Psalm 96:1-6
1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all
the earth.
2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news
of His salvation from day to day.
It appears that Psalm 96 and
Psalm 95 are companion psalms or songs that were an invitation to worship the
LORD. Psalm 95 was an invitation specifically to the nation Israel to “come
and sing and worship”, while Psalm 96 is an invitation to all the nations
of the whole earth to “sing to the LORD, all the earth”.
There are several
interesting things about this psalm. You will find this same psalm in its
entirety in 1 Chronicles 16:23-33. It appears that King David wrote this Psalm
for the celebration and worship service that took place when he brought the ark
of covenant and placed it in the tabernacle that he had just erected in
Jerusalem. Another interesting sidelight of this psalm is that it contains the
center verse of the Bible (v. 11). "Let the heavens rejoice, and let
the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof." There
is something fitting in that. At the very heart of the Bible is a call for this
planet to lift its voice in joyful song. This is what God plans in the crowning
day that is yet to come.
Sing! sing! sing! That is
how this psalm begins. It calls us to joyful worship because all glory belongs
to Him. Give! Give! Give! (vv. 7-8). That is how the psalm continues. It calls
us to joyful worship because all gifts belong to Him. Let! Let! Let! (vv.
11-12). That is how the psalm ends. It calls us to joyful worship because all
government belongs to Him. This is one of the great Hebrew hymns that
celebrates the coming reign of Christ. It is another of the theocratic psalms.
Like others in this particular collection, it seems to have been chosen
especially to celebrate the emancipation of Israel from the Babylonian
captivity and the opening of the new temple in Jerusalem. The repatriated
Hebrews saw in this stirring event evidence of God's sovereignty over the
nations and assurance that one day He would establish on earth a kingdom
stretching from pole to pole and from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of
the earth.
Three times we are commanded
to sing to the Lord, and this parallels the three times in verses 7-8 that the
psalmist commands us to "give", which means to "ascribe,"
glory to Him. First, we are told to “sing a new song”. We should want to
do this when we have a new experience of God's blessing, when we discover a new
truth in God’s Word, when we are given a new beginning after a crisis, or when
we have a new open door for service for the LORD. All of these can make an old song new or give
us a new song from the Lord.
This call to worship is not
extended to Israel alone but also to the Gentile nations (vv. 3, 7, 9, 11, 13).
One day when Jesus reigns on earth, all nations will come to Jerusalem to
worship Him (Isaiah 2:1-4). It will be a time when the glory of God will be
revealed to all peoples (vv. 3, 7-8; Gen. 12:1-3; 22:18; Isa. 60:1-3). In the
Greek translation of the Old Testament, "proclaim" (v. 2) is
the word used in the New Testament for "preaching the good news" and
gives us the English word "evangelize."
We are to let all the
peoples of every tribe, kindred, language, and nation of the earth know about the
good news of the salvation and victory that only Jesus Christ can give us! This is gives us something to sing about, for
He is the only Savior and will save all who trust Him (John 14:6; John 4:22;
Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:1-15).
God bless!
