Psalm 96/Commentary

Psalm 96

“The King of the World”

“There must have been many joyful moments in the lifetime of King David, but to judge from the narratives the brightest of all must have been when the ark of God was brought to Jerusalem from its temporary resting place in the house of Obed-Edom…(2 Samuel 612ff). He also composed a psalm for the occasion, found in 1 Chronicles 16. The middle verses of that psalm (vv. 22-23) also appear in Psalm 96. Other portions are Psalms 105:1-15 and 106:1, 47-48” (Boice p. 782).

Psalm 93-100 constantly repeat the theme that God rules over all the earth (96:13). When the ark was brought to Jerusalem, in a sense God was crowning His victory over the Canaanites (Jebusites) by planting the earthly symbol of His throne in their former citadel. This psalm seems to infer that the ark arriving in Jerusalem was a reminder that God eventually would judge all the nations.

The King’s Glory 96:1 “Sing to the Lord a new song”: “Nothing listless or introverted, nothing stale, befits the praise of God” (Kidner p. 347). A “new song” isn’t necessarily, “Hey, I have just composed a new song, let’s sing it”. Rather, this could be a call to sing about some new thing God has Himself done. “In 1 Chronicles, where the words of the psalm occur for the first time, the new thing was God’s coming to Jerusalem by the symbolism of the moving of the ark” (Boice p. 783). Singing such a song would indicate that new mercies or blessings have been received.

Such a song could also be described as a “fresh outburst of praise”.

Point To Note: Is our praise for God always fresh and enthusiastic? Even when we sing an old familiar song, do we sing it with renewed interest and zeal because of what God has done for us this week? Do we realize that God blesses us every day?

“This is not simply a piece newly composed, though it naturally includes such, but a response that will match the freshness of His mercies, which are new every morning” (Kidner p. 347).

96:1 “all the earth”: God invites everyone to worship Him. God deserves the praise of everyone on the planet. “The Lord is so great and His works so 1

wonderful that it takes ‘all the earth’ to do justice to such a theme” (Leupold p.

682).

96:2 “Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day”: “The LXX (Greek translation of the Old Testament), here and elsewhere, translates it (‘proclaim’) by the verb which gave us ‘evangelize’…There may be a lesson hidden in this sequence (first upwards to God, then outwards to man): a corrective to static worship and shallow preaching alike” (Kidner p. 347).

Points To Note: 1.

True worship and praise for God cannot remain private. The man or woman who really stands in awe of God, must tell others about Him. 2. The key to evangelism and personal work is a heart that is in love with God. If we aren’t talking to people about God, the problem isn’t fear, shyness, or lack of ability, rather the problem is that we aren’t really impressed with God. 3. And such news about God’s salvation must be continually proclaimed (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

96:3 This is connected with verse 2. When we talk about God’s salvation, we must talk about how He has intervened time and time again in the past to deliver His people. We will mention His great deeds (the flood, the Exodus, the day the sun stood still, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, etc..). The people of God must set the tone and take the lead in talking up the majesty of God and the great things He has done. When people are running God down, when they are expressing their ignorance concerning Him, do we stand up and defend God’s name?

96:4 Our God is the greatest! Nothing can compare with the God whom we are serving---is this our attitude? Is God the center of our attention and love?

96:4 “He is to be feared among the gods”: “There are places in the Psalter where gods are a term for angels and potentates (Psalm 82; 8:5; 95:3), but here they are clearly the unreal gods of the heathen” (Kidner p. 347). Lest anyone think that such gods have some type of real existence the next verse clearly calls such gods “idols”, side reference, “non-existence beings”.

96:5 “In the Hebrew the word idol means a ‘no-thing’, that is, a nonentity or nothing” (Boice p. 784).

Points To Note: 1.

The pagans may claim that their gods have power over the heavenly realms, but the writer plainly says that the Lord made the heavens. 2. The truth is exclusive! “Its robust challenge to the accepted ideas of the day invites 2

the Christian to be equally unimpressed by currently revered nonsense, whatever its pedigree or patronage. The second line of verse 5 (“But the Lord made the heavens”), is still a valid retort to those who would shelve the question of creation, and start their thinking at some secondary point” (Kidner pp. 347-348). How could there be any other “gods”, if God made everything? (Colossians 1:16) How could any other religion have any validity, seeing that God is the author of everything? Here is the point: If the God revealed in the Bible created everything, then there is no other reality! 3. “This is a very important point, of course. For it is a repudiation of the other world religions; it means that Christianity is an exclusive faith. This is an unpopular, even a so-called ‘hateful’ idea in an age of political correctness. But it follows directly from who God is and what the Bible says about Him. If, as the psalm says, Jehovah ‘made the heavens’ and if ‘splendor and majesty’, ‘strength and glory’ belong to Him alone, then it is not only wrong but also a sin to worship any other. If you are not worshipping the God of the Bible exclusively…you are not worshipping God” (Boice p. 785). And running into the New Testament isn’t going to change anything (John 14:6; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Matthew 4:10).

96:6 God is surrounded by splendor, majesty, power, and beauty. The sanctuary here may refer to both the Temple and God’s dwelling place in heaven. Leupold reminds us that strength and beauty are often separated in a disordered world, and each is maimed thereby, but in their perfection, they indissolubly blend. Everything in the presence of God is of such a high order.

“The abstract qualities mentioned are regarded as so many angelic beings that grace His throne” (p. 684).

Point To Note: Such a passage reminds us that mankind is often impressed by “too little”. Look at the earthly things that people will serve and worship! Look at what a person will devote their whole life in following! And yet, the glorious God, the Creator, goes unnoticed! It’s not that God can’t compete with the attractions of the world, rather, the truth is that most people are too easily entertained.

The King’s Due 96:7 “Ascribe”: This word means “give”. Mankind is obligated to render praise to God. Every person is under this obligation! The Gentiles, whose gods have been dismissed as mere idols, are called upon to give the glory to God. Basically this verse is saying, “Give God the praise that He deserves”. Worship isn’t man pretending that God deserves our devotion, worship should be simply a realization of reality. God created me, and He deserves my loyalty

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(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). When we look at it this way, worship really isn’t a choice, rather, it is simply what is right and good. And any other decision as to what to do with our lives (i.e., serve self, false religion, etc..), looks extremely selfish. “Though the Hebrew says that these qualities are to be ‘given’ to Him, that clearly signifies that His possession of them is to be openly confessed” (Leupold p. 684).

96:8 Note, this is an invitation for “the families of the peoples” (i.e., the Gentiles) to come and worship God in Jerusalem. God has always made it clear that He is accessible to anyone who wants to serve Him (Acts 10:34-35; John 3:16).

96:8 “Bring an offering”: We must reject the idea that God is simply happy and pleased that I am present during such worship. God expects more than my mere presence. Certainly, we wouldn’t be happy if God said, “I’m not going to give you any physical or spiritual blessings, rather, you should be happy that I simply exist”. What do we bring when we worship God? (Hebrews 13:15) “We go into God’s courts to give rather than to get” (Boice p. 786).

96:9 “Worship the Lord in holy attire”: The side reference says, “in the beauty of holiness”. “That is to say, in such outward garb and demeanor as befits those that recognize the nature of the God they adore” (Leupold p. 685).

Points To Note: 1.

Holiness isn’t boring, rather, holiness is beauty! 2. There is something extremely attractive about a person who is pure in life and mind, who manifests virtue, integrity, and innocence when it comes to sin (1 Peter 1:14; 2 Corinthians 7:1). 3. The clothing which we select to wear during times of public worship needs to reflect our purity.

96:9 “Tremble before Him”: Our worship must never become casual or careless, where we feel that we can joke around with God. We need to be reminded that when we approach God, we must approach Him in deepest awe (Ecclessiastes 5:1ff; Isaiah 66:2). “All may worship Him, but the motivation is important as the manner. Yahweh expects reverence, submission, holiness, and awe of His divine majesty and presence” (Gaebelein p. 622). “This confession challenges all other gods, all other rulers and authorities. There is only one King. The line is drawn. The decision must be made: submission or destruction” (Williams p. 200).

God Reigns

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96:10 “Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns’”: Note, this is a call to the Israelites to evangelize their neighbors! What a relevant point! Even today there is a great need to tell people that God rules, God is in charge, God rules in the kingdoms of men, and that God is sovereign over history as well as nature.

Especially when so many people complain, “How can God be ruling when such bad things are allowed to happen”. Or, “how can I believe that God will punish unrepentant sinners, when I see so many of them either rewarded or untouched by any divine judgment?”

96:10 “The world is firmly established”: The idea seems to be that since God is in control, His governing of this world is effective and adequate in every detail. To believers this says, “Stop fretting and worrying”. Righteousness will prevail, sin will be punished (and presently often is), God knows what He is doing, things aren’t out of control, and man will not blow up the planet with his weapons. In contrast to the raging nations and collapsing regimes, God still rules.

96:10 “He will judge the peoples with equity”: God, not man, will make all the final judgments! God will have the final say, He will uphold His moral order, He will hold everyone accountable (2 Corinthians 5:10). Even though most people will be lost (Matthew 7:13-14), it won’t be due to God having some sort of unfair standard. No human being will be able to claim that God was unfair with him or her.

God Judges 96:11-13 The coming of God to judge should be a great cause of joy! All nature is called on to celebrate His coming. “All created inanimate things are called upon to join in the praises of the Lord and His just government of the world” (Leupold p. 685). Compare with Romans 8:19ff.

Points To Note: 1.

For the child of God, whether it is the final judgment, or a particular time in human history when God decides to punish a nation---it should be viewed with rejoicing. 2. God’s judgment is very positive and constructive: It demonstrates that God rules and that God cares. It protects future generations. It restrains or deals with evil men, and it rolls back the progress that sin has made in a culture. It vindicates everything that Christians have been saying. “C.S. Lewis points out, the ancients lived in a world where judges usually needed to be bribed and right judgment was exceedingly hard to come by, especially for weak, poor, or disadvantaged persons. In such a climate, the disadvantaged did not fear judgment but rather longed for it, because it meant a day when evil would

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be punished and those who did the right things would be vindicated” (Boice p. 787). Christians should be eagerly looking forward to the Second Coming, when all sin will be removed and perfect righteousness will prevail. And if we dread the Second Coming, doesn’t that say something about our personal lives? Maybe we dread it, because we’re not ready to meet Jesus?

“The belief of sinners that righteousness, truth…the rule of justice, and the Lord Himself are enemies of joy, is scouted by this passage. Where God rules….His humblest creatures can be themselves; where God is, there is singing” (Kidner p. 349).

If God’s absolute standard of truth, moral purity, righteousness, and justice are such negative qualities—then why is heaven such a happy place?

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