Play

Psalm 98:4-9  Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;  ⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,  ⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn-- shout for joy before the LORD, the King.  ⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.  ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;  ⁹ let them sing before the LORD, for he???

What do you think is cause for such celebration?

Psalm 98:4-9  Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;  ⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,  ⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn-- shout for joy before the LORD, the King.  ⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.  ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;  ⁹ let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Celebrate because he comes to judge the earth!  You probably didn’t expect that, did you, that judgment was worthy of such celebration?  One of the central aspects of death and the life after that is that there is a coming judgment, that one day this world and every person in it will stand before its maker and be judged.  And according to the Bible, and Psalm 98, this is great news, something to be celebrated by the people of God.  I think this is surprising, for judgment usually has a negative connotation in our culture.  So I want to talk about the Biblical judgment today, and why they see it as something to be celebrated.