¹O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him … ⁹…He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

God will come to judge the world; make no mistake about it—that is how this psalm ends. All religions teach some form of end-of-life or end-of-time consequences for human behavior. However, the Bible presents God, here identified as the Lord (Yahweh), as the judge of all humanity; He will personally hand out those consequences, thereby determining the eternal destiny of every human being.

While evil people mock the notion of final judgment, skeptics find the idea repugnant, egoists rebel against it, self-righteous people stand arrogantly in the face of it, and those of uncertain faith tremble before it. But there is a segment of humanity, which this psalm represents, that looks forward to the Lord’s coming back in the end to settle the matter of righteousness, once and for all. The first eight verses of this psalm overflow with rejoicing as it crescendos to the final verse, the ultimate resolution of all the injustices and evil in the world, namely the Lord’s judgment.

The invitation to “sing to the Lord a new song” (vs. 1) follows with the answer to the implied question, “Why should we sing a new song to the Lord?” The answer is, “For He has done wonderful things.” While some “Christian” traditions relegate statements like this to liturgical chants by clerics or monks, this psalm reflects the real-life, down-to-earth skirmishes of military battles. The wonderful things the Lord has done are that “His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.” The psalms were written in the context of tangible life situations, often dealing with real life-and-death battles between Israel and warring nations. Godly people were dependent upon the Lord to give them military victories. These OT examples are metaphorical lessons for us to learn by (1 Cor. 10:11) and apply to the spiritual warfare that believers experience in the temptation to sin—in Christ, we have the victory.

Verses 1-3 speak of military victory, but also extend to God’s saving propensity in general. Salvation is a biblical term, in its most expansive sense, that refers to God acting favorably toward His people. It begs the question of why the Lord leans so much in favor of this people group, Israel, and, by extension, believers today. It is because of “His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel” (vs. 3). These commitments by God are based on His covenant commitment with Israel, rooted in the promises to Abraham and elucidated in the Law given through Moses. The very nature of God is that He commits Himself to live out His character toward all who believe. The New Testament applies this truth through Jesus Christ, who has made a new covenant by His blood (Matt. 26:28). God’s lovingkindness extends to believers today, and He is faithful to those who belong to Him. While we may not be at liberty to ask God for victory in a sports event, we can certainly ask Him in faith and good conscience for victory in life’s spiritual struggles.

The writer of this psalm expresses this joyful emotion by calling for the whole earth to sing praises to God with gusto (vs. 4) and a full array of musical instruments (vss. 5-6). In other words, let loose with everything we have to praise God with our words and emotions. The praise of God must extend beyond human boundaries into all the created world. While the seraphim of Isaiah 6:3 cry out, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” the psalmist, with poetic license, commands all nature to praise God: “Let the sea roar … the rivers clap … mountains sing …” (vss. 7-8). All creation exists for the glory of the Creator God of the universe!

How can we be so joyful, knowing a judgment is coming (vs. 9)? It can’t be that perfectly righteous people can lay claim to pre-empting the final judgment with their righteous deeds. The Bible testifies that we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God (e.g., Rom. 3:23). Those who look forward with joy to the coming of the Judge of all are those who believe in the God who shows lovingkindness and remains faithful to His promises. We can’t help but rejoice that the Lord will settle the problem of evil, sin, and unrighteousness in the world—and God’s justice will, in the end, prevail.

The New Testament sheds further light on this by explaining that personal righteousness comes through faith (in the sense of fully trusting) in Jesus Christ:

… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly … so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:23–26)

Lord, thank You for the wonderful thing You did in my life when You gave me a righteousness that I did not earn through good deeds, but that came through Jesus’ death for me. Words cannot adequately express the joy in my heart—You are absolutely amazing! And I am excited that Your righteousness will be fully vindicated in the final judgment.