If we are God's lovers, present darkness may be quieted by hope, and we may have the "fruit of the light" in our lives now, and the expectation of a time when we shall possess in fulness and in perpetuity all that light of knowledge, purity, and gladness which Jesus the Sower went forth to sow, and which had been ripened by struggles and sorrows and hatred of evil while we were here. Therefore, because of this magnificent theophany, and because of its blessed consequences for loving souls, the psalmist ends with the exhortation to the righteous to rejoice. He began with bidding the world be glad. He now bids each of us concentrate that universal gladness in our own hearts. Whether earth obeys Him or not, it is for us to clasp firmly the great facts which will feed the lamp of our joy. God's holy memorial is His name, or His self-revealed character. He desires to be known and remembered by His acts. If we rightly retain and ponder His utterance of Himself, not in syllables, but in deeds, we shall not be silent in His praise. The righteous man should not be harsh and crabbed, but his soul should dwell in a serene atmosphere of joy in Jehovah, and his life be one thanksgiving to that mighty, never-to-be-forgotten Name. PSALM XCVIII. 1 Sing to Jehovah a new song, For wonders He has done, His right hand has brought Him salvation, and His holy arm 2 Jehovah has made known His salvation, To the eyes of the nations He has revealed His righteousness. 3 He has remembered His loving-kindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel, All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout aloud to Jehovah, all the earth, Break forth into shrill cries of joy and make melody, 5 Make melody to Jehovah with the lyre, With lyre and voice of melody. 6 With trumpets and blast of horn, Shout aloud before Jehovah, the King. 7 Let the sea thunder and its fulness, The world and the dwellers therein, 8 Let streams clap hands, Together let mountains ring out joyful cries, 9 Before Jehovah, for He comes to judge the earth, He will judge the world in righteousness, And peoples in equity. The two preceding psalms correspond in number and division of verses. The first begins with a summons to sing to Jehovah; the second, with a proclamation that He is King. A precisely similar connection exists between this and the following psalm. Psalm xcviii. is an echo of Psalm xcvi., and Psalm xcix. of Psalm xcvii. The number of verses in each of the second pair is nine, and in each there is a threefold division. The general theme of both pairs is the same, but with considerable modifications. The abundant allusions to older passages continue here, and the second part of Isaiah is especially familiar to the singer.