The Lord Is the Judge of the World. Psalm 96:1-13

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1 1 Commentary by Clyde M. Miller Questions by John C. Sewell The Lord Is the Judge of the World Psalm 96:1-13

2 2 Text: Psalm 96: 1-13, The Lord Is the Judge of the World Commentary by Clyde M. Miller 1. Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 4. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. 7. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, 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 his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. 10. Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 11. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; 12. let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; 13. they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. NIV

3 3 Introduction: I. Some believe that Psalms alone are to be classed as enthronement psalms. A. Others consider Ps. 93 and Ps. 95 in this category also. 1. This commentary takes the latter view. II. Included in the summons to praise God (Ps. 96:1-6) is the charge given to Israel to proclaim the knowledge of God among the Gentiles (cf. Ps. 96:10-13). A. The middle stanza of the psalm (Ps. 96:7-9) and Ps. 96:10 give the content of the proclamation. B. Scriptures 1. Psalm 96: 1-6, Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. NIV 2. Psalm 96:10-13, 10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. NIV 3. Psalm 96: 7-9, Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,

4 4 Commentary: ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. NIV 4. Psalm 96: 10, Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. NIV The Lord's Glory Psalm 96:1-6, Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. NIV Psalm 96:1-2, Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. NIV I. The triple invitation to sing sets the tone for this beautiful hymn of praise. A. New songs (96:1a) were composed to celebrate new deliverances or saving acts performed by the Lord (cf. Ps. 96:2b). 1. Psalm 96:1-2, Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. NIV Psalm 96:3, Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. NIV I. The glory of God is the manifestation of His many-faceted personality, but especially is it a manifestation of His holiness.

5 5 A. Psalm 96:3 employs synonymous parallelism, so that glory and marvelous deeds are to be treated as synonyms, as are nations and peoples. NIV 1. This shows that God's glory is manifested in His marvelous works. Psalm 96:4-5, For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. NIV I. The psalmist gives no credence to polytheistic ideas, for he declares that the gods of the nations are idols (literally things of naught ). A. God's supremacy is set forth in the declaration of Ps. 96:4b. B. God is to be worshiped as the only true God who created the universe (Ps. 96:5b). Psalm 96:6, Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. NIV I. God's greatness (Ps. 96:4a) and majesty (Ps. 96:6) are sufficient motivation for man to praise him. A. Psalm 96:4, For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. NIV II. The words splendor, ch)d, and majesty, chadar, provide an excellent example of alliteration in Hebrew (Ps. 96:6b). Invitation to Praise God Psalm 96:7-9, Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. NIV

6 6 Psalm 96:7-8, Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. I. In stair-like parallelism, the phrase ascribe to the Lord is emphasized by repetition. A. The invitation is addressed to the families of the nations, namely, all the earth (Ps. 96:9b). 1. Psalm 96:9,Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. NIV B. The means of ascribing praise to God is to bring an offering (Ps. 96:8b) to him. 1. Gentiles were not forbidden to offer sacrifices at the temple (cf. Num. 15:11-16,27-29). a. Numbers 15:11-16, 27-29, Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare. "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'" "'But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a nativeborn Israelite or an alien. NIV

7 7 Psalm 96:9, Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. NIV I. The splendor of his holiness (literally adornments of holiness in Hebrew) may refer to the priestly ornaments (Ex. 28:2), or else may be a reference to the necessity of moral purity on the part of the worshipers (cf. Ps. 50:23). A. Exodus 28:2, Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor. NIV B. Psalm 50:23, He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." NIV II. The exhortation to tremble before him seems to suggest the latter. Let All Nature Worship God Psalm 96:10-13, Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. NIV Ps. 96:10, Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. NIV I. The kingship of God and the resulting orderly world are to be proclaimed (cf. Ps. 96:13). A. Psalm 96:13, they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. NIV II. The word equity is synonymous with righteousness and truth (96:9c,d).

8 8 A. Psalm 96:9, Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. NIV Psalm 96:11-13, Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. NIV I. All creation should praise God because of His righteous judgment. II. World and peoples are synonymous, as are righteousness and truth. III. On universalism in the psalms, see the excursus at the end of Ps. 77. Application: I. Since God s domain is worldwide, it is natural that His judgment will be also. A. For the faithful follower of God who worships and serves him in righteousness and truth, God judgment causes rejoicing rather than horror. B. Only those who reject God s equitable, righteous and truthful judgments have reason to cringe in fear. II. Psalms like Psalm 96 are meant to encourage mankind to walk in the ways of God so that he can anticipate with joy the judgments of God.

9 9 Questions Psalm 96:1-13 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. to the a ; to the, the. to the, his ; his after. his among the, his among. 2. For is the and of ; he is to be above all. For all the of the are, but the made the, and are before him; and are in his. 3. to the, O of, to the and. to the the due his ; bring our and come into his. the in the of his ; before him, the. 4. Say among the, the. The is firmly, it cannot be ; he will the with. Let the, let the be ; let the, and that is in it; let the be, and in. Then all the of the will for ; they will before the, for he, he to the. He will the in and the in his.

10 10 5. Which psalms can be classified as enthronement psalms? Give reasons for your answer. 6. Outline Psalm The to sets the for this of. were to or by the. 8. is is manifested in his. 9. To what does the splendor of his holiness refer? 10. For what is God to be praised? How is God to be praised?

ISA 42:10 Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth,

ISA 42:10 Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, Psalm 96 Psalm 96 and 97 are a pair as are 98 and 99. Some say the four are to be treated as a literary unit. Although some say 95 and 96 are the pair. So when you go home read the previous Psalm and the