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There’s a scene in The Princess Bride that rings true for us. As the grandfather is reading the story to his sick grandson, he has just revealed that the hero in the story has died. The grandson stops his grandfather, “Wait, grandpa, you’re reading that wrong.” This young man wants what all of us want: For the good guys to be vindicated and for the bad guys to get what’s coming to them.
The next Royal Psalm assures us that our Judge will perfectly balance His scales of justice. King David (sort of) gives us a picture of this.
King David’s son Absalom had usurped the throne, and David is fleeing the city with his trusted inner circle. Along the way he is confronted by a man named Shimei, who was from the same family as King Saul (2 Samuel 16:5-12). David gives us a good foretaste of King Jesus in the way he initially responds to this attack (19:18b-23). Sadly, David apparently hung on to these slights and asked his son Solomon to keep an eye on Shimei (1 Kings 2:8-9). So I’m going to guess that our Royal Psalm was written between these two incidents.
(Check out all of the biblical passages in this post by clicking here.)
Psalm 98 is a call to sing our praise to our King and Judge. First, we are to sing to Him and about Him because of what He has already done:
- He has done marvelous things (v. 1)
- He has provided salvation (v. 1)
- He has made His salvation known (v. 2)
- He has revealed His righteousness (v. 2)
- He has remembered His love for us (v. 3)
- He has remembered His faithfulness toward us (v. 3)
- the earth has seen His salvation (v. 3)
Then we are called to keep on singing in anticipation of what He is going to do: we shout for joy and burst into jubilant song (v. 4), make music (vv. 5-6a), shout for joy (v. 6b), and see creation praising all around us (vv. 7-9a).
All of this singing because He comes to judge? Does that sound right?
It sounds right when judgment is in the hand of the Perfect Judge. The Bible describes judges who are looking for bribes, or who are swayed by personal feelings (like King David), or Jesus even identified a judge who didn’t fear God or care about people.
But God on His throne isn’t any of these things! Isaiah prophesies Christ’s first Advent as one of peace (Isaiah 42:1-4). Even when Jesus was maligned and mistreated even more hatefully—and without having done anything wrong—than David, He still didn’t retaliate (1 Peter 2:21-23).
Jesus entrusted Himself to Him Who judges justly, which is what Psalm 98 calls us to do.
- He comes to judge [vindicate] the earth [creation], which has been groaning for this (Romans 8:21-22).
- He will judge [acquit or declare guilty] the world and its peoples (Matthew 25:31-32; Revelation 20:12).
His judgement will be with righteousness and equity—
- righteousness = the perfect standard
- equity = the perfect consequence (see also Isaiah 42:10-13)
In light of the perfect judgment from the perfect King that is coming, how should we live today?
He will handle retribution then—so don’t retaliate today (Isaiah 11:1-5). - He will handle vindication then—so forgive today (1 Peter 2:23; Luke 23:34).
- He will call you to give an account then—so change your words and actions today (Matthew 12:36).
- He will forgive blood-washed saints then—so forgive today (Matthew 6:14-15).
- He will judge perfectly then—so don’t be judgmental today (James 5:9; Romans 2:1-3).
- He will reward perfectly then—so don’t look for applause from the world today (2 Timothy 4:7-8; Matthew 25:34).
Our King has won our salvation, and He is going to balance the scales perfectly when He returns, so we should be singing His praise every day until His return!
If you’ve missed and of the other messages on these Royal Psalms, you can find them all here.
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Craig T. Owens 