Burst into jubilant song
Psalms 98:4 - This isn’t restrained, sad worship, but a joyfully unrestrained acknowledgement of God’s greatness… and that’s what the psalmist is inviting us to do.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;”
Psalms 98:4 NIV
While I usually use a random Bible verse web page for inspiration for these daily devotionals, today I used inspiration from Barb. We were listening to live Cajun music in New Orleans, and enjoying not only the music, but also the joyful reactions to the music.
Like all of God’s creations, music is truly miraculous. Humans use a variety of instruments and their voices to create beautiful (and sometimes not so beautiful) sounds, and we have the God-given blessing of being able to feel a variety of emotions as we listen to music.
Worship music takes that blessing and applies it to praising God in all His glory. David Guzik’s commentary on this verse from Enduring Word is right on the money:
a. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth: Since the great news of God’s marvelous things (verse 1) goes to the ends of the earth (verse 3), it is right for all the earth to praise Yahweh.
i. “The joyful noise of verses 4 and 6 meets us elsewhere as the spontaneous shout that might greet a king or a moment of victory. It is the word translated ‘shout aloud’ in Zechariah 9:9, the prophecy that was fulfilled on Palm Sunday.” (Kidner)
ii. “‘The noise of temple worship was legendary,’ according to Marvin E. Tate. He points to the accounts of Israel’s worship in 2 Chronicles 29:25-30 and Ezra 3:10-13, where in the second passage the sound of the instruments and the shouts of the people are said to have been “heard far away” (Ezra 3:13).” (Boice)
b. Break forth in song, rejoice: The praise is to be enthusiastic, varied, and in song. This is the opposite of the dreary singing of somber songs.
Let me repeat Guzik’s last line here: “The praise is to be enthusiastic, varied, and in song. The is the opposite of the dreary singing of somber songs.”
I have to confess to liking many (not all) contemporary Christian songs. Sure, they might often be what a friend of ours sarcastically refers to as 7-10 songs (7 words repeated 10 times), but I find the lyrics to many of them to be scripturally sound and definitely “enthusiastic.” That doesn’t mean that I don’t like more traditional hymns as well, although some church choirs can definitely turn them into “the dreary singing of somber songs.”
One of the most amazing and spiritually uplifting demonstrations of praise I have ever witnessed was on a Mississippi River steamboat cruise shore excursion at a small church in (I believe) Arkansas. A small church choir performed some loud, happy, and beautiful Gospel music that was a solid demonstration of love for Our Savior!
Our current church does a bluegrass service once a year, bypassing the usual worship followed by a powerful sermon and simply spending the entire service praising the Lord in song accompanied by guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
The point of all this talk about music? It doesn’t matter how we express our joy and reverence to God, just as long as we “burst into jubilant song with music!” At the time the Psalms were written, that worship was done through singing, shouting, and playing a variety of instruments. This psalm isn’t just an invitation to a particular church, either — note that it says “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth”.
God’s authority extends over all of His creation, so worship isn’t just confined to the people of Israel who this Psalm was written for. It’s an invitation for all nations and peoples to praise Him, foreshadowing the command of Jesus to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19)
I love the enthusiasm of this verse! Shout for joy to the Lord… burst into jubilant song”. This isn’t restrained, sad worship, but a joyfully unrestrained acknowledgement of God’s greatness… and that’s what the psalmist is inviting us to do.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
God our Father, may all the earth make a joyful noise to you, bursting out in song and singing praises to your holy name. Fill our hearts with joy and gratitude as we worship you. AMEN.