King of Kings
Notes
Transcript
Isaac Watts, the great hymn writer, wrote a series of poems based off of the Psalms. His goal was to couple New Testament truth with the Psalms to give people a better understanding of how the Old and New Testament both spoke of Christ. The poems were published in 1719 as a book titled The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. One of the poems in that book would eventually be renamed and published as a hymn. That hymn is Joy to the World. Watts based the poem off of Psalm 98.
You’ve probably heard that Joy to the World is not a Christmas hymn. Isaac Watts was considering the second coming of Christ when he wrote the hymn. His interpretation of the Psalm was correct. Psalm 98 speaks of the second coming of Jesus. It anticipates a day in which the earth will be renewed, and God will establish a Kingdom for Himself filled with His people singing His praises.
This is a joyous Psalm. There is no direct mention of the wicked at all. Perhaps that is because it looks to a day when the wicked have been removed. The positive tone of the Psalm is extremely uplifting and encouraging. It’s easy to outline as well. It has a natural break into three sections:
A Call for Israel to praise the Lord (1-3)
A call for the Gentile nations to praise the Lord (4-6)
A call for creation to praise the Lord (7-9)
1. A call for Israel to praise the Lord (1-3).
A. Because He has done marvelous things.
We see the phrase “new song” throughout the Psalms. The phrase is important because it reveals the Lord has not abandoned His people. We sing a new song because the Lord has done new things for us. Each day we can sing a new song because each day the Lord blesses or delivers us in some way.
Israel is to rejoice that their history is not all they have. The Lord has not abandoned them. He continues to save them. The term “salvation” is found in each of the first three verses. That seems to be the theme of the first stanza of this Psalm.
Israel knew of the marvelous works of the Lord. God had delivered them many times with His strong right hand and His holy arm. He defeated Pharoah, He split the Red Sea, He slew pagan armies and knocked down walls for them. He led them out of Babylonian captivity. God had proven Himself to them. Yet they continued to reject Him, even rejecting His Son Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the Lord continues to do marvelous things for them. The ultimate victory they enjoy is found in Jesus Christ. Many Jewish people have turned to Christ and many more will before Christ returns. The new song the Jewish people will sing is to their Savior. Christ will be exalted among the Jewish people. When we reign together as the people of God the witness of the Jews will be there.
B. Because He has made His salvation known (2).
If God did not make Himself known, He would be unknown. The Bible teaches us that on our own we will not seek God (John 6:44). God could have left the world in darkness. But He has made Himself known. He comes to the sinner. He brings light to our spiritual darkness. We are the lost sheep; Christ is the seeking Shepherd.
But more is meant than this. The Psalmist is saying that the Lord is revealing His salvation to the world. He is showing the world what He has done. God is showing the world who He is by what He has done. He is a righteous God. He imputes His righteousness to sinners thereby saving them.
I am glad I am saved but I also enjoy seeing God save others. When I see the salvation of a sinner I am reminded of how good God is. In saving many Jewish people The Lord is revealing how kind and patient He is. Christ was rejected by His own people yet He did not reject them. We could not blame God if He rejected the entire Jewish nation after how He has been treated by them. God’s love is greater than we can imagine.
It’s good to listen to the testimony of a sinner. I find joy in hearing how God made Himself known to a rebel. When God reveals Himself we should take the time to watch, listen and ponder.
C. Because He has been faithful to Israel (3).
God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12. He would bless all the families of the earth through this man. The descendants of Abraham make up the Jewish people. God promised through these people to raise up a Savior who would pay the sin debt of the world. Through the Law, the Psalms and the prophets we see the promises of a coming Redeemer. God also made promises to the Jewish people. Paul recognized that the promises made to the Jewish people would be fulfilled in Christ. He said in Romans 11:2-5:
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
The world will be witness to the fact that God has been faithful to keep His promises to the Jewish nation when they rule alongside other believers in the kingdom of God on earth.
Israel has always known their God is the King of Kings. Soon the world will know. Jewish people who have given their lives to Christ will praise Him in the presence of Gentile believers.
2. A call for the Gentile nations to praise the Lord (4-6).
A. A call for universal praise (4).
Verse four relates to verse three. In verse three we see the “ends of the earth” see the salvation of God. In verse four “all the earth” is called upon to praise God. Therefore “all the earth” refers to people who inhabit the earth. In context these are Gentile people groups.
Verse four is the inspiration for the hymn Joy to the World! We normally sing the hymn only at Christmas. Isaac Watts would not be happy about this. His mind was set on the second coming when he wrote the hymn. He saw in his minds eye the entire earth rejoicing because Jesus has returned to the earth and set up His kingdom.
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. We think about the coming of Christ to the earth. But His first coming was hidden from most of the world. He was born to tiny people in a tiny town in a tiny part of the world. There were angels, shepherds and even wise men who worshipped Him, but the number was few. When Christ returns everyone on earth will praise Him. There will not be a single person on earth that does not praise the Lord. His praise will be universal.
B. A call for emotional praise.
Notice how the Psalmist piles together the commands in verses four and five. “Make a joyful noise”, “Break forth” “sing praises”, “Sing praises”. We are commanded to worship the Lord.
We are to make a joyful noise to the Lord. He explains what he means immediately after that.
We are to “break forth into joyous song”. The KJV says “make a loud noise”. The phrase communicates the idea of something that cannot be held back. Have you ever been so excited about something you were just about to burst? You could barely hold yourself back from talking about it. The joy over the situation was urging you to express yourself. That’s the idea communicated here.
The believer loves the Lord and is excited about what He has done in his or her life. The Lord has done much for us and because of this we can hardly contain ourselves. This Psalm describes the singing side of eternity. Thank God there is a singing side of eternity! One side of eternity is filled with music the other side is filled with misery.
When we find ourselves in the kingdom of God we will be aware of all the Lord has done for us. Israel’s songs were often filled with memories about historical events. They sang about the Lord delivering them from Egypt and the many battles He fought and won for them. As believers there is a battle we will witness. We will witness the battle of Armageddon. The Lord will defeat all His enemies and we will be there to watch (Revelation 19). We will remember not only our salvation and all the good things God has done for us while on earth, but we will also remember the time we saw Jesus destroy Satan and all who followed Him. We will burst into joyful song as we are reminded of that day.
C. A call for powerful praise (5-6).
Voices are accompanied with stringed and wind instruments. Horns will be blown. You can’t blow a horn quietly. They are powerful instruments. This music is loud. It can be heard afar off. The new heavens and earth will be filled with the sound of praise. When the Jewish people rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem they had a worship service. The Bible says the surrounding cities heard the sound of their praise. Nehemiah 12:3 says, “And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”
Have you ever thought that in the new heavens and earth there will be instruments? I believe this and other verses prove that. If not in heaven, then certainly during the millennial kingdom. Could you imagine how well a glorified saint could play an instrument for the Lord?
I would like to see a revival of interest in instruments. Too many of us think the piano is the only sanctified instrument there is. God has given us the desire to praise Him in song. He has given many the ability to praise Him on an instrument. We ought not forsake that. There is something special about powerful music accompanied with powerful voices praising God.
3. A call for creation to praise the Lord (7-9).
A. Why the creation should praise the Lord.
Why does the Bible say the ocean, rivers and hills should praise the Lord? Afterall, these aren’t living things. They don’t have heart and soul. The Bible teaches that all of creation has been affected by sin. When Christ returns, He doesn’t just fix the sin problem in humans. He fixes everything that has been affected by sin. All of creation has been affected by it. Our world is broken because of sin. This earth was cursed when Adam and Eve chose sin.
Paul said in Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” He goes on to say that creation eagerly awaits the return of Christ so that it can be restored to perfection. When Jesus returns He fixes everything.
The Psalmist uses poetic language. All of creation praises Christ for destroying the effects of sin. The earth and all its inhabitants are now redeemed. The marks of sin are gone.
In heaven there is no reason to look at the weather report. It’s always clear.
There is no reason to worry about rivers escaping their banks or swelling tides.
There will be no reason to fear that the plates beneath the earths surface may shift.
There will be no concern over lightning striking or tornadoes developing.
Isaac Watts captures this truth in his hymn “Joy to the World” when he says
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
B. How Christ sets the world right (9).
Christ comes to judge the earth. He will do so with righteousness. His judgment will be upright, without partiality. This must occur if the world is to be set straight. Evil must be removed. Christ will remove it. With evil removed Jesus will set up His kingdom.
I’m glad heaven is not like what Hollywood portrays. Heaven is not spirits floating about. Our eternity with God will be in color and form. Granted our existence will be far different from what we have known. But much of what we do know we will experience for eternity. Human touch, conversation, food, laughter, and joy are all part of Christ’s kingdom. We will travel. We will work. We will meet people. Christ comes to bring perfection. What he has for us is more than we could imagine.
He is the King of Kings. This is His earth. He will renew it and He will reign it for all eternity. Those who know Christ will reign with Him. We will know nothing but joy. The cross of Christ has ensured this for us.