Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 4 · Psalm 98
The Ninety Eighth Psalm.
A Psalm.
Paraphrase. The ninety eighth Psalm, composed probably as a breviate of Moses's song at the delivery of the Israelites,foreign A Prophetick Psalm Chald. and destroying Pharaoh and the Aegyptians, Exod. xv. 1. &c. is (as the ninety sixth and seventh foregoing) a ‖ prediction of Christs Kingdome, and the bringing the Gentile world in subjection to it: it is thought to have been composed by†foreign Lxxii. Syr. Lat. &c. David.
1. O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand and his holy arme hath*helped him, or brought him salvation, or deliverance. gotten him thea. victory.
It is now a most opportune season to praise and magnify the Lord of heaven, for all the miraculous deliverances which he hath wrought, but especially for that glorious resurrection of the Messias out of the grave (the pawn and pledge of ours) a work of his omnipotent power, and an evidence of his fidelity in making good his promise to him.
2. The Lord hath made known his salvation; his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
This mighty worke of his in raising the Messias from the dead, and the exact completion of his predictions and promises therein, is by God appointed to be annuntiated and proclaimed to all the men in the world; to the Jews first, beginning at Jerusalem, Luk. xxiv. 41. (see v. 3.) and then through all the Gentile regions, to every creature.
3. He hath remembred his mercy and truth to the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
And this not as a miracle only, though of a most stupendious nature, but as an act of infinite goodness, and promised mercy, and so of fidelity in performing it; the benefits whereof as they were first reached out to his own peculiar people the Jews, so were they to extend, and soon after to be preached and promulgate, to the utmost nations of the world, who have all their parts in the redemption from sin and satan atchieved and wrought by it.
4. Make a joyfull noise unto the Lord all the earth; make a loud noise, and‖cry vehemently foreign Ps. xcvi. 12. rejoyce and sing praise.
5. Sing unto the Lord with the harpe, with the harpe, and the voice of a Psalm.
6. With Trumpets and sound of Cornet, make a joyfull noise before the Lord the King.
This is true matter of the greatest joy and exultation to all men, and deserves to be celebrated in the most solemn manner, with all the instruments of Musick used in the service of God; and all little enough to express the glory of the worke, and the infinite advantages designed to us, by Christ thus entring on his regal office, and subduing all the world to the power of the Gospel, that Scepter of his Kingdome.
7. Let the Sea†make a loud noise foreign Ps. xcvi. 11. roar and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.
8. Let the*Rivers foreign floudsb. clap their hands, let the hills‖cry vehemently foreign be joyfull together
9. Before the Lord, for he cometh to judge the earth; with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with†uprightness foreign equity.
The whole habitable world, the heathen people that have been long under the servitude of their false Idol-worships, shall now be redeemed from that slavery of sin and Satan, their oracles and temples destroyed, and the doctrine of the true God, and practice of piety and justice and charity, set up in their stead, and thereby a most happy joyfull reformation wrought among men, which deserves all the acknowledgments of humble and thankfull hearts. See Psal. xcvi. 11, 12, 13. and note d.
Annotations on Psalm XCVIII.
V. 1. Victory] From foreign to deliver, is foreign foreignhere in Hiphil, and being in construction with foreign foreignthe dative case, signifies to bring help or relief to any. The Jewish Arab reads, And his right hand and his excellent power hath holpen his people. So Psal. cxvi. 6. I was brought low, foreign and he helped me. The Chaldee foreign hath relieved, or redeemed him: the Lxxii. foreign, and the Latine salvavit sibi, hath saved for him; the Syriack foreign, as the Chaldee, hath relieved or redeemed him. This being here applied to God, that his right hand and holy arme hath relieved him, helped him, brought him salvation or deliverance, though by some figure it may be interpreted of Gods relieving his people, and setting forth himselfe victorious in the eyes of men, yet most literally it belongs to the prophetick sense, accomplisht in the resurrection of Christ; for then in an eminent manner did the divine power, called foreign foreignhis, i. e. Gods, right hand, and Gods fidelity in making good his promised relief (he will not leave my soule in hades—) fitly stiled foreign foreignhis holy arme, bring him, i. e. Christ, relief, in raising his dead body out of the grave, and exalting him personally to Gods right hand in heaven: and this peculiarly seems to be the foreign foreignthe wonderfull things, the complication of miracles, which are here mentioned in the beginning, and are the matter of the solemne thanksgiving in the insuing Psalm.
V. 8. Clap] foreign foreignshall clap the hands, is here applied to foreign the rivers, as an expression of great joy. The whole heathen world are here exprest by the several parts of this visible globe, Sea, and World, and Rivers, and Hills, as before by Earth, and Sea, and Field, and Trees, Psal. xcvi. see Note d. and so the joy that is here attributed to each of these, being the joy of men in the world, is fitly described by those expressions of joy which are frequent among men; yet so as may have some propriety to those inanimate parts, of which they are literally spoken. In triumphs and ovations it is ordinary among men to make a loud and vehement noise, and the roaring of the sea is not very unlike that; and so likewise the mugitus which hath sometimes been heard to break out from hills, in an earthquake: and accordingly foreign foreignmake a loud noise, is here applied to the sea, v. 7. and foreign foreigncry vehemently, to the hills v. 8. And so the clapping of the hands being a token of delight and approbation, and the striking or dashing of the water in a river being, for the noise of it, a resemblance of that, the rivers are here said to clap their hands. The Chaldee, saith Schindler, explain it by foreign they shall strike or play on the timbrels with the hand, but sure that is a false reading of the Chaldee; the more emendate copies read foreign let the rivers clap their hands together, &c. and so the Lxxii. foreign, shall clap the hand. The same phrase is used of trees, Isa. Lv. 12. and there both Chaldee and Lxxii. agree in the rendring, foreign, they shall clap the hand, or applaud with the boughs, the clashing of boughs together in the tree, being a like sound to that of clapping of hands. The Jewish Arab reads. And let the people of the rivers strike or clap their hands, and the people of the mountains all of them cry aloud or shoute.