The Lord Has Done, and Will Do, Marvelous Things

There is a time for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (ESV)

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

That scripture, with its various descriptions of things that we do, that we still do in our lives, is really an excellent description of the idea of the year - a full cycle of seasons, of patterns, of activities, of repetitions.

We all had a birthday this year, those of us married all had an anniversary, those of us with children all celebrated their birthdays, those of us with gardens or bigger agricultural plots all had times of tilling and preparing, of planting and watering, of weeding and caring, and of harvesting.

We’ve had sunburns and frostbite, sand in our toes and snow in our boots.

There is a time for everything.

But in Psalm 98, all the things in the world come together for one express purpose, and that is to joyfully praise the Lord. To lift up heart and voice in singing, in praise, in expressive language, because He has done marvelous things.

The occasion of this Psalm is debated and not really known. Was it after a battle of Israel? Was it after a personal victory in the life of the Psalmist? Was it following a spiritual victory? We aren’t sure - but the simple message of the song is clear - The Lord, as King, has won the victory, and he is worthy of every ounce of breath and song in praise and thanksgiving.

The Psalm is broken up, at least in literary form, into three sections.

Verses 1-3 highlight God the Savior, Verses 4-6 highlight God the King, and verses 7-9 highlight God the Judge.

There are other ways to look at it also, though.

Verses 1-3 could be seen as the Lord’s work of preservation in the past.

Verses 4-6, the Lord’s praises in the present.

Verses 7-9, the Lord’s promised coming in the future.

And finally, you can also see the psalmist building like blocks in those threes sections.

Verses 1-3 start with the Lord’s salvation and a call to praise for Israel.

Then, verses 4-6 move outward to all inhabitants of the earth singing praises and playing joyfully on their instruments.

Finally, verses 7-9 tell us that all of creation, even the rivers and hills, with their natural noises can and should take their place in this triumphant choir.

There is a time for weeping and mourning, but I think as we look back on a year past, through all the difficulty and seeming loss, we can still joyfully say that the Lord is saving us day-by-day, he is preserving us, and we can take joy in his promised return as judge and King in the future.

Does your life, in word and deed, give testimony to our wonderful God?

Praise the Lord for his Work of Salvation

The fact that we aren’t told what the occasion for this Psalm was is probably helpful to us, because in stead of just imagining it applying to one specific historical event, we can rejoice generally in God’s saving work.

We can think, of course, of specific victories that God has won - and that is the idea of the word “salvation” in this text. Saving through victory. This section of Psalms is a later one, so it very well could be remembering God’s salvation through the Babylonian captivity. A deliverance of his people, bringing them back into their own land.

When we think of God’s history of deliverance though, I can’t help but think of the exodus, and another song of praise.

Exodus 15:1 ESV

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

I love that Idea of the Lord “Triumphing gloriously.”

Glory is renown, it is weight and heaviness - it is that God has triumphed in such a way that those around are very aware of His victory. That was true in the case of the exodus, and especially the crossing of the Red Sea - all of Egypt, both the soldiers as they drowned in the waters, and the people who never saw their loved one return, knew that something had taken place miraculously in order for an unarmed nation on foot to defeat a rich and wheeled army in battle. That is the kind of victory and salvation that the Lord had accomplished.

And those things are stressed in this psalm. That this is a victory by the Lord, in his strength, and that it is a victory that he has made known all around.

Psalm 98:1 ESV

Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Psalm 98:2 ESV

The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.

Do you see that God’s salvation, his work of victory, is meant to spark both personal praise and also a chain reaction of outward glory? Of outward notice?

In the case of Israel’s many deliverances, it was meant to spark their personal joy and peace, but also resound to the nations around them, whether in war or peace.

God never works in a vaccum, and our experience with him is never in a vacuum either. It is hard to imagine one single thing that the Lord does for you that is truly “just for you” in all of its reach and its extent.

God has saved you for his glory, because his glory renown and shining about is for testimony to others. God’s work in you calls outward through your changed life, your changed countenance, your changed conversation and mannerisms, and your direct statements and testimony.

God intends to make known his salvation among all the nations, and if all the nations, then all the people in those nations. That certainly includes the unknown and unreached nations abroad, and it also most certainly includes your neighbor who sees and knows you on a personal level.

This idea that God’s work in individuals extends in reach outward is seen in the Christmas story that we just covered, and especially in another song of victory and salvation.

Luke 1:46–50 (ESV)

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

God’s mercy and salvation was very personal to Mary, in a very special way, as she would become the mother of the Savior. But that victory and salvation also extended outward, as his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

We can say, in a different but still true way, that he who is might has done great things for us - and that deliverance is available for the many also, not just me.

What has God delivered us from? What has he saved us from?

Deliverance from Sin

Romans 8:3–4 ESV

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

2. Deliverance from Death

Isaiah 25:8 ESV

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

1 Corinthians 15:54 ESV

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Deliverance from Satan

Colossians 1:13 ESV

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Now, all of this deliverance was truly accomplished, in terms of time, in the past. Christ won the victory over these things through his sinless life, his death, and his resurrection.

And they are applied to us, as believers, truly and fully.

But there is a danger in looking at them as such “past” accomplishments that we lose the sense of present deliverance and present joy. I love how the psalmist calls for the reader to “sing a new song” for the past victories of the Lord.

We can think of it this way, “sin a song anew for old victories.”

Can you look back over your life and identify clear victories that the Lord has accomplished, or clear ways in which your salvation and deliverance have been very real in your life? Then you can start this year by singing songs of praise anew for what God has already done.

How many of you have seen the classic Christmas film, white Christmas? If you have, you know the premise of the film that Danny Kay’s character, Phil Davis, saves Bing Crosby’s character, Bob Davis, by pushing him out of the way of a falling building in a WWII Bombing.

Davis suffers some minor injuries to his arm, and he uses that injury as capital to convince wallace to partner up with him in a song and dance show.

All throughout the movie you see instances of Danny Kay pointing to his old arm injury as if to say, “don’t you remember how I saved you?” And the humor of the show grows as Bing Crosby grows more and more annoyed at the exploitation of that injury, to the point that he probably wished he hadn’t been pushed out of the way to begin with!

Well, God’s victories and deliverances are so powerful and valuable that they never lose their worthiness of praise. It is never an annoyance for it to be pointed out how amazing and marvelous God’s salvation is. And I would venture that if you ever grow tired of hearing or thinking about the value and wonder of God’s salvation, then you need a heart-realignment.

There is nothing in life, no victory or righteousness or good thing, that does touch on or hinge on God’s saving work. He has done it for you, and he is doing it for others. We can never take it for granted, no matter how “long ago” it might have been for you. You may have experienced the salvation of the Lord 60-70 years ago, but truly, sing the song of praise anew this morning! He has done marvelous things.

Praise the Lord in your current Situation

The second part of this Psalm highlights the very present and immediate sense of our praise of God.

Put simply, the call is not to think about praising God, or write about praising God, or wonder or imagine praising God, but to praise Him right now!

And this is also where the Psalm builds, because the call goes out to “all the earth” to praise the Lord by making a joyful noise.

In its original context, that meant beyond God’s people Israel to the nations beyond.

It was as if to say, with Isaiah,

Isaiah 55:6–7 ESV

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

It is to say, “now is the time of salvation, an now is the time of praise.”

While we can, praise the Lord.

While you can, seek the Lord.

While you can, call upon Him.

While you can, glorify Him.

When is a good time to give glory to God? Any time that is a time is a good time.

Now, you might say, that it is not always a good time to sing aloud and pause to worship and praise. You would be right, sometimes you would be stealing time from a client or an employer or simply being dense and not paying attention to your conversations.

But there is always a way to give glory to God, in any situation. Even if subtly.

Whether it is to slip in a 1/2 a sentence of testimony of praise to the Lord, or whether it is simply to live righteously in the moment, it is always the right time to give praise and glory to God.

But, the stress of the Psalm is on making a joyful noise - here, with music and instruments. Instruments of joyful music and instruments of joyful praises.

If we can apply this in any way universally, I think it is this. We cannot all play a musical instrument, and some of you would argue that you cannot even use your voice joyfully in song. That can be debated, but there is something that remains.

This joyful praise is done intentionally, and it is done with effort. This song of praise is meant to be done skillfully, not haphazardly. Not accidentally, not with the minimal effort.

A word we might use is the word exuberant. That is, filled with lively energy and excitement. And I would ask, how often are you truly filled with excitement over God? How often, in thinking or speaking of your Lord, are you truly filled with this kind of joy? How often is it truly an effort of exuberance to sing praise to Him?

And even if it is not singing, how often, in your life, are your duties and tasks done with true effort as testimonies and praises to God?

Colossians 3:23–24 (ESV)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

This principle is one that should follow us all throughout life. Do you know you can truly do everything in your life as “unto the Lord?”

Since Christ is Lord of all of our life, then all of our life is done in service to Him. It really is that simple. And since He is a gracious and loving Lord, not a cruel and vindictive master, then our service to Him can be joyful and sweet.

Our work can be part of our worship - of bowing down. Our vocation can be part of the vocalization of praise. Our necessary actions can be the noise of adoration in life, and all things can be done heartily to the Lord. Whether in song or in sewing, worship or work, plodding or praising, our lives are to make a joyful noise to the Lord.

This, really, is as much about attitude as it is about action. This tells us that nothing in life is mindless - for if all is to be done mindfully to the Lord, then nothing is empty, nothing is meaningless, nothing truly is mundane. When we love Christ truly, and are overwhelmed with what he has done in saving us, then every opportunity to praise and glorify Him is a worthwhile opportunity - and the beauty of the Lord’s redemption is that all of life is an opportunity.

Praise the Lord for his Future Vindication

Now, finally the Psalm builds to the future, and it builds to all of the earth, even nature and creation, singing our to the Lord in praise.

Those of you who have been to the ocean, watching the seeming chaos in crashing of breakers and whitecaps as tides repeat their endless cycles and actions, couple with wind and gravity, making the chorus of cymbals of the sea, then you know that the sea can roar - and when it roars, it roars in praise to God who made it and set its limits.

Those of you who have seen mighty rushing rivers and waterfalls, and know that molecule after molecule, billions upon billions passing by you in the form of water every second, not one ever questioning its purpose or trying to step out of line, making the deafening but constant sound of flow, flows in praise to God who made it.

Those of you who have sat quietly on the side of a mountain, waiting to see a deer or a turkey, or just waiting for nothing but a peaceful moment, you have heard the rustling leaves of a squirrel looking for his winter storage, or the fluttering rush of a partridge taking off, or the low sound of a dove with her song, you know that these things make noise as praise to God who made them, who gave them their instinct and skill and patterns of life.

Yes, the sea roars, the rivers clap, the hills sing praise and joyfully before their maker.

So do we?

Do we sing joyfully before the maker?

And what is the reason given in this song for their singing? It is “because he comes.”

Even creation knows that its joy and perseverance lies in the fact that the redeemer is coming again. Because now, even though the songs and sounds of nature praise the Lord, they are also songs and sounds with a tinge of pain.

Romans 8:18–22 (ESV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

So creation cries out, because the curse has its dread effect, and it causes us to look for better - to look for the fulness - to look for the glory.

And we, too, can both sing with joy now within the trouble as we wait patiently for the vindication that is to come.

The Lord, who is coming to judge the earth, is that ultimate vindicator. That coming of judgment brings joy for those who love him, but it does spark fear for those who are opposed to Him.

Do you remember Simeon’s words that we looked at last week? That the child, Jesus, would be for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that would be opposed?

We have seen him being opposed as we have studied Matthew - opposed by the rulers, opposed by Satan, opposed by the Scribes and Pharisees of Israel.

And we still see Him opposed in so much of society. So much wickedness and chaos. Every created blessing, it seems, is twisted and turned out of order and design into something it was never intended to do.

And we work for righteousness to prevail, but at times, many times, it seems we are failing in the task before us. And ultimately, though righteousness will prevail and all that is twisted will be straightened, all that is marred will shine once more, this will not happen without the vindicating coming of Jesus in judgment.

At that time, will we be found among those who long for Him?

Do you remember Paul’s words, toward the end of his life, as he wrote to young timothy encouraging him to press on?

2 Timothy 4:6–8 ESV

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Some of you are closer to the end of your journey, if the Lord tarries, than others of us. Can you look back with this kind of mindset, that you are eagerly waiting your meeting with the Lord, because you rest surely in your standing and salvation in Him?

Those of us who stand behind you with the same years left to live, we want to look ahead to you and see you with this quiet and joyful confidence. We want to see you as those who love the Lord’s appearing.

And we, who do have the years left to live, want to be those who can also say one day, that we have fought well. That we loved His appearing. And that his coming strikes a song of joyful praise within us, waiting for final redemption.

So we praise the Lord for what he has done in the past, we praise him in our current situation, whatever that may be, and we wait and praise joyfully for the coming of the Lord.

Every wrong made right, every out of place and out of joint element in creation set true again. Every injustice and unrighteous thing destroyed and forgotten, for He comes.

So while we are here, we ask. Do our lives, in word and deed, give testimony to our wonderful Lord?