Original Meaning
The First Call to Worship (96:1–3)
SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG, SING TO THE LORD ALL THE EARTH. Typically, the call to worship is characterized by plural commands of vocal praise and the language of approach and worship. The call to worship in Psalm 96 incorporates these elements (vv. 1–2a) but goes beyond by including commands of proclamation and declaration (vv. 2b–3). As mentioned above, the real surprise is the full extent of the address: the whole earth is called to praise Yahweh (i.e., “the LORD,” Israel’s God). Not just Israel but the whole earth, without exception, is called to praise Israel’s God.
It is this unusual address that leads to Psalm 96’s being described as a “new song” (shir hadash). For the Israelite singing Psalm 96, there is little if anything new in terms of content.3
But a song giving praise to Yahweh as Creator and Ruler of the whole earth would, indeed, be new to the lips of any non-Israelite. As Brueggemann suggests, the newness refers not just to unfamiliar words but also to a “new orientation” reflected in the decision to join the global community of praise that has grown out of Israel.4
Gerstenberger suggests that the “new” aspect of the song is meant to be read as an expression of hope for a better future:
The criteria for the Old Testament “New Song,” consequently, are these:
1. It was intoned against death and evil in order to support and make possible full human life.
2. It was voiced in communities small and great, but never in the privacy of chamber or office.
3. It anticipates boldly, against all evidence, the coming of God’s liberation, the new and just world.5
This call to praise is also missional in its intent. The nations are invited to join Israel in praising Yahweh, but, of course, the Yahweh malak psalms were probably part of Israel’s festal worship. The proclamation of Psalm 96 was addressed to the nations, but the primary hearers in the composition’s original setting would have been Israelites and, additionally, proselytes (those non-Israelites who had decided to worship Yahweh out of choice rather than because they were born into the covenant community). So, although the whole earth is addressed, the singers and hearers of this new song are primarily Israelites. In that sense, the “newness” of the song is probably twofold: first, those who do not know Yahweh are called to praise him, and second, those who do know Yahweh are reminded that the whole earth is called to join their ranks. So, Psalm 96 may also be described as a “new song” because a minority voice in the Old Testament is given pride of place. The nations are called to sing God’s praise alongside Israel. This very notion would have been radically new and extremely challenging to most Israelites, so in that sense Psalm 96’s universal address makes this a “new song” for many.6
Proclaim his salvation day after day. The language of verse 2b is also interesting. The Hebrew word that is (rightly) translated “proclaim” in the NIV is the command form of the verb basar, which seems to provide the Old Testament conceptual root to the idea of “proclaiming good news” in the New Testament.7
Certainly the same verb is used this way in Isaiah 61:1 in proclaiming Yahweh’s daily salvation (i.e., his practical help and engagement in the lives of his people [see the discussion of Ps 74:12 above]). So the good news that Israel proclaims is of a real God who is truly involved in the lives of his people. This news is, of course, good for the nations because they are invited into relationship with this real God who is actually capable of affecting their reality. Psalm 96:5 makes it clear that the nations’ gods are illusory and therefore incapable of effecting salvation.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. “Glory” (kabod) and “marvelous deeds” (nipla’ot) are characteristics of Yahweh that are entirely absent from the gods of the nations. These terms emphasize God’s unquestionably good character and his amazingly good works. Verse 3 encourages the proclamation of these two features of Yahweh’s being among the nations because these characteristics set Yahweh apart from their gods. “Glory” implies that Yahweh is a substantial God: weighty, real, and truly significant in and above the created realm. “Marvelous deeds” is used in the poetic books to refer either to God’s work in making and controlling the universe (Job 37:14) or to his amazing works of deliverance in behalf of his people (especially regarding the exodus, see comment on Ps 77:14 above). These characteristics—a God who is real and who works in our reality—stand in marked contrast to the gods of the nations (Ps 96:5), who are neither real nor efficacious.
Bridging Contexts
PSALM 96 IN THE YAHWEH MALAK COLLECTION. Psalm 96 continues the thematic consideration of the universal reign of Yahweh that was begun in Psalm 93 and culminates in the benediction of Psalm 100. But there is a clear sense of escalation throughout the collection, with new themes and aspects of Yahweh’s reign being brought into focus with the addition of each new psalm.
The new aspect introduced in Psalm 96 is its universal address. We have seen the claim of Yahweh’s lordship over the nations and their gods elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g., Pss 2, 72, 82 et al.), but Psalm 96 introduces this element of invitation to the nations to join the worshiping community of faith. Adding further interest to this surprising “new” theology is Psalm 96’s juxtaposition alongside Psalm 95. As was discussed above, Psalm 95 is a strongly covenantal composition. Israel is called to “bow down” in worship before “the LORD” their maker (v. 6), and then, intriguingly, the nations are called to do exactly the same in verse 9.23
This connection further stresses the main theme of Psalm 96: the incorporation of the nations into God’s community of faith.
It is clear from the addressees of the calls to worship that the pagan nations are called on to join with Israel in the worship of Yahweh. But the way in which this theme is developed in association with Psalm 95 shows that this call extends to full covenantal allegiance between God and the nations. This matter does not just require the pagan peoples to “say the right words.” The call on the peoples to bow down to Yahweh, just as Israel must bow down to Yahweh, points to the nations’ inclusion in all the rights and responsibilities of intimate and binding relationship with Yahweh. This call to worship is a call to participate in all the privileges of covenantal blessing. The covenant was often seen as a theological concept that separated Israel from the nations (as exemplified by the attitude of Jonah, for example), but it seems that God’s purpose for salvation had always intended an inclusive covenantal theology rather than an exclusive one.
Genesis 12:1–3, with its indication that Abraham’s election would bring blessing to all the families of the earth, is echoed in the renewal of the covenantal promise with Abraham in Genesis 17:1–8, where he is told that he will be “the father of many nations” (v. 4). But with the passage of time this intercultural and inclusive view of the covenant somehow became lost from Israel’s understanding of God’s plan for salvation. The juxtaposition of Psalms 95 and 96 reminds Israel that God’s salvific plan extends far beyond their own national and cultural bounds. The call to worship invites all nations to bow the knee to Yahweh in covenantal fealty and thus evokes the picture of the nations in the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa 12 and 19). It is difficult to say how Israel lost that external and inclusive focus—perhaps it was simply the result of the continual opposition of neighboring states. Psalm 96, as part of the Yahweh malak psalms, reminds the worshiping community of their responsibilities to those presently outside the body of faith. This reminder was important for Israel. It remains an important reminder for the church.24
Somehow the Old Testament faith community had lost any real sense of their missional responsibility amid discussions of their own uniqueness and identity. The same can be true in the church. It is vital that missionary songs such as Psalm 96 never become minority voices in terms of our own self-understanding as Christian communities.
God and the gods. For fuller discussion of Israel’s God and the gods of the nations, see Psalm 82 above.
Psalm 96 in the New Testament. There may be an allusion to Psalm 96:13 in Revelation 19:11, but the tone is quite different in the respective passages so the similarity between the two verses may be more accidental than purposeful.25
Nevertheless, the idea of God’s future judgment as bringing his intervention into the affairs of humanity is common to both passages, and Hossfeld suggests that wherever there is an allusion to Psalm 96 in the New Testament, “it always retains an eschatological interpretation of the psalm.”26
Perhaps more telling is the general allusion to a divine theophany that will establish Yahweh’s rule on the earth and that will draw the nations into covenantal relationship with him. This theme is, of course, strongly reminiscent of the work and teaching of Jesus as it is outlined for us in the Gospels. Jesus is the physical representation of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and he came bringing a message of the kingdom of God. As George Eldon Ladd suggests, “The Kingdom is God’s kingly rule. It has two moments: a fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the historical mission of Jesus and a consummation at the end of the age, inaugurating the Age to Come.”27
God’s kingship breaks into human reality in a remarkable and new way in the incarnation of Christ. It is that arrival of God on earth that ultimately draws the nations into the worshiping community. And that revelation of God in Christ begins the process of consummation—one day, every single individual will see and acknowledge the absolute rule of Yahweh.
Contemporary Significance
MISSIONAL SONGS, MISSIONAL COMMUNITY. One of the key and unmistakable lines of application from Psalm 96 is the responsibility of the worshiping community to call others to join their ranks. As Christians, we should never forget that we sing a missional song that speaks of a God who reaches out. Equally, we should never forget that ours is a missional identity. Psalm 96 exemplifies for us the right type of praise we should offer in public worship and also the right understanding of our own identity as communities of God’s people.
Any song of praise and worship to God that truly reflects his identity will speak of the way he has and does reach out to restore and renew sinful humanity and of how he draws us into a new relationship with him. Our songs should be acts of worship to God that declare his character as a missionary God. They should also proclaim his rule over the whole of the created order. These acts of proclamation are missional in nature. They speak to those who do not know God about his true character and being. So, it is important that our repertoire of worship songs and hymns truly declares the character of God. Whether or not we “like the tune” is neither here nor there. What is much more important is that the songs we sing accurately reflect the character of God to all those who are listening, both “we ourselves” and “others.” Our songs are acts of proclamation every bit as much as our sermons are. So, we must think carefully about what our songs of praise say about our God to those who are listening.
Second, the modern church also needs to ensure that our missional responsibility does not become a minority report in terms of our own self-understanding. The age-old question “Why did Jesus create a church?” has often been bogged down in discussions of discipleship and care for the flock over against outreach and mission. Of course, this is an entirely false dichotomy. Mission and discipleship, discipleship and mission go absolutely hand in hand. The formation of disciples was an act of outreach for Jesus; equally, outreach involved teaching and instruction. The thing to remember from Psalm 96 is that this missional practice of calling others to join in the praise of Yahweh should never become a minority voice in our setting. In Israel’s history, the people’s obligation to the nations became lost in their own internal discussions of their uniqueness and identity. Their international and intercultural responsibilities became so neglected that the call for the nations to praise God was described in Psalm 96 as a new song. It is vital that our churches remember our own shared responsibility to proclaim the message of a gracious God who reaches out to save people. We should never be so caught up in our own questions that we forget to invite others to join us in bringing praise to God.
Singularity in a pluralistic world. Psalm 96’s central theme of the kingship of Yahweh provides an important reminder in another area of missional praxis, namely, the uniqueness of the gospel message we proclaim. In an increasingly pluralistic world, there is great pressure on the church to adapt our message to accommodate a plurality of views and opinions regarding the experience of salvation. It is often asked, especially in the increasingly secular Western scene, “How can you exclude the validity of every other religious experience? How can you exclude others like that?” Words such as “fundamentalism” are easily bandied about.
But Psalm 96 sets absolutely the right tone for the church today. As communities of faith we must be welcoming and inviting and, at the same time, absolutely clear about the uniqueness of our message. Israel invites the nations to sing Yahweh’s praise (v. 4), and the message of the psalm is absolutely clear about the inadequacies of the gods of the nations (v. 5). This poem gives us the right example to follow. It is a picture of an open and welcoming community that presents an uncompromising message because that message is based on the truth (John 14:6).
Original Meaning
The First Rationale (96:4–6)
FOR GREAT IS THE LORD AND MOST WORTHY OF PRAISE. The power of the reasons given for the praise of Yahweh is found in their simplicity. “Why should we praise Yahweh?” the nations might ask in response to the call to worship in verses 1–3. “Because Yahweh is great and he is worthy of praise,” comes the simple reply from the choir of Israel! His character and his works (v. 3) establish categorically that Israel’s God is great. In fact, they establish that he is infinitely greater than all the gods of the nations (“he is to be feared above all gods” [v. 4b]). The language of height used here implies Yahweh’s absolute rule and unquestionable authority over the whole of creation, including the gods of the peoples.8
Why worship Yahweh? Simply because he is worthy of worship—his character and works evidence that fact.
For all the gods of the nations are idols. The psalmist’s exercise in the apologetics of comparative religion continues in verse 5. The call to worship Yahweh challenges the peoples to compare their experience of their own gods with the character and works of Yahweh. In verse 5 the poet uses a clever play on words to underline the inadequacies of the gods of the nations compared to the one, true God. Literally, the Hebrew reads: “For all the gods [’elohim] of the peoples are worthless things [’elilim].” This final world ’elilim is difficult to capture in English. It is often used to refer to idols (Isa 2:8, 18, 20), but the word is value laden rather than purely descriptive. ’Elilim is also often used with a pejorative overtone to signify things that are worthless, vain, or insignificant. For example, consider the “worthless physicians” in Job 13:4 or the “worthless shepherd” in Zechariah 11:17. Psalm 96:5 is clearly implying that, while the nations may think they have gods (’elohim), they actually have “worthless idols” (’elilim).9
The psalmist’s strategy of poetic proclamation is to encourage the nations to compare the insignificance of their gods with the great weightiness and significance of Yahweh (his kabod [”glory”] in v. 3).
But the LORD made the heavens. The significance of this (again straightforward) statement is doubly profound. First, the fact that Yahweh is Creator shows his great power in contrast to the worthlessness of the gods of the surrounding nations. And second, the fact that Israel’s god made everything implies that he cannot be represented by anything that is part of that creation. If Yahweh created all things, then he is automatically above and beyond whatever object the nations may choose to worship. Here again there is strong polemic that shows the absolute supremacy of Israel’s God over the idols of the peoples. As Hossfeld comments,
In this context the brief reference to YHWH’s creatio prima of the heavens is also understandable. The gods are things of naught in comparison to YHWH, the Creat or. As Creat or he cannot be represented by anything that is made, which is why idols are obsolete both in their significance and in their material.10
It is probably also significant that it is specifically “the heavens” that are described as being created by Yahweh. As well as referencing God’s worth because he is Creator, the expression “the heavens” represented the sphere of existence in which the people of the nations believed their gods lived. The implied polemic then becomes clear: the worthless gods may (or may not) live there, but in either case it was Yahweh who created that dwelling space.
Splendor . . . majesty . . . strength . . . glory. The following verse emphasizes Yahweh’s unmistakable right to receive worship by personifying abstract nouns that are attributes of Yahweh’s being and imagining them as worshipers in the sanctuary of his own presence. This language is that of temple worship for the Hebrew community, and again the wording stresses the fact that Yahweh is worthy of worship because he undeniably is worthy of worship. There is a beautiful circularity in the argumentation here.11
Bridging Contexts
PSALM 96 IN THE YAHWEH MALAK COLLECTION. Psalm 96 continues the thematic consideration of the universal reign of Yahweh that was begun in Psalm 93 and culminates in the benediction of Psalm 100. But there is a clear sense of escalation throughout the collection, with new themes and aspects of Yahweh’s reign being brought into focus with the addition of each new psalm.
The new aspect introduced in Psalm 96 is its universal address. We have seen the claim of Yahweh’s lordship over the nations and their gods elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g., Pss 2, 72, 82 et al.), but Psalm 96 introduces this element of invitation to the nations to join the worshiping community of faith. Adding further interest to this surprising “new” theology is Psalm 96’s juxtaposition alongside Psalm 95. As was discussed above, Psalm 95 is a strongly covenantal composition. Israel is called to “bow down” in worship before “the LORD” their maker (v. 6), and then, intriguingly, the nations are called to do exactly the same in verse 9.23
This connection further stresses the main theme of Psalm 96: the incorporation of the nations into God’s community of faith.
It is clear from the addressees of the calls to worship that the pagan nations are called on to join with Israel in the worship of Yahweh. But the way in which this theme is developed in association with Psalm 95 shows that this call extends to full covenantal allegiance between God and the nations. This matter does not just require the pagan peoples to “say the right words.” The call on the peoples to bow down to Yahweh, just as Israel must bow down to Yahweh, points to the nations’ inclusion in all the rights and responsibilities of intimate and binding relationship with Yahweh. This call to worship is a call to participate in all the privileges of covenantal blessing. The covenant was often seen as a theological concept that separated Israel from the nations (as exemplified by the attitude of Jonah, for example), but it seems that God’s purpose for salvation had always intended an inclusive covenantal theology rather than an exclusive one.
Genesis 12:1–3, with its indication that Abraham’s election would bring blessing to all the families of the earth, is echoed in the renewal of the covenantal promise with Abraham in Genesis 17:1–8, where he is told that he will be “the father of many nations” (v. 4). But with the passage of time this intercultural and inclusive view of the covenant somehow became lost from Israel’s understanding of God’s plan for salvation. The juxtaposition of Psalms 95 and 96 reminds Israel that God’s salvific plan extends far beyond their own national and cultural bounds. The call to worship invites all nations to bow the knee to Yahweh in covenantal fealty and thus evokes the picture of the nations in the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa 12 and 19). It is difficult to say how Israel lost that external and inclusive focus—perhaps it was simply the result of the continual opposition of neighboring states. Psalm 96, as part of the Yahweh malak psalms, reminds the worshiping community of their responsibilities to those presently outside the body of faith. This reminder was important for Israel. It remains an important reminder for the church.24
Somehow the Old Testament faith community had lost any real sense of their missional responsibility amid discussions of their own uniqueness and identity. The same can be true in the church. It is vital that missionary songs such as Psalm 96 never become minority voices in terms of our own self-understanding as Christian communities.
God and the gods. For fuller discussion of Israel’s God and the gods of the nations, see Psalm 82 above.
Psalm 96 in the New Testament. There may be an allusion to Psalm 96:13 in Revelation 19:11, but the tone is quite different in the respective passages so the similarity between the two verses may be more accidental than purposeful.25
Nevertheless, the idea of God’s future judgment as bringing his intervention into the affairs of humanity is common to both passages, and Hossfeld suggests that wherever there is an allusion to Psalm 96 in the New Testament, “it always retains an eschatological interpretation of the psalm.”26
Perhaps more telling is the general allusion to a divine theophany that will establish Yahweh’s rule on the earth and that will draw the nations into covenantal relationship with him. This theme is, of course, strongly reminiscent of the work and teaching of Jesus as it is outlined for us in the Gospels. Jesus is the physical representation of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and he came bringing a message of the kingdom of God. As George Eldon Ladd suggests, “The Kingdom is God’s kingly rule. It has two moments: a fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the historical mission of Jesus and a consummation at the end of the age, inaugurating the Age to Come.”27
God’s kingship breaks into human reality in a remarkable and new way in the incarnation of Christ. It is that arrival of God on earth that ultimately draws the nations into the worshiping community. And that revelation of God in Christ begins the process of consummation—one day, every single individual will see and acknowledge the absolute rule of Yahweh.
Contemporary Significance
MISSIONAL SONGS, MISSIONAL COMMUNITY. One of the key and unmistakable lines of application from Psalm 96 is the responsibility of the worshiping community to call others to join their ranks. As Christians, we should never forget that we sing a missional song that speaks of a God who reaches out. Equally, we should never forget that ours is a missional identity. Psalm 96 exemplifies for us the right type of praise we should offer in public worship and also the right understanding of our own identity as communities of God’s people.
Any song of praise and worship to God that truly reflects his identity will speak of the way he has and does reach out to restore and renew sinful humanity and of how he draws us into a new relationship with him. Our songs should be acts of worship to God that declare his character as a missionary God. They should also proclaim his rule over the whole of the created order. These acts of proclamation are missional in nature. They speak to those who do not know God about his true character and being. So, it is important that our repertoire of worship songs and hymns truly declares the character of God. Whether or not we “like the tune” is neither here nor there. What is much more important is that the songs we sing accurately reflect the character of God to all those who are listening, both “we ourselves” and “others.” Our songs are acts of proclamation every bit as much as our sermons are. So, we must think carefully about what our songs of praise say about our God to those who are listening.
Second, the modern church also needs to ensure that our missional responsibility does not become a minority report in terms of our own self-understanding. The age-old question “Why did Jesus create a church?” has often been bogged down in discussions of discipleship and care for the flock over against outreach and mission. Of course, this is an entirely false dichotomy. Mission and discipleship, discipleship and mission go absolutely hand in hand. The formation of disciples was an act of outreach for Jesus; equally, outreach involved teaching and instruction. The thing to remember from Psalm 96 is that this missional practice of calling others to join in the praise of Yahweh should never become a minority voice in our setting. In Israel’s history, the people’s obligation to the nations became lost in their own internal discussions of their uniqueness and identity. Their international and intercultural responsibilities became so neglected that the call for the nations to praise God was described in Psalm 96 as a new song. It is vital that our churches remember our own shared responsibility to proclaim the message of a gracious God who reaches out to save people. We should never be so caught up in our own questions that we forget to invite others to join us in bringing praise to God.
Singularity in a pluralistic world. Psalm 96’s central theme of the kingship of Yahweh provides an important reminder in another area of missional praxis, namely, the uniqueness of the gospel message we proclaim. In an increasingly pluralistic world, there is great pressure on the church to adapt our message to accommodate a plurality of views and opinions regarding the experience of salvation. It is often asked, especially in the increasingly secular Western scene, “How can you exclude the validity of every other religious experience? How can you exclude others like that?” Words such as “fundamentalism” are easily bandied about.
But Psalm 96 sets absolutely the right tone for the church today. As communities of faith we must be welcoming and inviting and, at the same time, absolutely clear about the uniqueness of our message. Israel invites the nations to sing Yahweh’s praise (v. 4), and the message of the psalm is absolutely clear about the inadequacies of the gods of the nations (v. 5). This poem gives us the right example to follow. It is a picture of an open and welcoming community that presents an uncompromising message because that message is based on the truth (John 14:6).
Original Meaning
The Second Call to Worship (96:7–10)
THE SECOND CALL TO WORSHIP echoes the first in terms of its language, ideas, and universal address. But it also goes beyond the initial call to worship by introducing the theme of Yahweh as Judge (vv. 9–10), thus bringing a stronger sense of appeal and urgency to this call. There is clearly an escalation in tone as the psalm approaches its climax.
Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations. There is a strong textual link between verses 7–8 and Psalm 29:1–2. The language used is virtually identical except that the “heavenly beings” (probably the angelic host12
) are addressed in Psalm 29, and here in Psalm 96 it is the “families of nations” who are addressed. Much of Psalm 96 borrows language and concepts from other psalms, but, interestingly, the psalmist takes this familiar language and addresses it to an unfamiliar audience. The call to “ascribe to the LORD” seems to imply a degree of fealty in the response. It is the giving over to Yahweh of all glory and strength that may otherwise have been offered or exerted elsewhere.13
This call is a summons to declare loyalty and commitment. The psalmist is not interested in the nations’ merely offering words of praise—he calls for a complete giving over of self, power, and glory to Yahweh and to him alone. This commitment is visualized in the act of bringing an offering or sacrifice (v. 8b). Just as, for example, the bringing of tribute and the offering of a whole burnt offering are acts of complete giving over, so also the ascription of glory and strength called for by the psalmist is an act of conscious and complete giving over of self to Yahweh for his glory and for the fulfillment of his ends.
All you families of nations. This address is of particular significance because it echoes the missional promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3 that through him “people [the same Hebrew word as in Ps 96:7] on earth” will be blessed. So, from an intertextual perspective the address in Psalm 96:7 is significant. Clearly Psalm 96 has a proleptic, universal perspective—it envisions a time in the future when the praise of God will be sung by all nations. This particular formulation points to a reality in which the Abrahamic promise is fulfilled. Genesis 12:1–3 is a vitally important passage if we are to understand the overall story of salvation that is developed throughout the Scriptures. It is foregrounded in the Bible’s salvation-history, and it is significant to many of the major theological concepts that have shaped both Judaism and Christianity (e.g., election, covenant, faith, salvation, etc.). So, it is not by accident that the invitation to join the worshiping community goes out to all the families of the earth. This denominator goes far beyond concepts of nationhood, language groups, or even cultural identity, and it points to an amazingly inclusive worshiping community. Obviously, we see this reality fulfilled in part today, but the address of Psalm 96:7 reminds us that this invitation to worship still needs to be extended to “families of nations” throughout the world today.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. In verse 9 the call to “worship” is literally an invitation to “bow down” (cf. Ps 95:6). Just as in Psalm 95:6 Israel is called to “bow down” to Yahweh, so also the families of the nations are called to “bow down.” Such a clear act of commitment draws the nations into the flock of Psalm 95—the nations acquire a new sense of belonging and a new communal identity as they offer their allegiance to Yahweh (see the discussion of Ps 95 above). The use of the same terminology in neighboring psalms has an interesting effect: in Psalm 95 Israel is reminded of her rights and responsibilities as the elect people of God, then in Psalm 96 all the nations of the earth are invited to join that community of the elect by offering worship to Yahweh. That the Yahweh malak psalms (Pss 93–100) have a decidedly universal and cross-cultural perspective subverts many of the traditional understandings of key theological concepts. Here the concept of election is radically reformed—a theological notion that would often be seen to separate Israel from the nations is transformed into something much more open and inclusive. This transformation is further emphasized by the invitation to bow down to Yahweh in “the splendor of his holiness,” a phrase that probably alludes to the priestly attire which had to be worn by the Levites when they served in the tabernacle and temple (cf. Exod 28:2).14
The nations are reclothed in priestly garb that sets them apart also to worship in the presence of God every bit as much as Israel was set apart for worship before God.
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The call to commitment is further emphasized by the central theme of the Yahweh malak collection: Yahweh reigns, and if this statement is true, then it requires a response. The universality of Psalm 96’s call to worship is grounded in the simple fact of Yahweh’s universal reign as Creator (“the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved” [v. 10b]) and Ruler (“he will judge the peoples with equity” [v. 10c]).15
Bridging Contexts
PSALM 96 IN THE YAHWEH MALAK COLLECTION. Psalm 96 continues the thematic consideration of the universal reign of Yahweh that was begun in Psalm 93 and culminates in the benediction of Psalm 100. But there is a clear sense of escalation throughout the collection, with new themes and aspects of Yahweh’s reign being brought into focus with the addition of each new psalm.
The new aspect introduced in Psalm 96 is its universal address. We have seen the claim of Yahweh’s lordship over the nations and their gods elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g., Pss 2, 72, 82 et al.), but Psalm 96 introduces this element of invitation to the nations to join the worshiping community of faith. Adding further interest to this surprising “new” theology is Psalm 96’s juxtaposition alongside Psalm 95. As was discussed above, Psalm 95 is a strongly covenantal composition. Israel is called to “bow down” in worship before “the LORD” their maker (v. 6), and then, intriguingly, the nations are called to do exactly the same in verse 9.23
This connection further stresses the main theme of Psalm 96: the incorporation of the nations into God’s community of faith.
It is clear from the addressees of the calls to worship that the pagan nations are called on to join with Israel in the worship of Yahweh. But the way in which this theme is developed in association with Psalm 95 shows that this call extends to full covenantal allegiance between God and the nations. This matter does not just require the pagan peoples to “say the right words.” The call on the peoples to bow down to Yahweh, just as Israel must bow down to Yahweh, points to the nations’ inclusion in all the rights and responsibilities of intimate and binding relationship with Yahweh. This call to worship is a call to participate in all the privileges of covenantal blessing. The covenant was often seen as a theological concept that separated Israel from the nations (as exemplified by the attitude of Jonah, for example), but it seems that God’s purpose for salvation had always intended an inclusive covenantal theology rather than an exclusive one.
Genesis 12:1–3, with its indication that Abraham’s election would bring blessing to all the families of the earth, is echoed in the renewal of the covenantal promise with Abraham in Genesis 17:1–8, where he is told that he will be “the father of many nations” (v. 4). But with the passage of time this intercultural and inclusive view of the covenant somehow became lost from Israel’s understanding of God’s plan for salvation. The juxtaposition of Psalms 95 and 96 reminds Israel that God’s salvific plan extends far beyond their own national and cultural bounds. The call to worship invites all nations to bow the knee to Yahweh in covenantal fealty and thus evokes the picture of the nations in the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa 12 and 19). It is difficult to say how Israel lost that external and inclusive focus—perhaps it was simply the result of the continual opposition of neighboring states. Psalm 96, as part of the Yahweh malak psalms, reminds the worshiping community of their responsibilities to those presently outside the body of faith. This reminder was important for Israel. It remains an important reminder for the church.24
Somehow the Old Testament faith community had lost any real sense of their missional responsibility amid discussions of their own uniqueness and identity. The same can be true in the church. It is vital that missionary songs such as Psalm 96 never become minority voices in terms of our own self-understanding as Christian communities.
God and the gods. For fuller discussion of Israel’s God and the gods of the nations, see Psalm 82 above.
Psalm 96 in the New Testament. There may be an allusion to Psalm 96:13 in Revelation 19:11, but the tone is quite different in the respective passages so the similarity between the two verses may be more accidental than purposeful.25
Nevertheless, the idea of God’s future judgment as bringing his intervention into the affairs of humanity is common to both passages, and Hossfeld suggests that wherever there is an allusion to Psalm 96 in the New Testament, “it always retains an eschatological interpretation of the psalm.”26
Perhaps more telling is the general allusion to a divine theophany that will establish Yahweh’s rule on the earth and that will draw the nations into covenantal relationship with him. This theme is, of course, strongly reminiscent of the work and teaching of Jesus as it is outlined for us in the Gospels. Jesus is the physical representation of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and he came bringing a message of the kingdom of God. As George Eldon Ladd suggests, “The Kingdom is God’s kingly rule. It has two moments: a fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the historical mission of Jesus and a consummation at the end of the age, inaugurating the Age to Come.”27
God’s kingship breaks into human reality in a remarkable and new way in the incarnation of Christ. It is that arrival of God on earth that ultimately draws the nations into the worshiping community. And that revelation of God in Christ begins the process of consummation—one day, every single individual will see and acknowledge the absolute rule of Yahweh.
Contemporary Significance
MISSIONAL SONGS, MISSIONAL COMMUNITY. One of the key and unmistakable lines of application from Psalm 96 is the responsibility of the worshiping community to call others to join their ranks. As Christians, we should never forget that we sing a missional song that speaks of a God who reaches out. Equally, we should never forget that ours is a missional identity. Psalm 96 exemplifies for us the right type of praise we should offer in public worship and also the right understanding of our own identity as communities of God’s people.
Any song of praise and worship to God that truly reflects his identity will speak of the way he has and does reach out to restore and renew sinful humanity and of how he draws us into a new relationship with him. Our songs should be acts of worship to God that declare his character as a missionary God. They should also proclaim his rule over the whole of the created order. These acts of proclamation are missional in nature. They speak to those who do not know God about his true character and being. So, it is important that our repertoire of worship songs and hymns truly declares the character of God. Whether or not we “like the tune” is neither here nor there. What is much more important is that the songs we sing accurately reflect the character of God to all those who are listening, both “we ourselves” and “others.” Our songs are acts of proclamation every bit as much as our sermons are. So, we must think carefully about what our songs of praise say about our God to those who are listening.
Second, the modern church also needs to ensure that our missional responsibility does not become a minority report in terms of our own self-understanding. The age-old question “Why did Jesus create a church?” has often been bogged down in discussions of discipleship and care for the flock over against outreach and mission. Of course, this is an entirely false dichotomy. Mission and discipleship, discipleship and mission go absolutely hand in hand. The formation of disciples was an act of outreach for Jesus; equally, outreach involved teaching and instruction. The thing to remember from Psalm 96 is that this missional practice of calling others to join in the praise of Yahweh should never become a minority voice in our setting. In Israel’s history, the people’s obligation to the nations became lost in their own internal discussions of their uniqueness and identity. Their international and intercultural responsibilities became so neglected that the call for the nations to praise God was described in Psalm 96 as a new song. It is vital that our churches remember our own shared responsibility to proclaim the message of a gracious God who reaches out to save people. We should never be so caught up in our own questions that we forget to invite others to join us in bringing praise to God.
Singularity in a pluralistic world. Psalm 96’s central theme of the kingship of Yahweh provides an important reminder in another area of missional praxis, namely, the uniqueness of the gospel message we proclaim. In an increasingly pluralistic world, there is great pressure on the church to adapt our message to accommodate a plurality of views and opinions regarding the experience of salvation. It is often asked, especially in the increasingly secular Western scene, “How can you exclude the validity of every other religious experience? How can you exclude others like that?” Words such as “fundamentalism” are easily bandied about.
But Psalm 96 sets absolutely the right tone for the church today. As communities of faith we must be welcoming and inviting and, at the same time, absolutely clear about the uniqueness of our message. Israel invites the nations to sing Yahweh’s praise (v. 4), and the message of the psalm is absolutely clear about the inadequacies of the gods of the nations (v. 5). This poem gives us the right example to follow. It is a picture of an open and welcoming community that presents an uncompromising message because that message is based on the truth (John 14:6).
Original Meaning
The Second Rationale (96:11–13)
THE FINAL STANZA PROVIDES A VERY DIFFERENT set of reasons why it is important for all peoples to worship Yahweh. Essentially what we see is an environmental rationale that emphasizes the universality of response to the rule and reign of Yahweh.
Let the heavens rejoice. Psalm 96 moves from the imperatives of the second call to worship to a series of jussive verbs that encourage the whole created order to voice its gladness in response to Yahweh’s kingship. As Hossfeld observes, “The extrahuman creation is drawn into the act of worship . . .,”16
and Schaefer points out that a sevenfold response of praise occurs in verses 11–12 (heavens, earth, the sea and its contents, the fields and their content, and the trees of the forest), thus indicating the completeness of creation’s praise of Yahweh.17
Everything in the created order praises Yahweh; therefore, the implied suggestion is that everyone should also praise Yahweh! The environmental response in verses 11–13 is interesting and reflects a repeated theme in the Psalms. As Michael Northcott suggests, “In the Hebrew perspective humanity and the cosmos have moral significance, and both are required to make a moral response to the creator, a response which reflects his glory and offers the return of gratitude, praise and worship [Ps 150].”18
Effectively, Psalm 96 counteracts two equally erroneous responses to nature and the environment. The first rationale warns against deifying nature. The gods of the nations throughout the ancient Near East were often represented by animals or astral symbols. Verses 4–6 make it clear that deifying the natural realm is empty. But the inclusion of the natural realm in this chorus of praise in verses 11–12 shows the significance of the natural world in God’s grand design for humankind. “The environment” realizes something that some people do not—God is absolutely worthy of praise—and as such it plays a sanctified role in the call to worship that goes out to all the nations of the earth. (Paul seems to suggest something similar in Rom 1:18–20.) The environment fulfils a holy purpose within God’s plan of salvation for the nations, so clearly its protection and enjoyment is something to be encouraged in the believing community.19
Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes . . . to judge the earth. The final rationale mentioned in Psalm 96 is also the ultimate reason for the nations to join in the praise of Yahweh, namely, Yahweh will be the one to judge the nations, not any of the illusory idols that are worshiped by the peoples surrounding Israel. Ultimately, all created human beings are answerable to their Creator, and Psalm 96 declares unambiguously that Yahweh alone is the true Originator of all human life; therefore, it is “the LORD” alone who has the right to judge, and he will judge according to his standards. So, there is a resonant sense of ultimacy in the final verse of Psalm 96: all peoples should choose to worship God because he is the Judge over all humanity.
The repetition of “for he comes” in verse 13, rather than being the result of a scribal copying error as some suggest, is an example of anadiplosis, the repetition of the end of one line at the beginning of the next line. The net effect of this poetic feature is to draw attention to Yahweh’s future theophany.20
One day he will come, and that appearance will be for the purpose of judgment. As above (see comments on v. 10), the judging probably refers more to rule and governance than it does to judicial punishment,21
a likelihood stressed by the qualifiers attached to Yahweh’s activity on the earth (“in righteousness” [v. 13c] and “in his faithfulness” [v. 13d]). Of course, these qualifiers may also refer to judicial activity, but it seems more likely that the psalmist has in mind a new order of things according to which Yahweh governs the whole earth and all the peoples, not just Israel, in righteousness and truth.22
Clearly, Psalm 96 sees just such divine rule as being a present reality, so it is interesting to read this verse—which points to a future appearance of God that will institute a new era of his reign among the nations—from a theological and christological perspective drawn from the Bible.
Bridging Contexts
PSALM 96 IN THE YAHWEH MALAK COLLECTION. Psalm 96 continues the thematic consideration of the universal reign of Yahweh that was begun in Psalm 93 and culminates in the benediction of Psalm 100. But there is a clear sense of escalation throughout the collection, with new themes and aspects of Yahweh’s reign being brought into focus with the addition of each new psalm.
The new aspect introduced in Psalm 96 is its universal address. We have seen the claim of Yahweh’s lordship over the nations and their gods elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g., Pss 2, 72, 82 et al.), but Psalm 96 introduces this element of invitation to the nations to join the worshiping community of faith. Adding further interest to this surprising “new” theology is Psalm 96’s juxtaposition alongside Psalm 95. As was discussed above, Psalm 95 is a strongly covenantal composition. Israel is called to “bow down” in worship before “the LORD” their maker (v. 6), and then, intriguingly, the nations are called to do exactly the same in verse 9.23
This connection further stresses the main theme of Psalm 96: the incorporation of the nations into God’s community of faith.
It is clear from the addressees of the calls to worship that the pagan nations are called on to join with Israel in the worship of Yahweh. But the way in which this theme is developed in association with Psalm 95 shows that this call extends to full covenantal allegiance between God and the nations. This matter does not just require the pagan peoples to “say the right words.” The call on the peoples to bow down to Yahweh, just as Israel must bow down to Yahweh, points to the nations’ inclusion in all the rights and responsibilities of intimate and binding relationship with Yahweh. This call to worship is a call to participate in all the privileges of covenantal blessing. The covenant was often seen as a theological concept that separated Israel from the nations (as exemplified by the attitude of Jonah, for example), but it seems that God’s purpose for salvation had always intended an inclusive covenantal theology rather than an exclusive one.
Genesis 12:1–3, with its indication that Abraham’s election would bring blessing to all the families of the earth, is echoed in the renewal of the covenantal promise with Abraham in Genesis 17:1–8, where he is told that he will be “the father of many nations” (v. 4). But with the passage of time this intercultural and inclusive view of the covenant somehow became lost from Israel’s understanding of God’s plan for salvation. The juxtaposition of Psalms 95 and 96 reminds Israel that God’s salvific plan extends far beyond their own national and cultural bounds. The call to worship invites all nations to bow the knee to Yahweh in covenantal fealty and thus evokes the picture of the nations in the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa 12 and 19). It is difficult to say how Israel lost that external and inclusive focus—perhaps it was simply the result of the continual opposition of neighboring states. Psalm 96, as part of the Yahweh malak psalms, reminds the worshiping community of their responsibilities to those presently outside the body of faith. This reminder was important for Israel. It remains an important reminder for the church.24
Somehow the Old Testament faith community had lost any real sense of their missional responsibility amid discussions of their own uniqueness and identity. The same can be true in the church. It is vital that missionary songs such as Psalm 96 never become minority voices in terms of our own self-understanding as Christian communities.
God and the gods. For fuller discussion of Israel’s God and the gods of the nations, see Psalm 82 above.
Psalm 96 in the New Testament. There may be an allusion to Psalm 96:13 in Revelation 19:11, but the tone is quite different in the respective passages so the similarity between the two verses may be more accidental than purposeful.25
Nevertheless, the idea of God’s future judgment as bringing his intervention into the affairs of humanity is common to both passages, and Hossfeld suggests that wherever there is an allusion to Psalm 96 in the New Testament, “it always retains an eschatological interpretation of the psalm.”26
Perhaps more telling is the general allusion to a divine theophany that will establish Yahweh’s rule on the earth and that will draw the nations into covenantal relationship with him. This theme is, of course, strongly reminiscent of the work and teaching of Jesus as it is outlined for us in the Gospels. Jesus is the physical representation of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and he came bringing a message of the kingdom of God. As George Eldon Ladd suggests, “The Kingdom is God’s kingly rule. It has two moments: a fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the historical mission of Jesus and a consummation at the end of the age, inaugurating the Age to Come.”27
God’s kingship breaks into human reality in a remarkable and new way in the incarnation of Christ. It is that arrival of God on earth that ultimately draws the nations into the worshiping community. And that revelation of God in Christ begins the process of consummation—one day, every single individual will see and acknowledge the absolute rule of Yahweh.
Contemporary Significance
MISSIONAL SONGS, MISSIONAL COMMUNITY. One of the key and unmistakable lines of application from Psalm 96 is the responsibility of the worshiping community to call others to join their ranks. As Christians, we should never forget that we sing a missional song that speaks of a God who reaches out. Equally, we should never forget that ours is a missional identity. Psalm 96 exemplifies for us the right type of praise we should offer in public worship and also the right understanding of our own identity as communities of God’s people.
Any song of praise and worship to God that truly reflects his identity will speak of the way he has and does reach out to restore and renew sinful humanity and of how he draws us into a new relationship with him. Our songs should be acts of worship to God that declare his character as a missionary God. They should also proclaim his rule over the whole of the created order. These acts of proclamation are missional in nature. They speak to those who do not know God about his true character and being. So, it is important that our repertoire of worship songs and hymns truly declares the character of God. Whether or not we “like the tune” is neither here nor there. What is much more important is that the songs we sing accurately reflect the character of God to all those who are listening, both “we ourselves” and “others.” Our songs are acts of proclamation every bit as much as our sermons are. So, we must think carefully about what our songs of praise say about our God to those who are listening.
Second, the modern church also needs to ensure that our missional responsibility does not become a minority report in terms of our own self-understanding. The age-old question “Why did Jesus create a church?” has often been bogged down in discussions of discipleship and care for the flock over against outreach and mission. Of course, this is an entirely false dichotomy. Mission and discipleship, discipleship and mission go absolutely hand in hand. The formation of disciples was an act of outreach for Jesus; equally, outreach involved teaching and instruction. The thing to remember from Psalm 96 is that this missional practice of calling others to join in the praise of Yahweh should never become a minority voice in our setting. In Israel’s history, the people’s obligation to the nations became lost in their own internal discussions of their uniqueness and identity. Their international and intercultural responsibilities became so neglected that the call for the nations to praise God was described in Psalm 96 as a new song. It is vital that our churches remember our own shared responsibility to proclaim the message of a gracious God who reaches out to save people. We should never be so caught up in our own questions that we forget to invite others to join us in bringing praise to God.
Singularity in a pluralistic world. Psalm 96’s central theme of the kingship of Yahweh provides an important reminder in another area of missional praxis, namely, the uniqueness of the gospel message we proclaim. In an increasingly pluralistic world, there is great pressure on the church to adapt our message to accommodate a plurality of views and opinions regarding the experience of salvation. It is often asked, especially in the increasingly secular Western scene, “How can you exclude the validity of every other religious experience? How can you exclude others like that?” Words such as “fundamentalism” are easily bandied about.
But Psalm 96 sets absolutely the right tone for the church today. As communities of faith we must be welcoming and inviting and, at the same time, absolutely clear about the uniqueness of our message. Israel invites the nations to sing Yahweh’s praise (v. 4), and the message of the psalm is absolutely clear about the inadequacies of the gods of the nations (v. 5). This poem gives us the right example to follow. It is a picture of an open and welcoming community that presents an uncompromising message because that message is based on the truth (John 14:6).
HALOT 1:163). As James Mays comments, “The psalm has a definite evangelical cast” (Mays, Psalms, 308).