Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 98:8

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 98:8. Let the floods clap their hands — נהרות neharoth, properly the rivers-possibly meaning immense continents, where only large rivers are found; thus including inland people, as well as maritime nations, and those on the sea-coasts generally; as in those early times little more than the coasts of the sea were known. The Gospel shall be preached in the most secluded nations of the world.

Let the hills be joyful — All the inhabitants of rocky and mountainous countries.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 97-100 God the universal king

Psalms 97:0 follows on from the thought on which the previous psalm closed (namely, that God is king over the earth). It shows that holiness, righteousness and justice are the basis of God’s kingdom. His judgment will be as universal as a flash of lightning and as powerful as an all-consuming fire (97:1-5). Every thing will bow before his rule (6-7). His own people already recognize him as Lord and bring him fitting worship (8-9). They can experience the light and joy of his salvation in their everyday lives as they reject what is evil and choose what is good (10-12).

Continuing the theme of the previous psalm, Psalms 98:0 reminds the people to welcome the divine universal king. By his power, he has conquered evil and established his kingdom in righteousness and love (98:1-3). People worldwide are to praise God with music and singing because of his great victory (4-6). The physical creation is invited to join in the praise, rejoicing because of him who rules the earth with justice (7-9).

From his throne in Zion, the city of God, God rules over the earth in holiness and justice (99:1-4) and people respond with worship (5). The psalmist refers to the lives of Moses, Aaron and Samuel to show how God answered the prayers of those who submitted to his rule and obeyed his law (6-7). When people disobeyed they were punished, but when they repented God forgave them (8). The God who rules in Zion is holy, and those who worship him must also fear him (9).

Psalms 100:0 is the climax of this group of six psalms. People of all the world are to worship God gladly, acknowledging him as their God, their maker and their shepherd (100:1-3). They are invited to come into his temple, where they can unite in thankfully praising him for his loving faithfulness to them (4-5).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Let the floods clap their hands; Let the hills sing for joy together.”

Nature itself is here pictured as joining the praise and joy at the coming of God in judgment. Delitzsch tells us that this reference to “The floods `clapping their hands’ is original with this psalm.F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-C, p. 98. The rest of the language here is either similar or identical with the language of other psalms.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Let the floods clap their hands - The rivers. Let them join in the universal praise. As if conscious of their beauty, their grandeur, their usefulness; as if sensible that all this was conferred by God; as if rejoicing in the goodness of God manifested to them, and through them, let them unite in the universal praise. Compare the notes at Isaiah 55:12.

Let the hills be joyful together - The mountains - in view of the goodness of God toward them - crowning them with beauty - clothing them with sublimity and grandeur - let them also rejoice in God as “their” God. Let all nature thus join in praise.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 98:1-9

Now Psalms 98:1-9 , as I said, parallels Psalms 96:1-13 in many things. Notice Psalms 96:1-13 , "O sing unto the Lord a new song." Psalms 98:1-9 :

Sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, his holy arm, have gotten him the victory. The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets, the sound of the cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together. Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity ( Psalms 98:1-9 ).

Now notice in Psalms 96:1-13 it begins, "O sing unto the Lord," and the encouragement to praise God and to offer the offerings and so forth unto Him. And then calling the heavens to rejoice and the earth and the sea roaring, and the fullness thereof. And so in verse Psalms 98:7 , "Let the sea roar, the fullness thereof." And then the thirteenth verse of ninety-six compared with the ninth verse, they are pretty much the same, "The Lord cometh to judge the earth with righteousness shall He judge."

Now there are people who are constantly worried about, "How can a God of love do this or that or the other?" God, when He judges, will judge righteously. I do not believe that we have in our court systems today really righteous judgment. I long to see righteous judgment. I think that it's a shame, a travesty and all that the Supreme Court should rule concerning the Ten Commandments put up in the classrooms. They don't mind and they don't do anything to stop the pictures of the development from an anthropoid to a man in the classrooms. That's pawned off as science. And yet it's a religious system; it takes more faith to believe in that than it does to believe that God created things. And yet, the schools in Kentucky where they had the Ten Commandments placed in each of the classrooms, the Supreme Court has ordered that that is a violation of the separation of church and state, etc. State not imposing any religion. Of course, they didn't... "The Lord will judge the earth, with righteousness shall He judge the world." And I long for righteous judgment. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 98

This is another psalm that calls the earth to praise God in view of His coming reign. This psalm inspired Isaac Watts to write the hymn, "Joy to the World!" [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 268.]

"It is a close companion to Psalms 96, but is wholly given up to praise. Here there are no comparisons with the heathen, no instructions in right worship: all is joy and exhilaration." [Note: Kidner, Psalms 73-150, p. 352.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

In view of the Lord’s coming to judge the earth (Psalms 98:9), everyone and everything should praise Him enthusiastically.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. God’s future judgment of the world 98:4-9

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Let the floods clap their hands,.... Or "rivers" e, dashing against their banks, as they pass along; a prosopopoeia, as the preceding and following, expressing great joy on account of the Messiah, the reigning King. Aben Ezra interprets this of men that are in rivers, as the sea; in the preceding verse of such that are in ships at sea; and the hills in the next clause of such that dwell on them;

let the hills be joyful together; see Isaiah 55:12.

e נהרות "fluvii", Cocceius, Gejerus, so Ainsworth.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.   5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.   6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.   7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.   8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together   9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

      The setting up of the kingdom of Christ is here represented as a matter of joy and praise.

      I. Let all the children of men rejoice in it, for they all have, or may have, benefit by it. Again and again we are here called upon by all ways and means possible to express our joy in it and give God praise for it: Make a joyful noise, as before, Psalms 95:1; Psalms 95:2. Make a loud noise, as those that are affected with those glad tidings and are desirous to affect others with them. Rejoice and sing praise, sing Hosannas (Matthew 21:9), sing Hallelujahs,Revelation 19:6. Let him be welcomed to the throne, as new kings are, with acclamations of joy and loud shouts, till the earth ring again, as when Solomon was proclaimed, 1 Kings 1:40. And let the shouts of the crowd be accompanied with the singers and players on instruments (Psalms 87:7; Psalms 68:25), as is usual in such solemnities. 1. Let sacred songs attend the new King: "Sing praise, sing with the voice of a psalm. Express your joy; thus proclaim it, thus excite it yet more, and thus propagate it among others." 2. Let these be assisted with sacred music, not only with the soft and gentle melody of the harp, but since it is a victorious King whose glory is to be celebrated, who goes forth conquering and to conquer, let him be proclaimed with the martial sound of the trumpet and cornet,Psalms 98:6; Psalms 98:6. Let all this joy be directed to God, and expressed in a solemn religious manner: Make a joyful noise to the Lord,Psalms 98:4; Psalms 98:4. Sing to the Lord, (Psalms 98:5; Psalms 98:5); do it before the Lord, the King,Psalms 98:6; Psalms 98:6. Carnal mirth is an enemy to this holy joy. When David danced before the ark he pleaded that it was before the Lord; and the piety and devotion of the intention not only vindicated what he did, but commended it. We must rejoice before the Lord whenever we draw near to him (Deuteronomy 12:12), before the Lord Jesus, and before him, not only as the Saviour, but as the King, the King of kings, the church's King, and our King.

      II. Let the inferior creatures rejoice in it, Psalms 98:7-9; Psalms 98:7-9. This is to the same purport with what we had before (Psalms 96:11-13): Let the sea roar, and let that be called, not as it used to be, a dreadful noise, but a joyful noise; for the coming of Christ, and the salvation wrought out by him, have quite altered the property of the troubles and terrors of this world, so that when the floods lift up their voice, lift up their waves, we must not construe that to be the sea roaring against us, but rather rejoicing with us. Let the floods express their joy, as men do when they clap their hands; and let the hills, that trembled for fear before God when he came down to give the law at Mount Sinai, dance for joy before him when his gospel is preached and that word of the Lord goes forth from Zion in a still small voice: Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord. This intimates that the kingdom of Christ would be a blessing to the whole creation; but that, as the inferior creatures declare the glory of the Creator (Psalms 19:1), so they declare the glory of the Redeemer, for by him all things not only subsist in their being, but consist in their order. It intimates likewise that the children of men would be wanting in paying their due respects to the Redeemer, and therefore that he must look for his honour from the sea and the floods, which would shame the stupidity and ingratitude of mankind. And perhaps respect is here had to the new heavens and the new earth, which we yet, according to his promise, look for (2 Peter 3:13), and this second mention of his coming (after the like, Psalms 96:1-13) may principally refer to his second coming, when all these things shall be so dissolved as to be refined; then shall he come to judge the world with righteousness. In the prospect of that day all that are sanctified do rejoice, and even the sea, and the floods, and the hills, would rejoice if they could. One would think that Virgil had these psalms in his eye, as well as the oracles of the Cumean Sibyl, in his fourth eclogue, where he either ignorantly or basely applies to Asinius Pollio the ancient prophecies, which at that time were expected to be fulfilled; for he lived in the reign of Augustus Cæsar, a little before our Saviour's birth. He owns they looked for the birth of a child from heaven that should be a great blessing to the world, and restore the golden age:--

and that should take away sin:--

      Many other things he says of this long-looked-for child, which Ludovicus Vives, in his notes on that eclogue, thinks applicable to Christ; and he concludes, as the psalmist here, with a prospect of the rejoicing of the whole creation herein:--

And, if all rejoice, why should not we?