Psalms 96

KJV · Chapter 96/150

1O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

2Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

3Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

4For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

5For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

6Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

8Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

9O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

10Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.

11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

12Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

13Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A call to sing 'a new song' to the Lord and declare his glory among all nations, contrasting the worthless idols of the peoples with the true God who made the heavens and will come to judge the earth with righteousness.

Explanation

This psalm (almost identical to 1 Chronicles 16:23-33, attributed to David's celebration when bringing the ark to Jerusalem) has an unusually missionary tone for the Old Testament: it explicitly calls 'all the families of the peoples' to acknowledge the God of Israel, not just the Jewish people themselves. The statement that 'the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens' (v.5) sums up the Bible's central critique of idolatry: idols are human products, while God is the Creator. The application today is that true worship always points beyond itself, inviting others to know God.

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