Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad. The initials of the four Hebrew words making this sentence form an acrostic ( App-6 , App-60 , and App-63 ), giving the four letters of the word JEHOVAH ( Y, H, V, H ) thus: Y ismehu H ashshamayim V ethagel H a'arez. The Massorah ( App-30 ) has a special rubric calling attention to this acrostic. read more
Psalms 96:11-13. Let the heavens rejoice— These three verses are a poetical description of the great causes of joy, which this kingdom of Christ, expressed by the Lord's reigning, Psa 96:10 and coming to judge the world, Psa 96:13 and which was to be spiritually erected, would bring to the whole world. The heavens, and earth, and sea, and trees, and fields, are here put together, according to the scripture style, to denote the whole inferior world; which, interpreting the heavens of the airy... read more
11-13. For which reason the universe is invoked to unite in joy, and even inanimate nature ( :-) is poetically represented as capable of joining in the anthem of praise. read more
Psalms 96Here is another psalm that focuses on the reign of God. In it, the psalmist called on all the earth to join Israel in honoring and rejoicing in Yahweh’s sovereign rule."By being incorporated into a larger unit in 1 Chronicles 16, the psalm became associated with the glorious entry of the Ark of the covenant into Jerusalem" [Note: VanGemeren, p. 620. Cf. 1 Chronicles 16:23-33.] read more
3. An invitation to all to rejoice over Yahweh’s reign 96:11-13The writer returned to his former thought of all creation being under God’s authority (Psalms 96:4-5). He now summoned all creation to praise God at the prospect of His righteous rule. Psalms 96:13 is one of the clearest and most thrilling revelations that God will rule on the earth, not just from heaven. He will do so in the person of His Son when He returns to earth. The Son came the first time to save the world, and He will come... read more
This is a triumphant song of praise to God (Psalms 96:1-3), contrasting His power and glory with the nothingness of the heathen idols (Psalms 96:4-6), calling all the earth to worship Him (Psalms 96:7-9), exulting in His rule (Psalms 96:10), and calling all nations to rejoice in the prospect of His coming in judgment (Psalms 96:11-13). The tone of the Ps. is closely akin to that of Isaiah 40-66, and was in all likelihood inspired by the deliverance from exile. The existence of the second Temple... read more
(11-13) Magnificent progress of the Divine Judge through His realm. There is only one thought, that of the inauguration of a righteous sway for all nations: at its advent, as in Isaiah’s glorious visions (see Isaiah 35:1-2; Isaiah 42:10; Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 55:12), all nature seems to join the chorus of gladness. read more
A New Song Psalms 96:1 What does a 'new song' mean? I. A living experience. There never has been an age of great poetry which was not first an age of great action, great thought, great living. We shall never sing a new song till we have lived a real, pulsing, genuine new life of our own, not the pale shadow of other and greater lives. Whatever songs and Psalms come echoing down the ages, we must hear God's voice with our own ears. II. A bright outlook and bold spirit. The faith that has no... read more
Psalms 96:1-13THE praise of Jehovah as King has, in the preceding psalms, chiefly celebrated His reign over Israel. But this grand coronation anthem takes a wider sweep, and hymns that kingdom as extending to all nations, and as reaching beyond men, for the joy and blessing of a renovated earth. It fails into four strophes, of which the first three contain three verses each, while the last extends to four. These strophes are like concentric circles, drawn round that eternal throne. The first... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 96:1-13
Psalms 95-96 God the creator of the universeSix psalms, 95 to 100, are grouped so as to form a series for use in temple worship. The first psalm opens by calling people to worship God because he is the saviour (95:1-2), the great God (3), the creator and controller of the universe (4-5), the maker of the human race (6) and, above all, the covenant Lord and shepherd of his people (7). Worship, however, must be joined to obedience. Israel’s experiences in the wilderness show that people might... read more