PSALM 96 [1]

A call to praise Yahweh, Who is greater than all other gods (vv.1-6)

A call to praise Yahweh, Who is coming to judge the earth (vv.7-10)

A summons for cosmic rejoicing (vv.11-13)

Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns”

1 Sing (shiyr) to Yahweh a new song; [2]	Sing (shiyr) to Yahweh, all the earth. [3]
2 Sing (shiyr) to Yahweh, bless His name;	Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of His glory among the nations,	His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For great is Yahweh and greatly to be praised;	He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,	But Yahweh made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him,	Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to Yahweh, O families of the peoples,

Ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;

Bring an offering and come into His courts.

9 Worship Yahweh in holy attire;

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns; [4] [5]

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;

He will judge (diyn) the peoples with equity.” [6]

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;	Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it.	Then all the trees of the forest will sing (ranan) for joy
13 Before Yahweh, for He is coming,	For He is coming to judge (shaphat) the earth.
He will judge (shaphat) the world in righteousness	And the peoples in His faithfulness. [7] [8]

[1] Psalm 95 was an exhortation for God’s people to worship before Yahweh. Here in Psalm 96, the exhortation to worship Yahweh is given to the whole world.

Psalm 96 shows the extent to which a missionary evangelism (fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant) had entered Old Testament thought. There are many similarities with this Psalm and 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (also Psalm 105-106).

For the parallels between the kingship Psalms (93-100) and Revelation 4-5 see Psalm 93.

[2] “New song” is mentioned 2x in Book IV of the Psalter (96:1; 98:1). It occurs seven times in the Old Testament (Ps 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa 42:10) and twice in the New Testament (Rev 5:9; 14:3). “The phrase “new song” does not mean, as it would in English, an original melody and words. It is rather a response to a new divine act; “new” refers to the act it celebrates. Further, the act is not “brand new” and unprecedented but a renewing or reviving of an act of the past” (Clifford, 121).

[3] “All the earth” is found 7x in Book IV (96:1,9; 97:9; 98:4; 100:1; 104:24; 105:7).

One of the ways Psalm 96 emphasizes the universal worship and glory of Yahweh is the repetition of “all” (kol) 7x (cf. Psalm 117),

Ø “all the earth” (v.1)

Ø “all the peoples” (v.3)

Ø “feared above all gods” (v.4)

Ø “all the gods of the peoples are idols” (v.5)

Ø “Tremble before Him, all the earth” (v.9)

Ø “Let the field exult, and all that is in it” (v.12a)

Ø “all the trees of the forest will sing” (v.12b)

[4] “Yahweh reigns” occurs 4x in Book IV of the Psalter; all of which are in the “kingship Psalms” (93:1; 96:1; 97:1; 99:1).

[5] In Justin Martyr’s famous dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Justin Martyr accused the Jews of tampering with the sacred text and changed passages like Psalm 96 to remove a proof text favorable to Christians. Justin Martyr was convinced that the Septuagint of Psalm 96:10 read, “Say among the nations Yahweh reigns from the wood (i.e. the cross).” However, there is no trace of this alleged reading today and “reigned from the wood” may have been added by Christians.

[6] Verses 10 is chiastic:

(A) Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns

(B) Indeed, the world is firmly established,

(B) it will not be moved;

(A) He will judge the peoples with equity.”

[7] Psalm 96 and Psalm 98 begin the same way, “Sing to Yahweh a new song” (96:1; 98:1) and both end the same way, “Before the Lord, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness” (Psalm 96:13; 98:9).

[8] To hear Psalm 96 sung listen to New Song.