Psalms 96:1-13
1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
10 Say 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.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulnessa thereof.
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
13 Before 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.
There is a beauty about this song which irresistibly appeals to the submissive soul. The previous warning must be heeded in order to sing it. When the personal life is loyal to His throne, the song of God's wide and beneficent dominion thrills with exultation.
It moves out in widening circles. The first is that of His own people, and sets forth His supremacy over all the gods of the peoples. They are “things of nought”; He is the Creator, and all things high and beautiful are His (vv. Psa 96:1-6). The second calls upon the nations to recognise His Kingship, and to give Him His due, submitting themselves also in worship and reverence (vv. Psa 96:7-9). The third sweeps the whole earth into its circumference, and rejoices in the equity of His reign.
No study of the devotional literature of these people is possible without an ever-recurring consciousness of this far-reaching purpose of God. If the song of the Lord begin in the heart it always grows into the chorus in which others are included in its music. To know the gracious glory of His reign in personal life, is to reveal it to those beyond, and to desire its victories in the uttermost reaches.