[Worship in the Splendor of Holiness]
[96:1] Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
[2] Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
[3] Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
[4] For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
[5] For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
[6] Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
[7] Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
[8] Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
[9] Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
[10] Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity."
[11] Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
[12] let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
[13] before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
(Psalm 96 ESV)
Psalm 96. This is a hymn celebrating how God's kingship over all creation (see note on Psalm 93) means that all kinds of people should love and worship him. The psalm has three sections, each beginning with a command ("sing," 96:1; "ascribe," v. 7; "say," v. 10), and each mentioning the Gentiles ("all the earth," "the nations," and "the peoples" in vv. 1–6; "families of the peoples" and "all the earth" in vv. 7–9; and "the nations," "the peoples," and "the world" in vv. 10–13). God called Israel to be a vehicle of blessing for all mankind, bringing them knowledge of the true God for whom all human beings yearn, and this psalm keeps this mission prominent in the Israelites' view of the world and their role in it. Verses 8–9 even call the Gentiles to join Israel in their worship in God's courts. The psalm looks forward to a time when the Lord will come and judge all peoples with equity, without specifying how this will take place. The term "judge" is probably not limited to sifting between the righteous and the unrighteous; the wider sense of "execute justice, rule justly" fits the context better (cf. Isa. 2:4; 11:3–4). Thus the psalm is more focused on a time in which Gentiles acknowledge the true God, and the benefits that will bring to all the earth, than it is on the final judgment. Christians sing this, knowing that God has ushered in this long-awaited epoch with the resurrection of Jesus (see note on Isa. 11:3–4). This psalm appears in 1 Chron. 16:23–33, indicating that the people sang an adaptation (or perhaps an early edition) of it when David brought the ark to Jerusalem.
Ps. 96:1–6 Sing to the Lord All the Earth, for He Is Great! The psalm begins by calling the inhabitants of all the earth to sing to the Lord. The activities (sing to the Lord, bless his name, tell of his salvation; cf. praised and feared) all describe the privilege of Israelite worship in God's sanctuary; here the Gentiles are invited to join in (see also vv. 8–9).
Ps. 96:4–5 These verses explain to the Gentiles that there is only one God truly worthy of worship. He is to be feared above all gods (because he made the heavens, while they are powerless, indeed unreal). The words gods (Hb. 'elohim) and worthless idols (Hb. 'elilim) sound alike, providing a play on words; in English this would be close to "these mighty beings are mighty useless!"
Ps. 96:6 Splendor and majesty describe royal magnificence (21:5; 45:3), which is suited to the theme of divine kingship (cf. 104:1; 111:3; 145:3; Job 40:10). These, along with strength and beauty, are attributes of God, into whose presence people come in his sanctuary.
Ps. 96:7–9 All Nations, Ascribe Glory to the Lord! These verses develop the thought of v. 7, inviting the Gentiles to worship into his courts, i.e., in the temple precincts. The OT describes the future era, when the Gentiles receive the light, by picturing them coming to the Jerusalem temple (Isa. 2:2–3; even the lesser temple after the exile, Hag. 2:7–9). The Gentiles are to bring an offering and to worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness (i.e., the splendid presence of the all-holy one). Their uncleanness (cf. Isa. 52:1) can be cured by conversion, and then they too will be welcome in God's house.
Ps. 96:7–8 Ascribe … ascribe. … Ascribe. These three lines are very similar to 29:1–2, except that there the heavenly beings are called to worship, while here it is the families of the peoples (i.e., Gentiles). Strength looks back to the same word in 96:6, and glory (Hb. kabod) is a synonym of "beauty" (Hb. tip'eret). Verse 6 listed God's attributes, and the Gentiles are called to "ascribe" (or acknowledge) these attributes. The glory due his name is the respect and honor God's character deserves.
Ps. 96:10–13 Let All Nations Know that the Lord Will Judge in Righteousness. The Gentiles addressed throughout this psalm (cf. vv. 1, 7) are to spread the news among all their fellow Gentiles (among the nations, v. 10; cf. v. 3), namely, that the Lord reigns! The universal rule of the one true God (who is above all other gods, who are worthless anyway, vv. 4–5) is good news to those who will acknowledge his kingship. These verses describe a time when God will judge (i.e., rule justly; see note on Psalm 96) the peoples with equity (v. 10; cf. v. 13). When all kinds of people gladly receive God's rule, worshiping him according to his gracious character, the rest of the creation (the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the field with all their inhabitants, and the trees of the forest) will all celebrate (be glad, rejoice, roar, exult, and sing for joy). The creation suffers from the curse upon mankind, and from God's discipline of wayward human beings, and from the evil that people do; but when they genuinely come under the rule of the true God, the blessings will spread throughout the world. Cf. note on Rom. 8:20–21.
Ps. 96:10 the world … shall never be moved. See note on 93:1. The world is founded on secure moral principles, the unchanging character of God (cf. equity; and "righteousness" and "faithfulness," 96:13).
Psalms 95, 96. Glad tidings of salvation
In Psalm 95 the church is singing and worshipping and in Psalm 96, singing and sharing. Psalm 95 is wholly within the fellowship where the Lord is known as rock, King and Creator, Maker and Shepherd and the one to whom obedience is owed. In Psalm 96 the church is still singing but immediately moves out in testimony to the only God, worthy of all praise and coming as universal judge. Psalms 95, 96 bring the Lord's kingship into relationship with the 'gods' (95:3; 96:4, 5) and this is their distinctive mark. These psalms are, however, no more a decline from monotheism than is Paul's assertion about lords and gods many in 1 Corinthians 8:5. Many spiritual forces are abroad in a fallen world—there is even a 'god of this age' (2 Cor. 4:4)—and since they exercise their delusive magnetism on the Lord's people also, the reminder in these psalms that he is supreme king (95:3) and that the 'gods' are nonentities (96:4–5) remains relevant.
The only God and the gods. These psalms are typical in their appeal to creation as evidence for one, only God. Compared with the Creator, other 'gods' are (not e̓lohim but) e̓lilim (96:5) imitations of the real thing. The similarity of the Hebrew words is like the assonance of 'idol' and 'idle' in English. They are 'no-gods', nonentities. In contrast he is in sovereign management of the earth (95:4–5). In pagan thought, the depths were ruled by Molech, the mountain peaks by Baal, and the sea by Tiamat. But in the Bible all is in his hand, and is his by right of creation.
Psalm 96. The only God and his gospel
Psalm 96 consists of:
A1 (vs 1–2a) A call to the world to worship
B1 (vs 2b–3) A command to the church
C1 (vs 4–6) An explanation of the only God
A2 (vs 7–9) A call to the world to worship
B2 (v 10) A command to the church
C2 (vs 11–13) An explanation of the coming God
Those who rejoice in the God of salvation (95:1) must tell the good news of salvation, inviting the world to praise his name (2), i.e. respond to what the Lord has revealed about himself, to come into his very presence (the splendour of his holiness) through the offering he requires (7–9)—responding to his name (8, see on 2), entering his courts (8), safe in his holy presence (9), and worshipping with due awe. But the good news is also of expectation (11–13). To judge means 'to set all things to rights'—heaven, earth and sea, the natural and the human creation. No aspect of what he first created is forgotten in final salvation.
New Bible commentary: 21st century edition. 1994 (D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer & G. J. Wenham, Ed.) (4th ed.) (Ps 96). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
New Bible commentary: 21st century edition. 1994 (D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer & G. J. Wenham, Ed.) (4th ed.) (Ps 95–96). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
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Regards,
Ryan Chia
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Mission exists
because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is
ultimate, not man.
*From John Piper, Let The Nations Be Glad*
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