Psalm 96

Psalm 96 belongs to Book IV of the Psalms (Psalms 90–106). It is part of a group of psalms, Psalm 93 and Psalms 95–99, that share the theme "The LORD reigns." The preceding psalm, Psalm 95, calls only the congregation of Israel to worship. Psalm 96 extends that call to "all the earth" and to "the kindreds of the people." The Hebrew text has no superscription (a heading placed before the psalm).

Structure

• Verses 1–3 call all the earth to sing a new song to the LORD and to declare his salvation, his glory, and his wondrous works day by day among the nations and all peoples.
• Verses 4–6 give the reason for praise. The LORD is great; the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty, strength and beauty are before him and in his sanctuary.
• Verses 7–9 call the kindreds of the people to give glory and strength to the LORD, to bring an offering and come into his courts, and to worship him in the beauty of holiness.
• Verse 10 calls for the proclamation among the nations that "the LORD reigneth." The world is established, and he judges the peoples righteously.
• Verses 11–13 depict the heavens and the earth, the sea and the field, and the trees of the wood rejoicing together, because the LORD is coming to judge the world with righteousness and truth.

Key Verses

• Psalm 96:1 "O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth" (KJV). This opening extends the call to praise beyond Israel to all the earth.
• Psalm 96:10 "The LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved" (KJV). The verse expresses the LORD's kingship, the central confession of this group of psalms.
• Psalm 96:13 "He shall judge the world with righteousness" (KJV). Because the joy of creation is directed toward the God who comes to judge, this verse is often read eschatologically.

People and Places

• The LORD: the object of the psalm's praise, portrayed as Creator, King over the whole world, and Judge.
• The sanctuary and courts: the place where worship is offered, usually understood to refer to the Temple in Jerusalem and its courts.

Points for Reflection

• Relationship to Chronicles: Nearly identical content appears in 1 Chronicles 16:23–33, where it forms part of the song David appointed to be sung on the day the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem. Scholars differ on which text came first.
• Connections with other psalms: The phrase "Give unto the LORD" in verses 7–9 resembles Psalm 29:1–2, and its companion psalm, Psalm 98, likewise opens with a "new song."
• The word "idols": The word translated "idols" in verse 5 (Hebrew elilim, "worthless things") sounds similar to "gods" (elohim). Some interpreters regard this as a wordplay that disparages other gods.
• The "from the tree" reading: Some early Christians, including Justin Martyr in the second century, are reported to have quoted verse 10 as "The LORD reigned from the tree." This phrase does not appear in the extant Hebrew text.
• Connections with the New Testament: Christian tradition often reads "he cometh" in verse 13 in light of Christ's Second Coming and the Last Judgment. Jewish tradition reads it as the manifestation of God's kingship to the whole world. A "new song" sung before the Lamb also appears in Revelation 5 and Revelation 14.

In the Korean Church

Verses 1 and 9 are frequently used as a "call to worship" read at the opening of a service. In churches that follow a lectionary (a list of Scripture readings appointed for each season) according to the liturgical year, this psalm is assigned as a psalm reading around Christmas.