One of the “marvelous things” God has done is to offer salvation to “the ends of the earth” (Ps 98:1, 3).
I hope you don’t find this repeated pattern of praise boring. Like these seven festal psalms, I have seven children. When a special day comes, each one expresses love to me. No doubt there’s some repetition. Do I object? Of course not. Likewise the paeans of praise in the Revelation swirl around the same themes. The Lord is good, great, and glorious. We owe Him everything. He deserves everything. He’s done everything well. Yet as we begin this psalm we read, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!” (Ps 98:1). A new song? I’m reminded of the words of Kate Hankey’s hymn, “And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song, ’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.” It’s true, “The Lord has made known His salvation” (v 2), but the song never gets old because He keeps rescuing and restoring us! Not a day goes by without new mercies, new answered prayers, new opportunities for service, and therefore new reasons to love and praise Him. The psalm has three stanzas. Stanza 1 (vv 1-3) is the Song of the Savior. “His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation” (vv 1-2), provided through a combination of “His righteousness…His mercy and His faithfulness” (vv 2-3). Stanza 2 (vv 4-6) is the Song of the King. “All the earth; break forth in song….Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King” (vv 4, 6). Sinning against the Lord and sorrow are co-conspirators; submitting to the Lord and singing are cousins. Stanza 3 (vv 7-9) is the Song of the Judge. Fair, wise, and impartial, He will set everything right. “With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity” (v 9). And even the inanimate creation will feel the happy results (vv 7-8; see Rom 8:19-22)!