December 14, 2025

Psalm 98

Unshakable Joy

Sunday Sermons

What if joy could outlast every trial, hope could shine through every shadow, and peace could settle deep in your soul no matter the chaos around you? What if the songs we sing and the promises of God we remember could actively shape our hearts and minds? Psalm 98 invites us to consider these questions and to discover our joy in the LORD.

This is not mere happiness—it is the unshakable joy of knowing that God has acted, is acting, and will act to redeem His people and restore His world. From the mountains to the rivers, from the seas to the skies, creation itself bursts into praise—and Psalm 98 calls us to join in, rehearsing the gospel through this ancient song and letting God’s joy take root deep within us.

Join Pastor Jim for this Advent study of Psalm 98 and embrace the dawn of redeeming grace—the unquenchable hope, unwavering peace, unshakable joy, and unconditional love of the God who has done wonderful things and continues to do them both for us and in us!

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

Holy Week & Advent

Go to Series

Scripture

Psalm 98

Topics
Advent Doubt Growth & Discipleship Suffering

Sermon Notes

Psalm 98

Unshakable Joy

Pastor Jim Thomas

“Happiness is the feeling you have when things are going well. Joy is something deeper—an elevated state that can persist even when things are not going well.”
Arthur Brooks, The Atlantic; The Difference Between Happiness and Joy

With the Dawn of Redeeming Grace, we experience:

1. The unquenchable hope of God in Christ
2. The unwavering peace of God in Christ
3. The unshakable joy of God in Christ
4. The unconditional love of God in Christ

The Psalms serve to:

1. Stir the emotions
2. Inform the mind
3. Direct the will
4. Stimulate the imagination
5. Inspire worship

Psalm 98

O 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.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness 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 and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.

Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy
Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity.

Psalm 98 reminds us that God is our:

I . Wonderful Savior, vv. 1-3
2. Mighty King, vv. 4-6
3. Righteous Judge, vv. 7-9

  • The joy of Psalm 98 is not just an emotion; nor is it about mere sentimentality. It is the settled, celebratory confidence of knowing God has acted, is acting, and will act to redeem His people and restore His world.
  • Psalm 98 calls us to both experience and express joy, over and over again—not because God needs affirmation, but because we need formation; we need our minds renewed by the Word of God.
  • Unshakable joy is not the result of just thinking positive thoughts, but of rehearsing, reflecting upon, and believing God’s promises.
  • What modern neuroscience has recently called neuroplasticity, the church has for a long time called discipleship and Christian formation.
  • Joy practiced becomes joy shaped, joy strengthened, and joy unshakable in Christ.

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.”
Psalm 16:11

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
John 15:11

5 Elements of the Psalms/Hymns of Praise:
  • Summons – “O sing to the LORD!”
  • Story – “For He has…”
  • Vision – “All the ends of the earth have seen…”
  • Response – “Shout joyfully to the LORD…”
  • Crescendo – “Let the sea, rivers, mountains…”
Results of singing and shouting Psalm 98:
  • God is glorified
  • God’s people are filled with joy and moved to repentance, gain new perspective and renewed confidence
  • The watching world hears and sees how glorifying God results in joyful saints!

“The songs we sing now are a rehearsal, and God’s presence among His worshipers is a prelude to His appearing to the world.”
Derek Kidner

“The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating your own greatness is pathological. At such moments we are made for a magnificent joy that comes from outside ourselves.”
John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life

“True joy derives not from God and job, family, sex, friends, food, rest, driving, buying a home, reading a book, drinking coffee — but from God in these things. . . . Every taste of beauty in this world, from the roar of waterfalls to the chatter of birds to the richness of true friendship to the ecstasy of sexual experience, is a drop from the ocean of divine beauty. Every pleasure is an arrow pointing back to him. Joy is from, and only finally in, God.”
Dane Ortlund, Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God

Discussion Questions

  • What is an example of when you have been “Graced” by another person? (Given something that you know you do not deserve)
  • What is the difference between Happiness and Joy? Why does God want us to be joyful? (John 15:11)
  • Psalm 98 points out the acts of God in the past. Why should this inspire worship? What was the ultimate purpose of God’s faithfulness to Israel?
  • Who is the one whom all the Psalms point forward to and find their fulfillment in? Does that inspire the way you read the Psalms?
  • Loving kindness is often translated as “covenanted love.” What are some of the basic elements of God’s covenant as revealed to Abraham, Moses, and David?
  • Does the “Return of the King” fill you with Joy? Why do we need a righteous Judge?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Joy Has Dawned“ by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
“God Rest You Merry Gentlemen“ Trad. English Carol
“What Child Is This“ by William Chatterton Dix
“Come Unto Jesus“ by Laura Story, Jordan Kauflin, and Matt Merker
“O Come All Ye Faithful“ by C. Frederick Oakeley, and John Francis Wade
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: 3rd Sunday of Advent; Joy

LEADER: The shepherds were the first to hear the announcement of Christ’s birth— the good news of great joy for all people.
ALL: Upon seeing the baby Jesus, the shepherds spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed.

LEADER: We have also heard this wonderful news: the Word made flesh came to dwell among us.
ALL: Though we have not seen Jesus, we love Him; even though we do not see Him now we look forward to His coming again.

LEADER: Let us pray.
ALL: Loving God, we thank You for the joy You bring us in Christ Jesus. By your Spirit come to us anew, may we receive You with joy, as the shepherds; with gratitude, as Simeon; with obedience, as Mary; with love, as You have loved us. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

Classic Prayer: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)

O King of the Nations, and their desired One, the cornerstone that makes both one: come and save humanity, whom You formed from the dust.

Confession of Sin:

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You this day, in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Grant to Your people pardon and peace, that in Your great mercy, we may be forgiven all our sins, and serve You with a quiet and contrite heart. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

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