Psalms 96

1 Sing ye a new song to the Lord; all (the) earth, sing ye to the Lord.

2 Sing ye to the Lord, and bless ye his name; tell ye his health from day into day (tell ye about his salvation, or his deliverance, yea, his saving grace, from day unto day).

3 Tell ye his glory among heathen men; his marvels among all peoples. (Tell ye of his glory to the heathen; and of his marvellous deeds to all the nations.)

4 For the Lord is great, and worthy to be praised full much; he is fearedful above all gods (he should be feared above all gods/he should be revered above all gods).

5 For all the gods of heathen men be fiends; but the Lord made heavens. (For all the gods of the heathen be but idols; but the Lord made the heavens.)

6 Acknowledging and fairness is in his sight; holiness and worthy doing is in his hallowing. (Majesty and glory surround him; strength and beauty be in his sanctuary.)

7 Ye countries of heathen men, bring to the Lord, bring ye glory and honour to the Lord; (Ye countries of the heathen, acknowledge to the Lord, acknowledge ye the glory and the strength of the Lord;)

8 bring ye to the Lord glory to his name. Take ye sacrifices, and enter ye into the halls of him; (give ye to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring ye your sacrifices, and enter ye into his courtyards;)

9 praise ye the Lord in his holy hall. All earth be moved of his face; (praise ye the Lord in the beauty of his holiness. All the earth tremble before him/All the earth dance before him;)

10 say ye among heathen men, that the Lord hath reigned. And he hath amended the world, that shall not be moved; he shall deem peoples in equity. (say ye among the heathen, that the Lord reigneth. And that he hath set the world firmly in place, so that it cannot be moved; he shall judge the nations with justice.)

11 Heavens be glad, and the earth make full out joy, the sea and the fullness thereof be moved (al)together; (Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice, let the sea roar, and all the creatures in it;)

12 fields shall make joy, and all things that be in those. Then all the trees of woods shall make full out joy, (let the fields make joy, and all the things that be in them. And let all the trees of the woods rejoice,)

13 for the face of the Lord, for he cometh; for he cometh to deem the earth. He shall deem the world in equity; and peoples in his truth. (before the Lord, for he cometh; yea, he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, or with justice; and all the peoples with fairness, or in good faith.)

Psalms 96 Commentary

Chapter 96

A call to all people to praise God. (1-9) God's government and judgment. (10-13)

Verses 1-9 When Christ finished his work on earth, and was received into his glory in heaven, the church began to sing a new song unto him, and to bless his name. His apostles and evangelists showed forth his salvation among the heathen, his wonders among all people. All the earth is here summoned to worship the Lord. We must worship him in the beauty of holiness, as God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Glorious things are said of him, both as motives to praise and matter of praise.

Verses 10-13 We are to hope and pray for that time, when Christ shall reign in righteousness over all nations. He shall rule in the hearts of men, by the power of truth, and the Spirit of righteousness. His coming draws nigh; this King, this Judge standeth before the door, but he is not yet come. The Lord will accept the praises of all who seek to promote the kingdom of Christ. The sea can but roar, and how the trees of the wood can show that they rejoice we know not; but He that searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit, and understands the words, the broken language of the weakest. Christ will come to judge the earth, to execute just vengeance on his enemies, and to fulfil his largest promises to his people. What then are we? Would that day be welcome to us? If this be not our case, let us now begin to prepare to meet our God, by seeking the pardon of our sins, and the renewal of our souls to holiness.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 96

This psalm was written by David, as appears from 1Ch 16:7,23 to whom it is ascribed by the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions. This and part of Psalm 105 were first composed and sung at the bringing of the ark from the house of Obededom to the city of David; and here it is detached from that with a new introduction to it, and applied to the times and kingdom of the Messiah, and; with great propriety, since the ark was an eminent type of him. The inscription in the Syriac version is,

``a Psalm of David, a Prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, and of the calling of the Gentiles that believe in him:''

and very rightly, since express mention is made of them in it, and of the publication of the Gospel among them; and clear reference is had to Christ, who is the Jehovah all along spoken of Jarchi well observes, that wherever a "new song" is mentioned, it is to be understood of future time, or the times of the Messiah; and the end of the psalm shows it,

\\he cometh to judge\\