lectionary.com

Christmas · Christmas Dawn · Year A

Psalm 98

He Remembered His Steadfast Love

December 25, 2025

The Concert of Angels (Isenheim Altarpiece, left of the Nativity panel), Matthias Grünewald
The Concert of Angels (Isenheim Altarpiece, left of the Nativity panel), Matthias Grünewald, 1512-1516Musée Unterlinden, Colmar
A great angel kneeling at the front with a viol across its knee, and behind it, inside a gothic canopy crawling with carved prophets, a crowd of smaller angels playing, with a figure of light at the right. This is the left half of one panel; the right half, not shown here, is the Nativity.O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King.Matthias GrünewaldGrünewald, who gave the angels real instruments and real hands, and lit the whole thing from inside the canopy.Musée Unterlinden, ColmarThe Musée Unterlinden in Colmar.Musée Unterlinden, Colmar
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelLuke 2:(1-14) 15-20Lk 2:(1-14) 15-20
EpistleTitus 3:4-7Ti 3:4-7
Old TestamentIsa. 62:10-12Is 62:10-12
PsalterPs. 98Ps 98

Overview & Insights

“He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.” (Psalm 98:3)

Psalm 98 belongs to the group of enthronement psalms at 93 to 99, and it falls into three clear strophes. Verses 1-3 report what has happened and who saw it, vv. 4-6 summon the earth to make noise about it with horn and harp, and vv. 7-9 widen the choir to the sea, the rivers and the hills because a judge is coming. The word pair in v. 3, steadfast love and faithfulness, is the covenant formula of Exodus 34:6, which the Psalter quotes more often than any other line of the Torah, and its verb is “remembered”: the new song of v. 1 celebrates an old commitment kept, not a change of mind. The tense structure is what gives the psalm its forward lean, since the praise for a finished victory ends in expectation of a judgment still ahead. Isaac Watts built the hymn “Joy to the World” out of this second half, which is how the psalm came to belong to Christmas in English-speaking use.

From Sermons.com: Join Today to access the most scholarly & well written preaching resources anywhere.

Take it further: Psalm 98

Commentary

Working Preacher: Commentary on Psalm 98Working Preacher: Commentary on Ps 98 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary on the new song for the God who works salvation.

Enduring Word: Psalm 98 Bible CommentaryEnduring Word: Ps 98 Bible Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse by verse study of the whole creation summoned to praise the coming King.

BibleHub: Psalm 98:1 CommentariesBibleHub: Ps 98:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentators gathered on sing to the Lord a new song.

Background & Word Study

Sefaria: Psalms 98 (Hebrew)Sefaria: Ps 98 (Hebrew) Sefaria

Hebrew text with Jewish commentary tradition on this enthronement psalm.

BibleHub: Psalm 98:1 InterlinearBibleHub: Ps 98:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew interlinear for shir chadash (new song) and yeshuah (salvation).

The Church Fathers

Catena: Church Fathers on Psalm 98Catena: Church Fathers on Ps 98 Catena

Patristic reading of the new song fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ.

Prep at sermons.com

Ready to write?

  • Full sermons on Luke 2:(1-14) 15-20
  • Illustrations cleared for use in worship
  • Commentary, quotes, and Bible dictionary
Open it at sermons.com →

Trusted by pastors since 1995.

Free every Tuesday

Illustrations & Sermon Prep in your inbox

The coming Sunday’s readings, a cleared-for-use illustration, and a sermon-prep head start. One email, free.