Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 96:1 and following. Indeed, after exhorting themselves: “Let’s sing… Love… In Psalm 95, the faithful of Israel now invite the whole earth and nature itself to imitate them: “Sing… Bless… worship the Lord.” The day will come when the pagan peoples will reject their idols and the families of the nations will return glory and strength to Jehovah. To express this homage, the redeemed do not wait for the Lord’s reign: “Glory and strength to Him,” they can cry out right now (Rev. 1:3-8). For it is not only the manifestation of the glories of Christ that can bring forth this praise in them: The majesty, magnificence, power and beauty of the King of all the earth are still invisible, hidden in the heavenly sanctuary (verse 6). But the great and continual motive of the believer’s adoration is the love of his Savior: “To him who loves us, and who has washed us of our sins in his blood… ». The psalm was composed and sung on the occasion of the return of the ark, the figure of Christ, in the midst of Israel (1 Ch 16:23-34). But it is no longer to save but to judge the world that the Lord will return (John 3:16-21 and John 5:19-24). He will exercise judgment on people with righteousness, righteousness, and according to His faithfulness (Ps 45:1-6).
Indeed, the faithful here continue to give course to their joy, which shows that the thought of the Lord, in warning them, was not to silence this joy (Ps 95:7-11); and they invite the whole earth to share it. Circumstances call for “a new hymn.” And the Jews themselves consider the “new hymns” to belong to the days of the Messiah, that is, to the time of the authority of the Son of man, to the “world to come,” in the words of the apostle. Moreover, just as there was a hymn at the time of creation (Job 38:7), so a new and richer hymn will greet the establishment of the kingdom, this time of refreshment, of restoration, when creation itself will enjoy the freedom of glory (Rom 8:21).
‘Sing to the Lord a new hymn.’ This beginning shows that the psalmist exhorts the whole world, not just the Israelites, to exercise devotion. Nor could it be done unless the gospel was universally disseminated as a means of transmitting the knowledge of God. ForPaul’s word must necessarily be true, “How shall they invoke him in whom they have not believed?” (Rom 10:14). The same Apostle proves the call of the Gentiles, bearing witness to it: “Praise the Lord, you Gentiles, with his people” – from which it follows that communion in faith is linked to the joint celebration of praise, (Rom 15:11.) In addition, the psalmist needs a new hymn, not one that was common, and had been raised before. He must therefore refer to an unusual demonstration of divine goodness. So when Isaiah speaks of the restoration of the Church, which was wonderful and incredible, he said, “Sing to the Lord a song of new water” (Isaiah 42:10). The psalmist suggests that the time had come when God would erect His kingdom in the world in an unexpected way. He again suggests that all nations would share God’s favor. He calls them everywhere to show his salvation, and, by wanting to celebrate it day by day, would mean that he was not evanescent in nature, but as he should last forever.
‘For the Lord is great and deserves to be praised. He describes in particular this God that men would have to celebrate Him, and this because the pagan nations were inclined to confuse themselves in error on this subject. So that the whole world can unite in true religion, it points to the only God who deserves universal praise. This is a point of the utmost importance. Unless men are held back by the respect due to them, they can only dishonor Him all the more as they try to worship Him. We must observe this order if we do not want to desecrate the name of God and classify ourselves among the undecated men, who present the gods of their own invention. By gods in the verse can mean (Psalm 95:3,) either angels or idols. As God, so to speak, sends rays of himself throughout the world through his angels, these reflect some sparks of his divinity. For men, once again, by framing idols, gods who have no existence are shaped. The psalmist would convince them that it was a mistake to attribute excessive honor to angels or idols, thereby undermining the glory of the one true God. He condemns pagan nations of manifest infatuation, on the grounds that their gods are vanity. The great point of the psalmist is to show that, as divinity is truly found only in the one Creator of the world. Some may wonder: Should angels therefore be considered nothing and vanity, simply because many have been deceived into considering them gods? Weare harming the angels when we give them this honor that is due only to God.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
A song for the Lord who is coming:
· New man, a new song on his lips
Ps 33:3 Sing him a new hymn! Make your instruments and voices sound! Ps 96:1 Sing a new hymn to the Lord! Sing to the Lord, all of you, inhabitants of the earth! Ps 98:1 Psalm. Sing to the Lord a new hymn! Because he did wonders. His right and holy arm came to his aid. Isa 42:10 Sing to the Lord a new hymn, Sing his praises at the ends of the earth, You who sail on the sea and you who populate it, Islands and inhabitants of the islands! Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb, saying: Your works are great and admirable, Lord God Almighty! Your ways are just and true, king of the nations!
· Glorifying God, the duty to
-By praise Ps 22:24 You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All of you, Jacob’s posterity, glorify him! Tremble before him, all of you, posterity of Israel!
-Through the good works Mt 5:16 May your light shine before men in this way, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
-Bearing fruit Jn 15:8 If you bear much fruit, this is how my Father will be glorified, and you will be my disciples.
-Through spiritual unity Rom 15:6 so that all together, with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-By a complete consecration 1 Cor 6.20 Because you have been redeemed at a great price. So glorify God in your body and mind, which belong to God.
· Wonders of God
Ex 4:21 Jehovah said to Moses, “As you go back to Egypt, see all the wonders I put in your hand: you will do them before Pharaoh. And I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. Joshua 3:5 Said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow jehovah will do wonders in your midst. Ps 77:15 You are the God who does wonders; You have manifested among the people your power. Dn 4:3 How great are his signs! how powerful are his wonders! His reign is an eternal reign, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. Acts 6:8 Stephen, full of grace and power, performed wonders and great miracles among the people.
· God the Truth
Dt 32:4 He is the rock; his works are perfect, for all his ways are just; He is a faithful God without iniquity, He is just and upright. 2 Sam 7:28 Now, Lord Lord, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have announced this grace to your servant. Ps 146:6 He made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is there. He keeps fidelity forever. Rm 3.4 Far from it! May God, on the contrary, be recognized as true, and every man as a liar, according to whether it is written: That you may be found righteous in your words, and that you may triumph when you are judged. Hb 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may find a powerful encouragement, whose only refuge has been to grasp the hope that was offered to us.
From all the above, we note that this psalm is found in 1 Ch 16, where it is part of this magnificent composition, this melodious concert of hymns and songs of joy that David and Israel prepared for the day when the ark entered into its rest, a type of kingdom here celebrated in anticipation. Everything will contribute to the joy of this final scene. Just as in Revelation 5, the redeemed, the angelic armies, all the creatures who are in heaven, on earth, below the earth, and in the sea, unite their voices, so here, all are invited to sing the thousand-year-old hymn, in a universal concert of praise. Ps. 96 calls the whole earth to enter into the spirit of the eternal gospel: all must recognize the Lord; the gods of the nations are vanity! In Ps. 95, the invitation was made as a companionship: “Come, let us sing, let us kneel!” Here it is said to those who are far away: “Sing to the Lord… tell among the nations of his glory.” The Lord is the Creator; and his excellence is then declared, but it is in his forecourts, in Israel on earth, that he is known. The nations are again invited to recognize him there, to worship him in accordance with the order established in his house on earth, for the Lord reigns, the world is strengthened; He will exercise judgment over peoples with righteousness. This introduces the invitation to all the created world to rejoice in a chorus of praise before jehovah, for he comes to judge the earth in righteousness and according to his faithfulness. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the Lord is the righteous and holy King.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.