“The Real Jesus”

 

Psalm 98:1-9[1]

¹Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. ²The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. ³He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; ⁵make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, ⁶with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the LORD, the King. ⁷Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. ⁸Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; ⁹let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

 

Background[2]

This sacred ode, which bears simply the title of "A Psalm, "follows fitly upon the last, and is evidently an integral part of the series of royal psalms. If Ps 97:1-12 described the publication of the gospel, and so the setting up of the kingdom of heaven, the present Psalm is a sort of Coronation Hymn, officially proclaiming the conquering Messiah as Monarch over the nations, with blast of trumpets, clapping of hands, and celebration of triumphs. It is a singularly bold and lively song. The critics have fully established the fact that similar expressions occur in Isaiah, but we see no force in the inference that therefore it was written by him; on this principle half the books in the English language might be attributed to Shakespeare. The fact is that these associated Psalms make up a mosaic, in which each one of them has an appropriate place, and is necessary to the completeness of the whole, and therefore we believe them, to be each and all the work of one and the same mind. Paul, if we understand him aright, ascribes Ps 95:1-11 to David, and as we believe that the same writer must have written the whole group, we ascribe this also to the son of Jesse. Whoever that may be, the song is worthy to rank among the most devout and soul stirring of sacred lyrics.

 

This is a royal psalm. "Royal" means "as a king". In the royal psalms, (93 and 95 to 99) God is the king of everything. The Jews wrote the psalm when they returned from the exile. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. The exile was in Babylon. The king of Babylon took them from Judah where they lived. He made them stay in Babylon. After 70 years, the king of Persia beat the king of Babylon in a war. He let the Jews go home to Judah. They built the temple in Jerusalem again. The king of Babylon had destroyed it. The Jews made the book of psalms to sing in the temple. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem. The Jews wrote the royal psalms because they believed that God was really the king that sent them home.

 

Christians believe that God is the king of everything. So, Christians sing the royal psalms also. But Christians believe that one day God will come to the earth. As Jesus came to Bethlehem, so God will come again to the earth. Jesus is God. But next time, he will not come as a baby. He will come as a king ... King of Everything! As verse 9 says, "he is coming to rule the earth". We do not know when, but he will come. We are so certain that we say "he is coming"!

 

Biblical Truths and Theology

Study this psalm in two parts:

·        Verses 1-3 tell us that God has made his people (the Jews) safe.

·        Verses 4-9 tell us that God will not only rule Judah, but the whole world.

 

The word "safe" is in verses 1, 2 and 3. The LORD has "made his people safe". He has brought them home from Babylon to Judah. The LORD is a special name that God’s people use. His people, the Jews, promised to love God and to obey him after the exile. But Christians also try to love and to obey God. And he will make them safe. But not safe as he made the Jews safe, bringing them home from exile, He will make Christians safe after they die. They will go to live with God after they die. This is what we call "salvation". We could translate "made his people safe" as "given his people salvation". It means that he has made them safe from the results of the bad things that they have done. This is one of the wonderful (or very special) things that God does.

 

"His right hand" and "his holy arm" tell us that God does these wonderful things on earth. We cannot see his hand or his arm, but we know that God has done wonderful things. He is still doing them. The words "holy" and "righteous" tell us that:

·        God is very, very good (or, God is righteous).

·        He has never done bad things (or, God is holy).

 

When we read the story of Jesus, we can see in our minds God’s holy arm. The things that Jesus did were really the things that God did. God’s hand and arm are very powerful and strong.

 

Verses 4-9 tell people on earth, Christians, Jews and everybody else, to make music to the LORD. Even the rivers and the sea, the earth and its mountains must all make a loud noise to praise the LORD. "Praise the LORD" means "tell the LORD that he is great and wonderful". We do not know how a river or a mountain can praise the LORD. Rivers do not have hands, so they cannot "clap", or "hit their hands together". It must mean "make a river noise!" But the psalm tells the Lord’s people what to do when they praise him. Some people must use harps, trumpets and horns to play music, while other people must sing. Harps, trumpets and horns are "instruments of music". This means that they are things that make music. Why must we do this?

·        Because God has done great and wonderful things.

·        Because God will rule the world in a very fair (or righteous) way.

 

Verse 9 says that "he will be a very fair judge". A judge is someone that decides who is good and who is bad.

 

Items for Discussion

• This Psalm establishes the greatness of the Lord but ends with a petition for forgiveness.  Why is forgiveness so important to our relationship with God?
• Why is it important to shout out our joy for God?
• Can you love God quietly?
• This Psalm gives the credit for great things to God. What are the things we can take credit for and what are the things we should give God credit for?
• What is the importance of verse 9 with respect to our relationship with God?

 

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

¹³But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴He called you to this through our gospel that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. ¹⁶May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

 

Background[3]

The traditional view is that the second epistle to the Thessalonians was probably written by Paul from Corinth not many months after the first. Apparently the first letter was misunderstood, especially regarding the second advent of Christ. The Thessalonians had embraced the idea that Paul had taught that "the day of Christ was at hand", that Christ's coming was about to occur. This error is corrected (2:1-12), and the apostle announces what first must take place before the end times. The "Great Apostasy" is first mentioned here.

The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to allege a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, or especially of Catholicism, magisterial Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy, that it is not representative of the faith founded by Jesus and promulgated through his twelve Apostles: in short, that these churches have fallen into apostasy.

 

Biblical Truths and Theology

These verses come directly after a short treatise on the nature of the Anti-Christ and how it is purely within God’s will that he will be set loose upon the world.  But in verses 15-17, Paul assures the reader that not only is this tribulation by God’s design, but so is our salvation and it is in that salvation that we can find rest in our darkest days.

 

We are called from eternity (first fruits) by the Father, sanctified by the Spirit and brought into the glory of the Son.  Here we see a true picture of salvation, as an activity instigated and accomplished by the triune God.  From the security of our salvation we are to “stand firm and hold to” the doctrine of scripture.  It is these truths and the assurance of our salvation that carries us through the dark days ahead and gives us “eternal comfort” and “good hope.”  This comfort and hope comes to us by the grace given to us by God, through no action of our own, but rather for His own glory (Romans 9). 

 

Items for Discussion

• We don’t talk a lot about Satan and even less about the Anti-Christ.  How would you describe the evil that is here to destroy mankind’s relationship with God?
• Why would God allow bad things to happen?
• How does our struggle with life strengthen our hope in a forgiving, eternal God?
• Paul is re-enforcing the importance of holding firm in our belief in Scripture.  Why is this important to your salvation?
• What kind of teachings are we to pass on to others?

 

Discussion Challenge

• What are the ways you can pass on the Word of God to others?