Psalm 96:3-13

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For ¹great is the Lord, and ²greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above ³all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord ⁴made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him; ⁵strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O ⁶families of the peoples, ⁷ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord ⁸the glory due his name; bring ⁹an offering, and ¹⁰come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in ¹¹the splendor of holiness; ^{[a] 12}tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, ¹³“The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will ¹⁴judge the peoples with equity. ”

11 Let ¹⁵the heavens be glad, and let ¹⁶the earth rejoice; let ¹⁷the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let ¹⁸the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all ¹⁹the trees of the forest sing for joy

13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes ²⁰to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 96:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

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\\

Cross References

• 1. 96:4 See Ps. 48:1
• 2. 96:4 Ps. 18:3
• 3. 96:4 See Ps. 95:3
• 4. 96:5 Ps. 115:15; Isa. 42:5; 44:24; Jer. 10:12
• 5. 96:6 [Ps. 78:61]
• 6. 96:7 Ps. 22:27
• 7. 96:7 See Ps. 29:1
• 8. 96:8 Ps. 29:2
• 9. 96:8 [Ps. 45:12]; See Ps. 68:29; 72:10
• 10. 96:8 Ps. 100:4
• 11. 96:9 See Ps. 29:2
• 12. 96:9 Ps. 114:7
• 13. 96:10 See Ps. 93:1
• 14. 96:10 ver. 13; See Ps. 9:8; 58:11
• 15. 96:11 See Ps. 69:34
• 16. 96:11 Ps. 97:1
• 17. 96:11 Ps. 98:7
• 18. 96:12 [Isa. 35:1]
• 19. 96:12 [Isa. 55:12]
• 20. 96:13 See Isa. 11:1-9

Footnotes

• [a] 96:9 Or 'in holy attire'