behalf of the entire earth. The nations themselves expect to receive his saving justice (verses 7–9). For this reason the very elements of creation—the sea, the rivers and the hills—celebrate his coming.14 The fidelity which God displays toward Israel is only one manifestation of the saving righteousness which he exercises as ruler of all. The ‘creational’ context of ‘God’s righteousness’ which appears in Psalm 98 is characteristic of biblical usage. The language of ‘righteousness’ appears with remarkable
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