Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.”

In Christ Jesus, whom we embrace by faith and with joy, dear fellow redeemed:

Think about this question for a moment—are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is the glass perpetually half-full or half-empty for you? Did the folks who developed “Murphy’s Law” have you personally in mind, or do you believe with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13)? Do you believe that it is possible to “rejoice in the Lord always,” (Phil. 4:4) as Paul exhorts us to do, or does that seem like an impossibility to you?

Dear friends, we Christians have every reason to be optimists, to see the glass as being half-full if not overflowing, and to walk with confidence into any situation knowing that the Lord Jesus is by our side! The Psalmist recognized this fact three thousand years ago and proclaims it here in Psalm 98. He urges us to “sing to the LORD,” to “shout joyfully to the LORD,” and to be “joyful together before the LORD!” Let us, therefore, consider today this proposition: CHRISTIANS HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND TO REJOICE!

I.

First, in view of the LORD’s saving love! The Psalmist writes: “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” The key words of the Psalmist are victory, salvation, righteousness, and faithfulness. Concerning which victory is the Psalmist speaking? The LORD has won many victories over the centuries. Consider His victory at the Red Sea when Pharaoh’s armies were drowned, or at Jericho when the walls came tumbling down, or in the Valley of Elah when a pious shepherd boy named David killed a giant by the name of Goliath.

All those victories, however, pale in comparison before the victory Jesus won on Easter Sunday through His resurrection! We sing of that victory in the hymn:

Jesus lives! The vict’ry’s won! Death no longer can appall me;

Jesus lives! Death’s reign is done! From the grave Christ will recall me.

Brighter scenes will then commence; this shall be my confidence! (TLH 201:1)

Jesus’ victory over Satan, over death, and over hell brings us eternal salvation! We have been justified before God in view of Jesus’ death. We are assured by God’s promises that Jesus has paid for all our sins. When we confess those sins and embrace Jesus by faith, we are also assured of God’s forgiveness. We then will receive the gift of eternal life in heaven! He bestows upon us by faith Jesus’ own righteousness and promises faithfully to guide us throughout our lives until we reach that eternal goal of heaven. For these reasons we Christians have every reason to sing and to rejoice!

But, you may well say, “It is not that easy! I know that Jesus died for me and is my Savior, but my marriage is on the rocks, or my children are rebelling, or I just lost my job, or I cannot pay my bills, or my health is not all that good. How can you expect me to sing and to rejoice?” Dear friends, my advice to you is to step back from your troubles, whatever they may be, and consider the big picture. Our lives in this world, no matter how long we live, are still brief in comparison to eternity. The sufferings of hell, which Jesus endured so that you and I need not endure them, are ever so much greater than any suffering we may experience here. Satan is greater than any other enemy we may face, and sin is greater than any other single problem we may confront. Death is greater than any other complication we must endure. Our LORD God has delivered us from these. Will He not also deliver us from these other serious, but lesser problems in our lives? The Bible assures us that He most certainly will, for it tells us: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31-32) Consequently, we can sing and rejoice amidst the troubles of this life in view of the LORD’s saving love!

II.

Secondly, CHRISTIANS HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND TO REJOICE in view of the LORD’s universal rule! The Psalmist writes: “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

The key thought of the Psalmist here is that our LORD is the “King” of “all the earth!” Notice that the LORD is not just “a” king, nor is He the King of “one nation,” but rather He is “the” King of “all the earth!” Even as the LORD is the one and only true God, so He is our one and only true King. He claims our allegiance by virtue of His grace. He claims our obedience by virtue of His power. While many may not acknowledge our LORD’s authority, it remains in effect. On the last day, if not before, all will acknowledge that power either to their eternal sorrow or to their everlasting joy! That being the case, we have something to sing, shout, and rejoice about, for our LORD has extended His grace to us in Christ Jesus, and He promises to use His power to bless us.

Let us return, however, for a few minutes to the problems mentioned earlier—those problems which can so easily interfere with our joy in life. Our LORD, the KING, expresses His will to us in His law and through His evangelical admonitions. He promises us that as we follow Him and commit our lives to Him, He will guide, direct, and bless us in this life. Sin, however, can and does complicate our lives. The sinful attitudes of others, quite frankly, are beyond our control and so can be used by Satan in his attempts to destroy our joy. But whether we are talking about marital problems, or family problems, or financial problems, or employment problems—it is always wise to follow the will of our LORD and examine ourselves first (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 6:4).

Resist the temptation to point the finger at others. That began in the Garden of Eden and has continued to this day, but it simply does not work! Examine yourself to see when and where you have sinned. Examine yourself with special consideration to those areas of your life where you have refused to allow the LORD to be your King and to control and guide you. When you have identified those sins, confess them frankly and repent of them. God will forgive you. If it helps you to do so in the presence of your pastor or another believer, do so. Such an individual can assure you of God’s forgiveness, while helping you to maintain moral accountability.

You can trust the LORD to help you in any situation. Has He not encouraged and promised you: “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Ps. 37:5)? If you, or I, are in financial trouble, but we refuse to place our spending under the guidance and control of God, how can we expect to enjoy His blessing? If you or I are having trouble with our children, how can we expect the LORD’s blessing if we refuse to fulfill the parental responsibilities God gave us? If you as a child are having trouble with your parents, how can you expect God’s blessings if you refuse to obey your God and listen to them?

The LORD will lead us and bless us, but if we thumb our noses at Him entirely or in part, we are in effect rejecting His leadership and cutting ourselves off from His blessings. On the other hand, when we conform our wills and our ways to the LORD, rest assured that He has power unlike any other within this universe. It is His desire to bless us. No one and nothing can prevent Him from doing so, as we rely upon and follow Him! Yes, let us shout joyfully before the LORD in view of His universal rule!

III.

Finally, CHRISTIANS HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND TO REJOICE in view of the LORD’s righteous judgment! The Psalmist writes: “Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” The key thought of the Psalmist in this final section of our text is the fact that the LORD will come to judge the earth with righteousness and with equity.

The Psalmist is uttering the same thing uttered by the two angels at the time of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Jesus, the LORD our King, will return on the last day to judge the living and the dead. He will judge all with righteousness and with equity. That thought ought to bring joy and thanksgiving into our hearts as Christians, for the righteousness with which Jesus will judge us is the very righteousness Jesus bestows upon us by faith. It is not a partial and imperfect righteousness produced by any human being. Rather, this is the perfect righteousness of Christ established during His substitutionary life here on this earth. It is a righteousness bestowed upon us by grace through faith. That righteousness is available to all. Christ would have us proclaim to the nations “Be reconciled to God, for He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:20-21). On the last day, all will be judged with equity, that is, in the same way. Everyone will stand before Jesus either with or without that gift of righteousness. Those who by God’s grace have come to believe will be ushered into the glories of heaven, while those who in unbelief rejected that gift of Jesus’ righteousness will be led away to everlasting torments.

Dear friends, now is the time. Now is the time to embrace your Savior. Now is the time to share His message of love and reconciliation with others, for everyone needs to hear it. Now is the time to rejoice in His grace and power, for therein lies our only hope both in time and throughout eternity. May we ever be found resting in the grace and power of our LORD God, for then as CHRISTIANS we will HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND TO REJOICE! Amen.

—Pastor Pastor Paul D. Nolting

Grace Lutheran Church, Valentine, NE
Peace Lutheran Church, Mission, SD
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, White River, SD

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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.