Give jubilant praise to the LORD

⁴ Let the whole earth shout to the Lord;
be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.
⁵ Sing to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
⁶ With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn
shout triumphantly
in the presence of the Lord, our King.

⁷ Let the sea and all that fills it,
the world and those who live in it, resound.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains shout together for joy
⁹ before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world righteously
and the peoples fairly.

Psalm 98

Introduction

You know it’s going to be a long sermon when you only sing one song before the pastor gets up to preach.

You can turn to Psalm 98 in your Bibles. We’ve been working through this Psalm—last week, this week, and we will work through it on Christmas Day. I’m going to read the whole Psalm, and then once I’ve read it, we’re actually only going to be working through verses 4, 5, and 6.

I’m assuming everyone has kind of got there in your Bibles. In order to prepare my heart for the preaching of God’s Word, I’m going to ask if we just bow one more time and commit this time to the Lord in a word of prayer.

*Father God in heaven, I do desire to do justice to Your Word, that Your Word might speak to Your people this morning. Father, I trust Your Word; it is faithful and true, and it is sufficient for all matters of life and godliness. And so I ask by Your Spirit this morning, would You impress Your Word on our heart that we might truly understand it? But Lord, don’t just leave us with knowledge. Father, might the Word sink down into our heart, might it stir our affections, and might it result in lives which are truly transformed, that we Your people might celebrate You and sing a new song to the praise and to the glory of Your name. I ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, who is Lord and Savior, in the power of the Holy Spirit of God, and to the praise and glory of our Father who is in heaven. Amen.*

Well, I read to you Psalm number 98 at this time. As many as are able, could I ask you to stand in the honor of the reading of God’s Word? Please stand.

I read to you Psalm number 98. Hear the Word of God:

*Sing a new song to the Lord, for He has performed wonders; His right hand and holy arm have won Him victory. The Lord has made His victory known; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen our God’s victory. Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing. Sing to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and melodious song; with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn, shout triumphantly in the presence of the Lord our King. Let the sea and all that fills it, the world and those who live in it, resound. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains shout together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world righteously and the peoples fairly.*

Just so far in the reading of God’s Word. Amen. Please be seated.

By way of introduction—even before we begin with introduction—if you’re a kid today (and by kid I don’t mean anyone under the age of 99; I mean anyone under the age of, let’s go with 30), I’m hoping that you received a piece of paper, a page, a sheet as you came in. If you’re very young, parents, your kids can just draw in it. For kids under the age of 13, if you can listen attentively and answer any of the questions that are on that sheet, your mom and your dad can help you with that. But I do recognize that you guys aren’t in Sunday school today; you’re with us today in big church. And so the sweets will be for you—I might have one too. But after the service, come up straight up to me with your sheet, show me your sheet, I’m going to have one question for you, and in exchange for the answer to that one question you get a sweet. Does that make sense? Okay, great. I’m looking forward to handing out lots and lots of sweets.

To the rest of us, think for a moment of the most electrifying, thrilling moment that you have experienced in sport. The deafening roar of the crowd, the sheer joy of the celebration—whether it’s the Boks lifting the World Cup trophy or a last‑minute goal in the UEFA cup that secures your team’s victory. Such moments stir deep within us.

Now imagine a celebration far greater than that—not confined to a stadium, but one spanning the whole earth, with every nation, all of creation joining in. Psalm 98 invites us to this cosmic celebration, not a fleeting triumph, but praise to the King of kings and Lord of lords. This Psalm calls us to worship—calls us to worship with uncontainable joy for God’s marvelous works. The Psalm calls us to sing with musical instruments to honor His most wonderful name. The Psalm calls us to praise the Lord Jesus Christ as an overflow of hearts that have been mesmerized by Him.

Yes, the big idea from this morning’s sermon: **Give jubilant praise to the Lord Jesus who is the King.**

Three Points from Verses 4–6

And yes, the outline of these three verses—our worship to Jesus should be:

1. With a resounding whoop of delight (verse 4)
2. With a cacophony of musical praise (verse 5)
3. In heartfelt praise to the King of kings (verse 6)

That’s the outline from the passage this morning.

With a Resounding Whoop of Delight

So first point: **with a resounding whoop of delight.**

What do I mean from that? In verse 4, we’ll take a look at verse four together with me and just read the first part of verse four: *“Let the whole earth shout to the Lord.”*

Now if you read from verse three, you will notice that there is an expansion of praise from verse three and now into verse four. Verse three really focused on praise emanating from the house of Israel, but now as we enter into verse four, this praise extends to the *whole earth*. It doesn’t just include God’s people in Israel; it includes God’s people sitting in Benoni too. The Lord—Yahweh—is not only Israel’s God; He is the sovereign ruler over the whole earth.

Now this prophetic hope of Scripture started in its opening pages and really goes throughout it, even to the closing pages of God’s Word. Genesis 12:3 to Abraham envisaged all the peoples on the earth being blessed through Abraham’s seed, joining into this chorus of praise. When we go to the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, it pictures a vast multitude from every nation and every tribe and every people and every language—which no one could number—standing before the throne and before the Lamb, joining in this great celebration of praise. Right from the start, all the way to the finish of Scripture, its hope is that the whole earth would worship the Lord Yahweh.

Benoni Baptist Church is a whole‑earth church. Our congregation should reflect the diversity of our community. Baptists, this might come as a shock, but here the enthusiastic, joyful, emotive shout of praise in verse four that you are being called to—those who love the Lord for who He is and for what He has done rejoice and they worship Him with delight.

Think about how you shout when Cheslin Kolbe sidesteps a tackler and springs over the try line to score a try, or how excited you get when Messi strikes and scores a goal. In verse four, the whole earth rises to its feet to cheer their Victor on, and it is Lord God Almighty that they are praising.

Let’s continue in that verse: *“Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant.”* I mean, just in case you didn’t notice it—be jubilant. Not glum, but be joyful as you praise the Lord Jesus Christ. This is speaking of an outpouring of emotion, an uncontrollable eruption of joy. This praise in this verse isn’t measured. The praise in this verse isn’t calculated. The praise in this verse is overwhelming.

Surely the devil delights in dreary singing of somber songs, but he shudders as the gates of hell shake when Christians in victory gather to declare the wonderful works of God in songs of praise. Oh, may God stir our hearts like this. *“Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant.”*

Third imperative: *“Shout for joy.”* These are imperatives, by the way. This isn’t recommendations on how to praise God; this is not instruction on how to praise God; this is commands on how God would have you praise Him with shouts of joy. The *shout* is a battle cry of exaltation. Your response to the greatest victory ever—the salvation of your soul—must be a resounding whoop of delight. It must rise from the inside and spill out on the outside. It must fill your lungs. It must lift your head. You must open your mouth and you must declare the praises of your God.

*“Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant; shout for joy; and sing.”* And sing. When you sing, sing loudly. Sing from your belly. Don’t sing as if you are half dead. Don’t sing as if you are all the way asleep. Lift up your voice with strength and praise the Lord your God.

Here’s the summary of Psalm 98:4: **All the earth—that’s you and that’s me—must shout.**

With a Cacophony of Musical Praise

That brings us to our second point: Psalm 98:5—**with a cacophony of musical praise.**

The idea of a cacophony, kids, is when a whole lot of stuff comes together. I used to read Asterix as a kid, and the musician who didn’t play his instrument so well in Asterix was cacophonix. It’s that idea of a cacophony—not a cacophony of noise in this verse, but a cacophony of musical praise.

It starts off in verse 5. Read with me: *“Sing.”* That’s the fifth imperative in this passage—the fifth command. You ought to sing to the Lord. Friends, Scripture commands us to sing to the Lord. In fact, fifty times we’re commanded in God’s Word to sing to God. Let me give you a couple of examples:

– Psalm 33:3: *“Sing a new song to Him; play skillfully on the strings with a joyful shout.”*
– Psalm 96:1: *“Sing a new song to the Lord; let the whole earth sing to the Lord.”*
– Psalm 149:1 starts off with *“Hallelujah! Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the faithful.”*

The longest book in the Bible is the Book of Psalms; it’s a collection of songs. Twice in the New Testament we are commanded to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another when we meet together. We are a singing people because God commands us to sing. Moses sang. David sang. Solomon sang. Jesus sang. Men, do not allow your wife or children to outdo you in praise. Lead by example in this way.

*“Sing to the Lord with the lyre.”* It’s a funny word; we don’t use it much today. *Lyre*—not “liar” like “I told a fib” liar—lyre is a musical instrument like a guitar. Lyres, musical instruments like harps and lyres and trumpets and rams’ horns, were common in worship in the Old Testament. Royal ceremony, temple worship, and national celebrations would all be joined with musical accompaniment. The lyre was a wooden stringed instrument with strings stretched across a frame, and you’d play it by plucking it with your fingers or with a pick. It’s just like a guitar.

God expects us to praise Him with instruments. God gives people—even people in our church—talents to praise Him. Don’t waste yours.

*“With the lyre and melodious song.”* Our text reads in Psalm number 98 there is a call for formal corporate worship. *Melodious song* indicates singers coming together with intent—a choir gathering to coronate God as the sovereign King.

It says at the beginning of verse six: *“With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn.”* In ancient times, they made trumpets out of silver and they produced a loud, piercing sound like a bugle today. The ram’s horn is the *shofar*. It produced a resonant, powerful, evocative noise. The poet calls God’s people to use all kinds of instruments to praise God. It is as if he is saying: use every form of exaltation, every form of music, until the accompaniment of praise causes the sky to echo in resounding praise for Jesus Christ the King.

Your response to the greatest victory—the salvation of your soul—must include a cacophony of musical praise.

Here’s the summary of verse five: **All the earth must shout and joyfully worship.**

In Heartfelt Praise to the King of Kings

Yes, the third point—and the third point comes from verse six: **in heartfelt praise to the King of kings.**

It says in our text—just in case you haven’t got the idea yet—*“Shout triumphantly in the presence of the Lord our King.”* It’s an imperative again; it’s a command. Who are we to shout triumphantly before? The answer is *our King*.

Well, who is this King? God always intended His creation to be ruled by a theocracy—a form of government led by God Himself. Theocracy: the first part of that word, *theos*, meaning God, and the second part, *kratos*, meaning rule or strength or government. The nation of Israel was to have been a theocracy, but they rejected God’s rule and God gave them human kings for a while instead—first Saul, then David. But His intention to rule by His own mighty hand never changed. One day God would rule His people and this world visibly again.

And God promised to David: *“Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever.”* Isaiah, which we read around Christmas time, prophesied: *“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David over His kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.”*

Friends, these promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who was given the title “the Son of David” and is the rightful King in the Davidic line. That’s the context of the Christmas story, as Gabriel appears to Mary and says of Jesus Christ—that babe in Bethlehem—*“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”*

You want to know who this King is that we are to praise? It’s none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The baby in the manger is the high King of heaven. *Immanuel*—which means God with us. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has a name which is above every name. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And one day soon, His government will be on His shoulders, and He will receive the name Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, and His enemies will be His footstool.

Our corporate worship even now is before King Jesus. Your response to the greatest victory—the salvation of your soul—must be heartfelt praise before King Jesus.

So here’s the summary of the text so far: **All the earth must shout and worship joyfully in the presence of the Lord who is their King.**

Connect to the gospel

How does this passage connect to the gospel? Well, in Revelation chapter 5, toward the end of God’s Word, there’s a scene where Jesus is revealed to John as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. Jesus is the promised King. But when John turns to look at Jesus, he sees one like a slaughtered Lamb. Jesus is the promised Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Friends, He came to die in our place. In fact, in Revelation chapter 5 we read that the whole of heaven breaks out with the voices of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands, and they said with a loud voice: *“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”*

The worship of the King in Psalm number 98 is because the Lion of the tribe of Judah is the Lamb who was slaughtered for our sin.

Friend, you want to know why we worship Jesus? It is because of who He is—God the Lord Yahweh—and because of what He has done. He died on a cross so that we can live. That’s why we shout and cheer and celebrate and sing before Him.

Application for believers

So believers, how do we apply this passage into our lives? Well, we are called to live as a people overflowing in joy and gratitude for the salvation that we have in Christ. That must result in praise. It must result in loud, vibrant, heartfelt praise to Jesus Christ.

Singing is not just an act of tradition; it is a command to honor God with the fullness of your heart. Let the gospel stir you, filling your life with songs of victory and of hope as you reflect on Christ’s redeeming work for you. Whether at home or gathered together at church, let your worship echo the delight of your soul captivated by your King Jesus.

Friends, worship doesn’t just stop at singing. Worship is a life of devotion. Let your words, let your work, let your relationships declare the greatness of the Lord. Worship the King not only with your lips but with your entire life, living as ambassadors of His kingdom and instruments of His glory.

Application for unbelievers

Unbelievers, how ought you to respond? Christmas is sometimes the time that people come to church. You may have been dragged here; you may have come here willingly; you may have come out of curiosity. But for a moment I want to speak to you.

Jesus is not only the King of earth, but He is the Lamb who was slain for your sins. Acknowledge His sovereignty and bow before Him as your Lord and your Savior. He has offered salvation to you through His own death and through His resurrection. It is a grace that you cannot earn, but you can only receive through repentance and faith. Do not delay. Today is the day of your salvation. Kneel before Jesus Christ your King, because a day is soon coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess His lordship. Respond now in faith. Join the cosmic celebration of praise by those who have been redeemed by His blood.

You were created to worship Him. Embrace this purpose and find joy and peace and eternal life in surrendering to Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb that was slain.

Conclusion

Think back for a moment to that most electrifying moment that you’ve experienced in sport—the deafening roar of the crowd, the sheer joy of celebration. That moment is a mere shadow of the cosmic celebration that Psalm 98 calls us to.

This Psalm invites us to a far greater crowd and to praise the Lord Jesus Christ as an overflow of hearts that have been mesmerized by Him—to sing with musical instruments in His honor, to worship in uncontainable joy for God’s marvelous works.

Believers, let this be our anthem. Let our voices rise with uncontainable joy and unrestrained praise, for we serve the King who reigns now and forever. Sing with all your heart, for He is the Lamb who is slain for you, the Lion of the tribe of Judah who reigns victorious.

And for those who have not yet responded, kneel before this King. He is both a Savior who gave His life for you and a sovereign Lord who is soon to return.

As you leave today, take this song with you—this song of joy and of triumph which echoes into eternity: *Joy to the world, the Lord has come; let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.*

Imagine that crowd again, but this time come see yourself among the throng from every tribe and every tongue and every nation. Hear the resounding shouts of praise—not for a fleeting victory, but for the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Savior of your soul. This is the celebration that we were created for. Let us join the chorus with all creation and worship Him now and forever, forevermore.

Amen.