Interpreting Psalm 98- Parallelism, Picture, and Pattern.

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Psalm 98

1Sing to Yahweh a new song,

For He has done wondrous deeds,

His right hand and His holy arm have worked out His salvation.

2 Yahweh has made known His salvation;

He has revealed His righteousness in the eyes of the nations.

3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

 

4 Make a loud shout to Yahweh, all the earth;

Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.

5 Sing praises to Yahweh with the lyre,

With the lyre and the sound of singing.

6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn

Make a loud shout before King Yahweh.

 

7 Let the sea roar, as well as its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it.

8 Let the rivers clap their hands,

Let the mountains sing together for joy

9 Before Yahweh, for He is coming to judge the earth;

He will judge the world with righteousness

And the peoples with equity.

 

1.   Parallelism:

Verse 1- Synthetic parallelism.

Sing a new song → He has done = His right hand and his holy arm =Wondrous deeds = His Salvation

Yahweh’s wondrous salvation calls for a new song

(God’s people should sing a new song for His wondrous salvation done by His power)

Verse 2- Synonymous Parallelism

Has made known=has revealed

His salvation=His Righteousness

Yahweh’s righteousness has been revealed before the nations

(Yahweh has revealed His righteous salvation universally)     

Verse 3- Synonymous Parallelism /synthetic

His Lovingkindness and His faithfulness = the salvation of our God

Yahweh’s remembrance of His covenant faithfulness to Israel is seen by all the ends of the earth.

(the earth has seen God’s salvation in the fulfillment of His Covenant to His people)

Main theme: Salvation-

1st Strophe Main Point: God’s wondrous salvation, revealed in righteousness and covenant faithfulness, calls to sing a new song.

Or God’s salvation requires us to sing to Him or sing to Yahweh because of His salvation.

 

Verse 4- Synonymous Parallelism

Make a loud shout=Break forth and sing for joy

All the earth must erupt in singing joyful praise to Yahweh.

Verse 5& 6- Synonymous Parallelism

Sing praise=sound of singing=Make a loud shout

With lyre=with trumpet= the sound of the horn

Praise King Yahweh with musical instruments and song.

Theme: Sing

Main idea of Strophe 2: All the earth must erupt with joyful song and music in praise to Yahweh. Or Sing joyful praise to King Yahweh with music.

Verse 7- Synonymous Parallelism

The sea roar=the world

Its fullness = who dwell in it

 All creation (sea and world) must resound in praise.

Verse 8- Synonymous Parallelism

The rivers=the mountains

Claps their hands=sing together for joy

Creation itself also must rejoice in singing (before Yahweh)

Verse 9- Synonymous Parallelism

Judge the earth = judge the world = judge the people

With righteousness= with equity

Yahweh will come to judge all with righteousness and equity.

Theme: Erupt Joyfully- universally judging, Yahweh, future,

Main Idea of the Strophe: All creation must rejoice in praise as Yahweh will to judge people with righteousness.

Or Yahweh’s future judgment of the world requires all of creations to sing joyfully

2.   Pictures:

a.      Right hand and holy arm

b.      Eyes of the nations

c.      House of Israel

  1. Break forth and sing for joy

e.      Sea roaring with its fullness

  1. World and its inhabitants
  2. Rivers clapping hands
  3. Mountains singing together
  4. Yahweh coming to judge
  5. Judge with righteousness and equity

 

3.   Patterns:

a.   The Pattern of sing joyful praises throughout the passage

b.   The patterns of using musical instruments along with singing

c.   The patterns of all creations involving in joyful praise throughout the passage

d.   The patterns of Psalmist attributing joyful praise to Yahweh throughout the passage

e.   The pattern of Yahweh as Savior first strophe, King second strophe and Judge third strophe.

f.    The pattern of using Earth in every strophe

g.   The pattern with giving reason of praise

h.   The pattern of righteousness begins and end

i.     The pattern of emotion being involved in singing praises

j.     The pattern of beginning the psalm with past tense and end with future

k.   The pattern of shout out loud

l.     The action done by God in first strophe and all the earth observe, all the earth does the action and the observer is King Yahweh in second strophe, and the creations does the action and Yahweh is the observer in third strophe.

 

Main Point: Yahweh’s salvation revealed to all calls all creation to erupt in joyful praise with musical instruments as He comes to judge with righteousness and equity.

 

Or

Sing joyfully with music to King Yahweh for His finished salvation, as all creation joins in Joyful praise awaiting His righteous judgment to all people.

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