August 7 — Psalm 98

“O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”

Psalm 98 is the Old Testament text for Isaac Watts’s Christmas hymn, “Joy to the World!” Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the King. An interlude that depends more on Watts’ interpretation than the psalm text, stanza three speaks of Christ’s blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin.

The joy in this Psalm is so palpable, and obvious, that there is no surprise it has sparked such a hymn as “Joy to the World”.

The hymn celebrates the birth of Jesus as the coming of the LORD to rule the world with truth and grace. It uses the language and themes of the psalm in order to say that the birth of the savior is an event of the kind and significance proclaimed in the psalm. The psalm announces the coming of the Savior — Emmanuel, G-d with us as king of the world — and along with Psalm 96, these Psalms are considered companions.

The hymn “Joy to the World!” catches and repeats the joy of humankind — and interprets Christmas as the decisive event in the reign of G-d, the savior whose presence changes history for all people.

Let us pray:

Lord God, we sing to you a new song, for your victory is ever new. In the resurrection of Christ you have given us a glimpse of your future, and in your victory over death you have shown us how we shall overcome the last enemy. As the seas roar and the hills sing together, we too will praise you for your great triumph, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

August 6 — Psalm 97

“The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him. Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God. For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. The LORD loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!”

The LORD loves those who hate evil.

Evil! It is such an “ugly” word — and concept — and presence. Evil is so easy to pick out throughout our world, yet many do not believe that evil exists. Too many people believe that evil is only the absence of good — to me, evil is a very real presence.

Isaiah 40:3-5 reads:

“A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

I present this text to you as we look at Psalm 97, because we know what the “glory” of the Lord looks like: “Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.”

The glory of the Lord will be awesome and hard to behold — when we see that glory. But it will be hard to behold for all the right reasons. But evil — we see evil so prevalent in our world today — and it is no wonder, because this world is the domain of the devil. The earth is the Devil’s playground. All around us we see his influences: greed, lust, coveting, hoarding, fighting, jealousy, anger and killing. Evil will always be present on this earth — but the Devil will not win the day. We, like the Psalmist, trust that “The LORD loves those who hate evil; guards the lives of his faithful; and rescues them from the hand of the wicked.”

Let us pray:

O God, you clothe the sky with light and the ocean depths with darkness. You work your mighty wonders among us. Give us new and honest hearts, that we may hate evil and love justice; and let us see the dawn of your glory in the face of your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.