Ascribe To The Lord The Glory Due His Name – Psalm 96
Psalm 96
1. Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
NOTE: Today’s commentary is by Dr. Kevin Watson, who is coming to Tulsa to become the Director of Academic Growth and Formation at the Tulsa Extension Site for Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as joining our staff at Asbury Church as Scholar-in-Residence. I wrote a post announcing and explaining this move.-Andrew
Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Psalm 96 starts off with a call for all the earth to sing to God.
The call to worship continues:
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
Verses 4-6 begin to give the rationale for this call to worship:
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
We should sing to the Lord, bless God’s name, tell of God’s salvation, and declare his glory among all nations because God is great!
Psalm 96 forthrightly tells the truth that all other gods are worthless idols. The Triune God alone is rightly to be praised. He alone is worthy of worship.
Verses 7-8 use the word “ascribe” three times. What does it mean to “Ascribe to the Lord”?
Beth Tanner, once again, is helpful:
The word translated as ascribe in vv. 7-8b is much more complex in Hebrew. It appears only in imperative form as a call to act (Gen. 11:3, 4, 7; Exod. 1:10), as a command to give, spoken in desperation (Gen. 30:1; 47:15), and as an order to choose to select wisely (Deut. 1:13; Josh. 18:4). All three meanings may be intended here. It is certainly a call to act, and by means of its grammar it is a call to give the Lord the praise due God’s glory and strength.
The focus then turns outward to the nations:
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness. (v. 10-13)
God is in charge. He is coming to judge the world. His judgment will be right. The psalmist rejoices that God will judge the world because God is good, and God is faithful.
Where are you yearning to see God’s justice expressed in your life today?