Psalm 96 – A Royal Missional Psalm
(by Tan Yu Chai)
Psalm 96 is for royalty, it is for the Ultimate Royal King who will reign forever. It starts with the call to worship and ends with all people, heaven and earth and all creations in roaring worship.
Call to Worship. (whom & who) vv 1-3
The Psalmist calls all his people, the nations to worship by singing a new song. This to bless God’s Name by telling His salvation and redemption.
Such call to worship includes declaring God’s glory to all the nations (i.e. people and language groups — beyond Israel as the chosen nation). This Glory (splendour, honour, distinctive riches) belongs exclusively to this One True God of ours.
God’s reign gets spectators involved and awakens sleepers. No wonder the Psalm brims with imperatives: three times we are told to sing, and after that to bless, tell, declare, ascribe and worship.
But what exactly is that new song? It could be the great deliverance from sin and slavery as in the great Exodus from Egypt. It could be a heart-felt song when we see and experience God’s work of grace in our life. It could be the heart bursting forth with praise in the awakening of my soul to the great salvation of Christ.
Cause for Worship. (Why) vv 4-6
The Psalmist moved from the Whom shall we worship and who are to worship to why God is to be worshipped. At least 2 reasons are given.
God is great above the heavens. But down here on earth where there are many gods – who are no god at all. The one true God out-rules and triumphs them all. They are mere idols. They are things we made up, in contrast to the creator who made us, and created the heavens (verse 5). We praise God as Creator, and we also praise God’s character.
Our God is unique and none-other v6.
God’s “honor and majesty are before him, his strength and beauty fill the sanctuary.” This points to God’s sovereignty and holiness, an undeniable theme in scripture.
Commission to Worship (how) vv 7-10
Three times we are told to ascribe glory to God. To “ascribe” is to name an unique quality that belongs to a person or thing. To a deer we ascribe speed and grace and to an artist or composer we ascribe creative genius. To God we ascribe glory and strength
To express our gratitude and dependence on God, we are told to bring an offering, come into God’s courts (verse 8) worship the Lord, and to tremble before God (verse 9) because of His absolute holiness.
In verse 10, we are to say to the nations that the Lord is King. He is the ultimate true King who will return to reign by establishing His throne in the world (where His kingdom cannot be moved) and He will judge all the people with justice and equity.
Coming King worthy of Worship (when He returns) vv11-13
God will come to judge the nations in righteousness. Yet this judgment evokes more joy than dread, for the whole world, both nations and nature, will rejoice — even the trees will sing.
These verses emphasize God’s power among the nations and all the earth. This will be the total restoration, everything is made new when Jesus comes to reign in His future messianic kingdom.
Let’s Read Psalm 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.
Let’s Pray
O Lord, our God, how excellent Your Name is all the earth, how glorious is You – the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are created, called and saved not to live for ourselves but for You and You alone. We are created for Your Glory (not ours), we are to love, worship and enjoy You forever and ever. We long for Your return, O Lord while we proclaim Your mighty acts, Your splendour, Your majesty and Your Holiness to all the peoples you put around us. Help us, use us to save souls into Your reigning Kingdom. Amen.
This devotional was kindly contributed by Dr. Chow Li Sze and her channel Heavenly Devotion. You may find the channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/HeavenlyDevotion/videos
About the Heavenly Devotion channel
The Heavenly Devotion channel is dedicated to encouraging you to listen to Bible Scriptures and pray with the Scriptures. They are inspired by the call of service as expressed and exemplified by Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:12-15.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrew 4:12 NKJV)
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