The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"a new song," Hebrew shir chadash (שִׁיר חָדָשׁ). The psalm opens by calling for a song never sung before, and it gives the reason at once: "for he hath done marvellous things." Such a salvation had never been seen before, so the old songs will not do.

"marvellous things," nifla'ot (נִפְלָאוֹת). These are the wonders God has worked, deeds beyond human doing. They are the ground of the new song: the singing is not worked up from within but drawn out by what God has done.

"his holy arm," zeroa qodsho (זְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ). When Scripture speaks of God's "arm," it means His personal, active power. "His right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory." No human hand shares the credit; God bared His own arm and won the victory Himself.

"hath gotten him the victory," hoshi'ah-lo (הוֹשִׁיעָה־לּוֹ), has wrought salvation for him. The victory is literally a salvation worked by God with no helper. This is the heart of the gospel: we do not save ourselves and God assists; God saves, and we receive.

"made known his salvation," hodia... yeshu'ato (הוֹדִיעַ יְשׁוּעָתוֹ). The word yeshu'ah, salvation, saturates these three verses, and it is the word from which the name Jesus comes. God did not win the victory in secret; He made it known.

"openly shewed," gillah (גִּלָּה), uncovered, revealed. His righteousness was not merely announced but uncovered, displayed in full view of the nations, so that "all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." What began as mercy toward the house of Israel reached out to the whole world.

Explanation

Two truths about salvation shine in these opening verses. First, salvation is God's own work, done alone. "His right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory." No human hand shares the credit; God bared His own arm and won the victory Himself. When Scripture speaks of God's "arm," it means His personal, active power, and here that arm works salvation with no helper. This is the heart of the gospel: we do not save ourselves and God assists; God saves, and we receive. The victory is His alone. Second, this salvation is not hidden but published. "The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen." God did not win the victory in secret; He uncovered it, displayed it in full view of the nations, so that "all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." What began as mercy "toward the house of Israel" reached out to the whole world. And notice how the word "salvation" saturates these three verses, God's arm "hath gotten him the victory" (worked salvation), He "made known his salvation," the ends of the earth "have seen the salvation of our God." The Hebrew word is yeshu'ah, the word from which the name Jesus comes. This is, quite literally, a psalm about God's salvation made visible to every nation, and it calls for a new song because such a salvation had never been seen before.

Gospel Focus

"His holy arm hath gotten him the victory", that arm has a name, for the prophet asked, "to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1), and answered by pointing to the suffering Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. When there was no other to save, God's "arm brought salvation" (Isaiah 59:16); Christ won the victory alone, treading the winepress with none to help, conquering sin and death by Himself upon the cross. And the salvation "openly shewed... in the sight of the heathen" is Christ lifted up before all, so that Simeon could hold the infant Jesus and call Him "a light to lighten the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), and John the Baptist could declare, "all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:6). This is why the song is new: never before had the salvation of God been so fully revealed as in the coming of Jesus. So sing the new song, for the holy arm of the LORD has won the victory, and the salvation of our God has been shown to all the ends of the earth in Christ.

Word Study

"make a joyful noise," Hebrew hari'u (הָרִיעוּ), raise a ringing shout. The summons is as wide as the salvation that prompts it: "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth." Because the salvation was shown to all the ends of the earth, the praise must rise from all the ends of the earth.

"make a loud noise," pitzchu (פִּצְחוּ), break forth. The praise is to burst out, not to be restrained. No half-hearted murmur will do; when the victory is this great, no volume of praise is too much.

"the harp," kinnor (כִּנּוֹר). The stringed instrument of Israel's worship is called into service beside the voice: "Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm." The whole orchestra is pressed in.

"trumpets," chatzotzrot (חֲצֹצְרוֹת). These were the instruments that announced a king's coronation, and here they hail the LORD Himself. Their sound turns the psalm into a coronation celebration.

"cornet," shofar (שׁוֹפָר). The ram's-horn, sounded together with the trumpets: "With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD." Every instrument Israel had is summoned to the acclamation.

"the King," hammelekh (הַמֶּלֶךְ). Notice the title under which God is praised here: "before the LORD, the King." This is the joyful acclamation of the reigning God, and it is why this psalm gave the church her carol "Joy to the World", let earth receive her King.

Explanation

The revelation of God's salvation to all the earth (verses 1 to 3) now produces its fitting response: all the earth breaking into song (verses 4 to 6). Mark how universal the summons is, "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth." Because the salvation was shown to all the ends of the earth, the praise must rise from all the ends of the earth; the scope of the worship matches the scope of the mercy. And mark how full the praise is, no restrained or half-hearted murmur, but "a loud noise," rejoicing, singing, the harp, trumpets, and the ram's-horn cornet, the whole orchestra of Israel's worship pressed into service. When the victory is this great, no volume of praise is too much. And notice the title under which God is praised here: "before the LORD, the King." The trumpets and cornets were the instruments that announced a king's coronation, and here they hail the LORD Himself as King. This is a coronation celebration, the joyful acclamation of the reigning God. It is no accident that this psalm gave the church her carol "Joy to the World," for that is exactly its spirit: the King has made His salvation known, so let earth receive her King, and let every voice and instrument break forth in the loudest, gladdest music it can make.

Gospel Focus

"Make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King", the King whose salvation calls forth this worldwide joy is the Lord Jesus Christ. His coming is, in the deepest sense, joy to the world, for the angel announced His birth as "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10). The One hailed here with trumpets is the King of kings, and the trumpet that announces His reign will sound again at His return, when "the trumpet shall sound" (1 Corinthians 15:52) and every eye shall see the King. So the call to make a joyful noise is not for one nation or one age, but for all the earth and all time: the salvation of God has appeared in Jesus, and the only fitting answer is loud, whole-hearted, unashamed praise. Let the harp and the trumpet, the voice and the whole heart, break forth and rejoice before the LORD, the King.

Word Study

"let the sea roar," Hebrew yir'am hayyam (יִרְעַם הַיָּם). The circle of praise widens one last time, from the nations to the whole created order, and the sea leads off, roaring its applause along with "the fulness thereof."

"the floods clap their hands," neharot yimcha'u-khaf (נְהָרוֹת יִמְחֲאוּ־כָף). The rivers are pictured like an audience rising to its feet. It is an exuberant image of all nature celebrating what is about to happen.

"let the hills be joyful," harim yerannenu (הָרִים יְרַנֵּנוּ). The hills sing together, joining the sea and the rivers. Sea, flood, and hill each add a voice, so that the applause comes from every quarter of creation at once.

"for he cometh to judge," ki va lishpot (כִּי בָא לִשְׁפֹּט). Once more, as in Psalm 96, the reason for the joy is the very thing we might expect to dread. To fallen creation, worn down by the curse, the coming of the righteous Judge is not a threat but a liberation.

"with equity," bemeisharim (בְּמֵישָׁרִים), with uprightness, fairness. The word means straightness, everything set upright and even. The rivers clap because the day is coming when every crooked thing will be made straight and the whole earth ruled in perfect fairness.

Explanation

The circle of praise widens one last time, from the nations to the whole created order. The sea roars its applause, the rivers "clap their hands" like an audience rising to its feet, the hills sing together, an exuberant picture of all nature celebrating. And once more, as in Psalm 96, the reason for the joy is the very thing we might expect to dread: "for he cometh to judge the earth." Why does creation applaud the coming Judge? Because His judgment will be done "with righteousness" and "with equity", the word means straightness, fairness, everything set upright and even. A world that has groaned under injustice, oppression, and the long reign of wrong will at last be governed rightly. The rivers clap because the day is coming when every crooked thing will be made straight, every wrong righted, every oppressor called to account, and the whole earth ruled in perfect fairness. To fallen creation, worn down by the curse, the coming of the righteous Judge is not a threat but a liberation, the moment it has been waiting for. So the sea roars, the floods applaud, the hills break into song, not because judgment is coming, but because righteous judgment is coming, and with it the healing of the world.

Gospel Focus

"For he cometh to judge the earth... with equity", the coming Judge who sets all things right is the Lord Jesus Christ, and His return is the hope of a groaning creation. For "the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21); the very sea and rivers and hills that clap here await that deliverance. When Christ comes to judge in righteousness, the curse will be lifted and the promise fulfilled: "we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). That is why the psalm ends not in fear but in applause. The King who came in mercy will come again in righteousness, and His coming means a world made new, ruled with perfect equity. So join the creation's chorus: let the floods clap their hands, for the Lord Jesus cometh, and He will judge the world in righteousness and make all things right at last.