly opposite the pulpit, and pay the
- 8:56most intense attention to the sermon.
- 8:58He was locked onto every word, but the moment the service
- 9:01ended, the boy would vanish before the clergyman could speak
- 9:04to him. No one knew where he came from
- 9:05or anything about him. Then, for several weeks, the boy
- 9:08was missing. The story gets incredibly moving
- 9:10here. Eventually a man called on the
- 9:13minister and told him that someone very ill wanted to see
- 9:15him. The man said he was ashamed to
- 9:17ask the minister to travel so far, but it was his child and
- 9:20the child refused to see anyone else.
- 9:22The father mentioned that his boy was talking about things he
- 9:24simply did not understand, so the clergyman agreed to go.
- 9:29He traveled 6 miles through rugged mountain country while
- 9:31the rain poured down in absolute torrents.
- 9:34When he finally arrived at the location, he found a miserable,
- 9:37wretched cabin. The inside of the hovel was just
- 9:40as bad as the outside, likely a dirt floor, completely
- 9:43destitute. There, long and a little straw
- 9:47in the corner, was the ragged boy from the church.
- 9:49When I read that historical account, it forced me to pause
- 9:52and consider the sheer weight of what happens next.
- 9:55As the clergyman approached that wretched bed, the dying child
- 9:58raised himself up, stretched out his arms, and spoke his final
- 10:01words. He said His own right hand and
- 10:04his holy arm have gotten him the victory, and immediately after
- 10:07saying that, the boy expired. This raises an intensely
- 10:11significant question for you, the listener, to consider.
- 10:14Think about how resting entirely on God's sovereign, unaided
- 10:17grace brings that level of absolute peace at the end of
- 10:20life. That young boy, living in total
- 10:22poverty and physical misery, grasped the core truth of the
- 10:25gospel. He knew that his salvation did
- 10:28not depend on his own works, his own merit, or his own strength.
- 10:30It rested entirely on the holy arm of the conquering Messiah.
- 10:33That story takes the lofty theological concept of
- 10:36monarchism, God acting alone to save, and shows what it looks
- 10:39like in the dirt and the straw of real life.
- 10:43It gives us a tangible reason to sing that new song.
- 10:46That monarchistic view of salvation completely reshapes
- 10:49how we view God's promises, which transitions as nicely into
- 10:52the themes of verses 2 and 3. Here we see how God actually
- 10:56unveils this covenant to the world.
- 10:58Verse 2 says the Lord hath made known his salvation.
- 11:01It is not enough that the salvation was accomplished, God
- 11:04also had to reveal it. As Persian points out, man would
- 11:07never have discovered it for himself that a single soul would
- 11:10have found the way of mercy through a mediator by their own
- 11:12intellect. It requires a divine revelation
- 11:15to the mind and the heart. God must reveal His Son and us
- 11:18or we remain completely blind to Him.
- 11:20The mechanics of this revelation are highlighted by the
- 11:23commentator Venema, who provides a brilliant analysis of the
- 11:27Hebrew roots in this verse. The Hebrew word for made known
- 11:31implies laying something up so it can be preserved, but it is
- 11:34paired with a word that means to uncover.
- 11:37So the concept here is an uncovering of what was
- 11:40previously obscured. During the Old Testament period,
- 11:43the gospel was involved in shadows, types and legal
- 11:46ceremonies. It was veiled the sacrificial
- 11:48system, the temple veil, the dietary laws, these were all
- 11:51types pointing to a future reality.
- 11:53But now God has uncovered it so that it is naked and clear to
- 11:56all the nations. The manifestation of the gospel
- 11:59is no longer a hidden secret preserved only in Judea.
- 12:02It is brought out into the open light for the world to see.
- 12:04What exactly is being brought into the open light?
- 12:07The second part of verse 2 tells us His righteousness hath He
- 12:10openly showed in the sight of the heathen.
- 12:13This phrase is staggeringly significant.
- 12:16Spurgeon points out that righteousness is the favorite
- 12:18word of the Apostle Paul. Paul loves to dwell on the
- 12:21Lord's method of making man righteous and vindicating divine
- 12:24justice through the atoning blood of Christ.
- 12:26This aligns perfectly with the Westminster Confessions view of
- 12:29imputed righteousness. Let's clarify what that means.
- 12:32God is not just overlook sin or sweep it under the rug.
- 12:35He openly shows His righteousness by pouring out the
- 12:38penalty for sin on Christ and then graciously imputing or
- 12:41crediting Christ's perfect righteousness to the believer.
- 12:44It is the gospel stripped of all legal shadows, fully revealed
- 12:47from face to faith. This open display of
- 12:49loitlessness leads directly to the fulfillment of the covenant
- 12:52which we see in verse 3, the text reads.
- 12:55He hath remembered His mercy and His truth toward the House of
- 12:58Israel. John Calvin's commentary on this
- 13:01verse is incredibly sharp. Calvin notes that when God
- 13:04remembers His mercy and truth, it proves that his actions are
- 13:07motivated solely by his own faithfulness to His promises.
- 13:10The promise God made to Abraham was grounded entirely in God's
- 13:14mere good pleasure. It had absolutely nothing to do
- 13:17with any human merit or worthiness found in Abraham or
- 13:19his descendants. Calvin observes the massive gap
- 13:22of time here. Upwards of 2000 years elapsed
- 13:25between the promise given to Abraham and the actual coming of
- 13:27Christ in the flesh. 2000 years is a wildly long time for a
- 13:30promise to hold. During those centuries, the
- 13:32people of Israel faced countless afflictions, calamities, and
- 13:35failures. They went into exile and
- 13:37Babylon. They faced periods of intense
- 13:40silence from the prophets. They gave way to ominous fears
- 13:43that the redemption would never happen.
- 13:45But God's fidelity guarantees salvation for the elect seed,
- 13:48despite all the human failures along the way.
- 13:51His mercy moved him to make the promise, and His truth engaged
- 13:54him to perform it. He cannot forget a covenant.
- 13:58Even though many in Israel counted themselves unworthy of
- 14:00eternal life and rejected the Messiah, the true Israel, the
- 14:03elect were called into fellowship and the covenant was
- 14:05not broken. This faithfulness to the
- 14:07covenant expands outward in the second-half of verse 3, which
- 14:10says all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our
- 14:14God. This is the great Gentile
- 14:16inclusion. Grace was not given to Abraham's
- 14:19seed after the flesh alone, but to the elect among all nations.
- 14:22We see this bursting forth at Pentecost in the subsequent
- 14:25spread of the gospel. It allowed nations that formerly
- 14:28bowed down to dumb idols to actually see and experience the
- 14:31salvation of God. The gospel was published across
- 14:34all lands in a remarkably short time with abiding results.
- 14:37The message was no longer confined to a single geographic
- 14:40location or a single ethnic group.
- 14:42It is a total geographic and spiritual expansion.
- 14:45The commentator Gregory points out a very sharp contrast
- 14:48regarding this expansion. He writes about the tragedy of
- 14:51Judean unbelief juxtaposed against the absolute joy of the
- 14:54believing nations. He says the ends of the earth
- 14:57have seen the salvation of God. Every land is moved to joy.
- 15:01The floods clap their hands, but the evil hearts of the
- 15:04unbelieving Jews are smitten with the penalty of their own
- 15:06blindness. The light came to them, but they
- 15:09shut their eyes to it. Meanwhile, the Gentile nations
- 15:13who had been sitting in darkness were the ones who truly rejoiced
- 15:16in the open display of God's righteousness.
- 15:18This brings up a massive question about how we should
- 15:20respond to this global salvation.
- 15:22How do we properly articulate our joy?
- 15:24That response is detailed as we move into verses 4 through 6,
- 15:28which deal with the manner of praise and the historical
- 15:30debates regarding worship. Verse 4 commands Make a joyful
- 15:34noise unto the Lord. All the earth make a loud noise,
- 15:38and rejoice and sing praise. This is an instruction for loud,
- 15:42enthusiastic applause for God. When a king arrives, the people
- 15:46shout, and the psalmist says we must do the same.
- 15:49John Wesley had a great instruction for his people
- 15:51regarding this. He told them to sing lustily and
- 15:53with good courage. He explicitly warned them
- 15:56against singing as if they were half dead or half asleep.
- 15:59He told them to lift up their voices with strength and not be
- 16:01ashamed of their voices, just as they were not ashamed when they
- 16:03sang the songs of Satan before their conversion.
- 16:06I find that quote from Wesley So compelling.
- 16:08Sing lustily. It demands full physical and
- 16:12emotional engagement, and John Trap shares a historical
- 16:15anecdote that really puts our modern, sometimes subdued praise
- 16:18to shame. Trap talks about the archives
- 16:21and ancient people in Greece. When the Romans delivered the
- 16:24archives from the tyranny of the Macedonians and Spartans, their
- 16:27expressions of joy were utterly massive.
- 16:29The historical record says the people shouted with such
- 16:31incredible volume, such loud outcries of gratitude for their
- 16:35political liberty, that the birds flying overhead actually
- 16:38fell to the ground. Astonished by the noise, they
- 16:40shouted the word liberty again and again.
- 16:42When you think about the physics of that, the sheer acoustic
- 16:45force required to disorient birds mid flight, it forces a
- 16:48moment of reflection. If an ancient people could shout
- 16:51so loudly for a temporary earthly political deliverance,
- 16:55does your praise for eternal salvation match that earthly
- 16:58enthusiasm? Are we bringing that level of
- 17:00joy, that level of volume, to the Creator who has delivered us
- 17:03from the eternal tyranny of sin and hell?
- 17:05God's worship should be heartily loud, an outward expression of a
- 17:08heart overflowing with gratitude for sovereign grace.
- 17:11It should not be a timid, quiet affair when we consider what we
- 17:14have been saved from. Moving to verse 5, the psalmist
- 17:17speaks of singing with the voice of a song.
- 17:20This is a musical voice, something distinct from common
- 17:23everyday speech. The sources point out that human
- 17:26voices have many modulations. There is a voice for
- 17:30complaining, a voice for commanding, a voice for casual
- 17:33conversation. But there must also be the voice
- 17:35of a song. Jerome, the early church father,
- 17:38provides some beautiful historical context for this.
- 17:41He recorded that in his day in Palestine.
- 17:43You could hear the songs being sung by plowman, vine dressers
- 17:46and shepherds. As the plowman guided his plow,
- 17:49he chanted the Hallelujah. These songs mingled with the
- 17:52songs of birds and the scent of flowers.
- 17:54Jerome called them the instruments of their
- 17:56agriculture. It is a stunning image of
- 17:58integrating theology into the mundane laborers of daily life.
- 18:02The songs were not just for Sunday services, they were the
- 18:05soundtrack of their daily toil. Disraeli provides another
- 18:08historical note regarding this practice in France.
- 18:11He writes about Clement Monroe, the favored Bard of King Francis
- 18:14the 1st Moreau translated the Psalms into French, and the
- 18:18singing of these translated Psalms became massively popular.
- 18:21Laborers, tradesmen, shepherds, and even royalty began singing
- 18:24them to solace their toil. The practice became an absolute
- 18:28sensation across the country. Disraeli notes that this
- 18:31widespread, enthusiastic singing of the Psalms eventually spread
- 18:34to John Calvin in Geneva, influencing the Genevan
- 18:37discipline of congregational singing in the time of the
- 18:40Commonwealth in England, soldiers sang psalms on the
- 18:42March and evening psalms echoed from the windows of houses
- 18:45facing the streets. This mention of Calvin and
- 18:48Geneva brings up a significant historical and theological
- 18:51debate regarding how those songs should be sung, specifically
- 18:54regarding the use of musical instruments.
- 18:57Verses 5 and 6 mentioned several instruments singing to the Lord
- 19:00with the harp with the harp and the voice of a Psalm with
- 19:04trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the
- 19:07Lord the King. We're talking about stringed
- 19:10instruments like the harp and sultry straight trumpets, which
- 19:13were typically used by the priests, and the curved cornet
- 19:16or shofar used to convene public assemblies or signal battle.
- 19:20Our sources present 2 very different theological
- 19:22interpretations of these instruments in worship.
- 19:25What is the first approach? The first approach is the
- 19:27allegorical view presented by Bellermine.
- 19:30He takes a highly symbolic, spiritualized approach to the
- 19:33text. Bellermine suggests that these
- 19:35instruments represent the cardinal virtues.
- 19:37In his view, the harp implies prudence, the psaltery implies
- 19:41justice, the trumpet implies fortitude, and the cornet
- 19:44implies temperance. This allegorical method was very
- 19:47common in the medieval church. It looks for hidden
- 19:50spiritualized meanings behind the physical objects mentioned
- 19:53in the Old Testament, rather than reading the text in its
- 19:55historical, redemptive context. But John Calvin pushes back
- 19:59against that allegorical method with incredible force.
- 20:03Calvin presents the strict Reformed few, which aligns with
- 20:06what we call the regulative principle of worship.
- 20:09For anyone catching up on that term, the regulative principle
- 20:12states that public worship should only include elements
- 20:15explicitly commanded by God in Scripture.
- 20:17If God does not command it, we should not do it.
- 20:20Calvin argues that the musical instruments mentioned in the
- 20:22Psalms were part of the puerile instruction of the law.
- 20:26They were training wheels, essentially for God's ancient
- 20:29people. They were shadows of the Old
- 20:31Covenant, much like the burning of incense, the sacrificing of
- 20:34animals, or the lighting of lamps in the temper service.
- 20:36Calvin's analysis is brilliant here because he connects the
- 20:40method of worship to the progression of redemptive
- 20:42history. He states that the name of God
- 20:44can only properly be celebrated by the articulate human voice.
- 20:48He warns fiercely against the Papist, whom he accuses of
- 20:51foolishly borrowing these outward pompous noises from the
- 20:53Jews. You have to understand the
- 20:55context of Geneva. They were leaving behind the
- 20:58highly sensory, ritualistic, instrumental worship of the
- 21:01medieval Catholic Church. Calvin argues that men who are
- 21:04fond of outward pomp might delight in loud instrumental
- 21:07noise, but God recommends simplicity.
- 21:10The apostle Paul allows us to bless God in the public assembly
- 21:13only in a known tongue so that it identifies the church.
- 21:17Chanting or playing instruments that fill the ears with an empty
- 21:19sound without articulate words is to Calvin a danger.
- 21:23He acknowledges that music can move the heart emotionally, but
- 21:26he warns that we must take care that no corruption creeps in to
- 21:28defile the pure worship of God and involve men in superstition.
- 21:32To go beyond the articulate voice in public assembly,
- 21:35according to Calvin's strict interpretation of the regulative
- 21:37principle, is unadvised zeal and perverse obstinacy.
- 21:41I want to make sure we grasp the weight of what Calvin is saying.
- 21:45He's arguing that the emotional high you might get from an
- 21:48impressive instrumental performance is not the same as
- 21:51genuine spirit LED worship. The Reformers wanted pure,
- 21:55uncorrupted, intelligent praise flowing from a regenerate heart.
- 22:00They wanted the congregation to understand the words they were
- 22:02singing, which is why translating the Psalms into the
- 22:05common language was such a massive priority is a striking
- 22:08contrast to how many view worship today, where the
- 22:11instrumental performance often takes center stage.
- 22:13That is exactly the distinction. The Reformers believe that the
- 22:16New Covenant brought a maturity to worship.
- 22:18We no longer need the types and shadows, the incense and the
- 22:21trumpets, because we have the clear, articulate revelation of
- 22:24Jesus Christ. The Word preached and the Word
- 22:26sung by the congregation are sufficient.
- 22:28And what is fascinating is that this articulate praise is not
- 22:31limited to humans. As we look at verses 7 through
- 22:359, we see a cosmic redemption and the reign of equity.
- 22:39The psalmist calls on nature itself to join the chorus.
- 22:42For Seven says, let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof,
- 22:45the world and they that dwell therein.
- 22:48Verse 8 commands, let the floods clap their hands, let the hills
- 22:51be joyful together. I love how Spurgeon vividly
- 22:54describes this. He calls on the rolling rivers,
- 22:56the tidal estuaries, in the roaring cataracts to pay their
- 22:59homage and clack their hands to greet their sovereign.
- 23:02He says the silent, mighty mountains should forget
- 23:05themselves and burst forth into a sublime uproariousness of
- 23:08mirth. How do we interpret this from a
- 23:10theological perspective? Is it just poetry?
- 23:12William de Burgh adds A vital theological reality to this
- 23:15text. He explains that these appeals
- 23:17to nature are not just poetic license or colorful metaphors.
- 23:21They express a literal future reality.
- 23:24The Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 8 that the
- 23:26creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of
- 23:28corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
- 23:31The physical universe is currently under a curse because
- 23:34of human sin. The ground produces thorns and
- 23:37thistles. Natural disasters occur.
- 23:39But when the righteous rule of the coming king is fully
- 23:41established and sin is entirely eradicated, the reason for that
- 23:44bondage will no longer exist. Therefore, the roaring of the
- 23:47sea and the joy of the hills represent the actual physical
- 23:50restoration of the cosmos. The rule of Christ is the joy of
- 23:53nature. That restoration happens because
- 23:56the arrival of the king. Verse 9 says all this rejoicing
- 23:59happens before the Lord, for he cometh to judge the earth.
- 24:03Now normally the word judge carries a sense of terror.
- 24:06When we think of the judge of the earth, we think of the
- 24:08judgment of the great day, the pouring out of wrath upon the
- 24:10wicked, the books being opened. But here the tone is entirely
- 24:14jubilant. It is a celebration.
- 24:16Why is the coming of the judge a reason for the floods to clap
- 24:19their hands? William Binney explains the
- 24:22shift in tone beautifully. He points out that the design of
- 24:25this proclamation is not to terrify, but to announce Christ
- 24:29in the character of a peaceful Prince.
- 24:31This Prince is coming to administer equal laws with an
- 24:33impartial hand. His judgment is the mechanism by
- 24:37which wrong and contention are finally forced to cease in the
- 24:39earth. He is not a tyrant oppressing
- 24:41the good, nor is he a weakling indulging the vein.
- 24:45His government is the pure embodiment of justice.
- 24:48He will judge the world with righteousness and the people
- 24:50with equity. That is why the coming of this
- 24:52judge causes such joy. It means the end of corruption,
- 24:55bribery, oppression and cruelty. Benny also gives us a practical
- 24:59look at how this reign of righteousness is implemented on
- 25:01earth. It is a very active, ongoing
- 25:04process. Christ dislodges bad principles
- 25:07from the minds of men and plants scriptural principles in their
- 25:10stead. He purges evil passions from
- 25:12human hearts, baptizing them with the spirit of truth,
- 25:15justice, and loving kindness. And when a foundation has been
- 25:18laid for a better order, he takes action against
- 25:20institutional evil. Sometimes he uses the violent
- 25:24storms of controversy or even political revolution to sweep
- 25:27away entrenched injustice so the righteousness can have free
- 25:30course. He is actively moving in the
- 25:32political and social spheres to establish his equity.
- 25:35We must highlight the immense comfort this brings to the
- 25:38downtrodden. For those who are oppressed,
- 25:40enslaved or needy, there is a massive store of hope laid up in
- 25:44the announcement that the Lord is coming to be their avenger.
- 25:48The Lord sits upon the floods. The very storms that agitate the
- 25:51nations are the chariot in which He rides to take possession of
- 25:54the earth and make it an abode of righteousness and peace.
- 25:57When you look at the chaos of the world today, the political
- 26:00upheaval, the wars, the injustice, knowing that Christ
- 26:03is actively writing those storms to enforce His equity changes
- 26:06your entire perspective. You no longer have to despair
- 26:09because you know who holds the reins of history.
- 26:11It changes absolutely everything.
- 26:13You move from a place of anxiety to a place of confident hope.
- 26:17Well, this has been an incredibly robust session.
- 26:19Let us draw together the threads of what we've discussed from
- 26:22Psalm 98. We started by looking at the
- 26:24command to sing a new song driven by the marvellous things
- 26:27Christ has done, specifically how God's sovereign grace and
- 26:30His holy arm have gotten the victory without an ounce of
- 26:33human merit. We examined how God has openly
- 26:36shown His imputed righteousness and remembered His covenant
- 26:39promises to Abraham across thousands of years, bringing
- 26:42salvation to the ends of the earth.
- 26:44We walked through the historical shifts in worship, looking at
- 26:47Wesley's call for loud singing, the daily singing of the songs
- 26:51by laborers in the fields, and Calvin's strict regulative
- 26:54principle guarding against superstition.
- 26:57And finally, we looked at the ultimate hope of cosmic
- 26:59redemption, where creation itself rejoices because the King
- 27:02is coming to rule with perfect equity and sweep away all
- 27:05injustice. As we close, here is a final
- 27:07thought for you to Mull over on your own.
- 27:10We have seen how all of creation, the roaring seas, the
- 27:13clapping floods, the mountains, is poised to recognize the
- 27:16absolute authority of the coming King.
- 27:18Without a single moment of hesitation, they will burst into
- 27:22uproarious praise. So if the inanimate creation is
- 27:25ready to yield so completely, in what quiet, unexamined corners
- 27:30of your own life are you still withholding that loud, lusty new
- 27:33song of complete submission to His sovereignty?
- 27:36What a sharp, necessary question to end on.
- 27:39Thank you so much for joining us for this session of Reformed
- 27:41thinking. We hope this deep dive into
- 27:42Spurgeon's Treasury of David has sharpened your understanding of
- 27:45God's Word. Keep studying the Scriptures,
- 27:48keep singing that new song, and keep resting entirely in the
- 27:50sovereign grace of God. We will see you next time.