Psalm 96:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 96:1-9

These verses will be best expounded by pious and devout affections working in our souls towards God, with a high veneration for his majesty and transcendent excellency. The call here given us to praise God is very lively, the expressions are raised and repeated, to all which the echo of a thankful heart should make agreeable returns. I. We are here required to honour God, 1. With songs, Ps. 96:1, 2. Three times we are here called to sing unto the Lord; sing to the Father, to the Son, to the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 96:1

O sing unto the Lord a new song ,.... A famous excellent one, suited to Gospel times, on account of the new benefit and blessing of redemption and salvation lately obtained by the Messiah; which should be sung to him, who is the Lord or Jehovah here designed, by all the redeemed ones, Revelation 5:9 ; see Gill on Psalm 33:3 , the Targum adds, "sing, ye angels on high:' sing unto the Lord all the earth : not the whole land of Israel only, as Aben Ezra interprets it; though here the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 96:1

Sing unto the Lord a new song - A song of peculiar excellence, for in this sense the term new is repeatedly taken in the Scriptures. He has done extraordinary things for us, and we should excel in praise and thanksgiving. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 96:1

Verse 1 1Sing unto Jehovah a new song This commencement shows that, as I have already observed, the Psalmist is exhorting the whole world, and not the Israelites merely, to the exercise of devotion. Nor could this be done, unless the gospel were universally diffused as the means of conveying the knowledge of God. The saying of Paul must necessarily hold true, “How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed?” (Romans 10:14.) The same Apostle proves the calling of the Gentiles, by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 96:1

O sing unto the Lord a new song (comp. Psalms 33:3 ; Psalms 98:1 ; Psalms 144:9 ; Psalms 149:1 ; Isaiah 42:10 ). This clause does not occur in 1 Chronicles 16:1-43 . It seems to belong to the second recension of the psalm, when it was recast to suit some "new" occasion. Sing unto the Lord, all the earth. So in Isaiah 42:10 , "Sing unto the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth. " The psalmist at once makes known his "universalism" by calling on the whole... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 96:1

The call for a new song. "The series of psalms to which this belongs is by nearly all commentators assigned to the period immediately succeeding the seventy years' captivity. The joyous feelings, the glorious expectations, the marked repetition (both in matter and style) of the later prophecies of Isaiah, their rhythmical character suggesting that they were intended for liturgical purposes, combine to identify them with this period." Take this idea of historical connection, and the ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 96:1-3

Songs and sermons. We have both in these verses. There is a threefold summons to sing unto the Lord, and a similar threefold summons to speak for the Lord. Such psalms as this never contemplate a religion which can be hid away and held in secret. The passionate love which breathes in this psalm must have vent or die. There is here no coming to the Lord by night, or being secretly a disciple for fear of the Jews, but the psalm is an open, full, joyous confession of the soul's delight in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 96:1-13

Metrically, the psalm consists of four stanzas, the first three of three verses each, and the last of four. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 96:1-13

How and why Jehovah is to be worshipped. I. WITH A NEW SONG . ( Psalms 96:1 .) Praise that shall celebrate the new revelation of himself, which he is about to make in a new era of the world. Constantly new revelation. II. BY CELEBRATING THE SAVING WORK WHICH GOD IS DOING IN THE WORLD . ( Psalms 96:2 .) His coming to judge the people righteously, and thus to save them. Saving men every day. III. BY PUBLISHING HIS CHARACTER AND WORK ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 96:1

O sing unto the Lord a new song - See the notes at Psalms 33:3. This is the only addition made to the original form of the psalm. The word new here implies that there was some fresh occasion for celebrating the praises of God; that some event had occurred, or that some truth relating to the divine character had now been made known, which could not well be expressed in any psalm or hymn then in use. It is a call on all to celebrate the praises of the Lord in a “new” song - new, particularly, as... read more

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