Psalm 96

By Bro David Petersen

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.

A New Song

As we have seen many times in the Psalms, singing is associated with joyous praise.

A new day brings a new wonder from the Lord, which deserves a new song to be sung about it. Each of his mighty works deserves a new song to be sung about it. If you were saved you can sing about your salvation. Did you pray to the Lord for a lost soul? Did the Lord save that person? If so, then sing a new song. The Lord is establishing a new work in Delta, Colorado: sing a new song. Sing a new song for each of his mighty works.

Shew Forth His Salvation

The psalm encourages us to proclaim his salvation day to day and to declare his glory and his wonderful deeds among the nations. This part of the psalm is about witnessing and mission work.

I’m not sure where the expression “Would you like to receive Jesus as your personal savior?” came from. I know that it has some merit in that it characterizes a relationship with Christ as being personal and not merely formal or ceremonial. Jesus is not some far off savior who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. His relationship with his sheep is intimate and so his people do receive him as a personal savior. However I’m not sure that the expression “would you like to receive Jesus as your personal savior?” always conveys the right idea to American society today. It lacks any notion of God’s requirements for salvation, namely repentance and belief. The Bible does say "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1:12. But the question here is "received him as what?". We receive him as Lord not as our personal assistant.

My “personal savior”? Well let’s see? I meet with my personal trainer on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then I have an appointment with my personal financial advisor on Mondays. Hmm? Let’s try to find a slot for this personal savior. I might be able to fit him into my schedule sometime starting next month. How about the 2 nd Sunday of each month. Does that work for him?

The Vocabulary of Salvation

When I look at God’s messengers inviting people to be saved in the Bible; I don’t see anyone mentioning anything about a “personal savior”. Instead the salvation message usually sounds something like this:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:15.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt 3:12.

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31.

“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:30-31.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom 10:13.

From the above verses we see that the vocabulary of God’s message of salvation includes terms such as: repentance, judgment, should not perish, unquenchable fire, God so loved, believe the gospel, God raised him from the dead, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, call upon him.

These are the words that should spew from our mouths in abundance when we “shew forth his salvation from day to day”. These are not magic words that we say like some sort of incantation to get someone saved. Instead they express the concepts of salvation: repentance and faith in the risen Lord.

The Lord’s church tailors its message to fit its audience. The same truth is preached to all but the approach can be different depending on the hearers’ frame of reference. Nevertheless our gospel message must use language that expresses salvation in God’s own terms as revealed in the scriptures.

All The Earth

Throughout the Old Testament there is abundant teaching that God would bring his salvation to the gentiles. Here “all the earth” is commanded to sing a new song unto the Lord. In the New Testament we see the early church bringing the gospel to the gentiles. The New Testament writers did not invent the idea that God would redeem the nations unto himself

Rom 15:8-12

When Paul wrote to the church at Rome he dealt with Jewish church members who were not accepting the gentile members of the church. Here he uses 4 Old Testament verses to make a scriptural case that the Christ would become a servant for God to both Jews and Gentiles.

8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:

9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name (Psalm 18:49).

10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people (Duet 34:43).

11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people (Psalm 117).

12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust (Isaiah 11:1, 10).

Among The Heathen

The word ‘heathen’ comes from the Hebrew ‘goy’ and means people or nation. Here it refers to the gentiles. It does not mean a backward or primitive people; although the nation of Israel was largely prejudiced against the gentiles.

4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

He Is To Be Feared

The term “fear of the Lord” can have different meanings. It can mean “reverent awe” or it can mean just plain “fear”. The meaning depends on the context of the verse and who fears the Lord. In the context of Psalm 96 the term “feared” is addressed to idolaters and it means exactly what is says: fear. Idolaters are in danger of God’s judgment and literally need to fear the Lord.

The word feared comes from the Hebrew ‘yare' (yaw-ray'); a primitive root; to fear; morally, to revere; causative: to frighten:

In the KJV - affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

According to Vine, ‘yare’ means “to be afraid, stand in awe, fear”. It may indicate being afraid of something or someone.

Sometimes “the fear of the Lord” is described as “reverential awe”. There are uses and contexts of the term in the Bible where that description is accurate. However I believe that in a general sense “reverential awe” is too weak of term to express the full depth of the meaning of “the fear of God”.

Fear And Trembling

You can see in this Psalm how fear of the Lord is associated with trembling in verse 9. The word ‘fear’ in verse 9 below is actually a different Hebrew word, ‘chuwl’ and it means to tremble. You don’t tremble out of reverential awe. You tremble in fear.

Still not convinced? Let me give you another example where ‘fear’ means fear.

Exodus 20:18-21

This passage follows account of when the Lord gave the 10 commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed <’nuwa’: fell back, reeled, trembled with fear>, and stood afar off.

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear <yare> not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear <yirah> may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

NIV: "Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

TLB: "Don't be afraid," Moses told them, "for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power, so that from now on you will be afraid to sin against him!"

21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

The word fear is used twice in verse 20. The first instance is the word ‘yare’. In the second instance it comes from the Hebrew ‘yirah’ which is the feminine form of yare. It all comes down to this. If you know the awesome power of the Lord, you should be afraid to sin against him.

Sometimes people don’t want to call fear ‘fear’ because they think it carries a negative connotation. But the fear of the Lord is not like being terrified by an abusive husband. The fear of the Lord is based on his awesome power. God loves his people and uses his power to work out all things for their good. So there is no need to fear that God will harm his people. Moses summed it up well in Exodus 20:20: if we are in a right covenant relationship with God (i.e. we are saved), then we have nothing to fear from him.

Saved From What?

Jesus put it like this “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt 10:28.

When we are saved what are we saved from? We are saved from God and his righteous judgment. Those who are not saved are in danger of having both body and soul cast into hell. Under those conditions they should literally fear God.

1 John 4:17-18

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

We know the love of God and we believe him when he tells us that he loves us. We can have confidence on the day of judgment. Fear has to do with punishment. But our relationship with God is based on love, not fear and punishment. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us.

Heb 11:7

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Heb 12:28-29

28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Heb 10:26-27

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Rev 1:17-18

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

The LORD is the living God. He’s not a lifeless idol and he can back up his word with action. He proved this to be the case by nothing less than creating the universe.

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.

When David says, “give unto the LORD”, the idea is to ascribe unto the LORD. The Lord doesn’t literally need us to give him anything, but the call is to recognize and acknowledge his glory and strength. This is the very nature of what it means to be created in the image of God.

Ants On A Stick

In the past some people have thought that it was human intelligence that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. They thought that it was the application of our intelligence in areas such as the use of tools that distinguished humans from animals. But then they found that chimpanzees were capable of taking a stick and placing it down into an anthole to get ants on the stick so that they could eat them. There are also trained gorillas which have developed fairly extensive vocabularies, understanding thousands of words.

However, it is not our superior intelligence, ability to speak or even the ability to walk on two legs that makes us in the image of God. Creatures that are made in his image have the ability to appreciate him as God. Creatures made in the image of God are able to "ascribe unto him glory and strength." They alone in the animal kingdom face a choice of whether to "give unto the LORD the glory due his name".

A gorilla may eat ants on a stick and wave bye-bye, but he is never going to praise the name of Jesus and mean it. Being created in the image of God, mankind is capable of having a relationship with God. We are accountable to him for the decisions we make in this life and what we do with our lives. Being created in the image of God places choices before us and responsibility upon us. We have the opportunity to become the sons of God. We can know God as our Father. It is through Jesus Christ that we come to have this relationship with God as a father.

9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

Worship The Lord

What is worship? Does God accept any type of worship? We turn to the Gospel of John for answers to these questions.

John 4:21-24

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Nor Yet At Jerusalem

Where does worship start? Does it start when we walk in the church house door? Does it start when the song leader says “Please open your hymnal”? Worship is not about being in a certain physical place.

In Spirit

The emphasis in not upon the place in which we worship but instead on where our minds are with respect to the Lord. True worship is done with the spirit, the heart and mind, not just via external forms. We are to offer up spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet 2:5). Spiritual worship is where the heart is offered to God and where we do not depend only on external formality for acceptance. It is done with a sincere mind, praying without ceasing, rejoicing always, in everything giving thanks.

In Truth

True worship in the New Testament age will not occur through the shadows and types and not by means of ceremonial sacrifices and bloody offerings, but in the manner typified by these things. And it is done in accordance with the truth of God's word revealed in the scriptures.

God Is A Spirit

He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. He seeks a spiritual form of worship; the offering of the soul rather then the formal offering of the body in ritualistic ceremonies. It is a spiritual service rather than a lip service. True spiritual worship expresses inner love and devotion. It is not a physical act or material offering, but an attitude of mind. This attitude can be expressed by physical acts such as going to church services, but the true worship begins with the heart.

A Living Sacrifice
"By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Heb 9:12. Christ fulfilled the types that were portrayed in the Jewish temple worship. He entered into the real holy place in heaven by his own blood. And so the old sacrificial forms of worship which pictured the coming sacrifice of Christ have passed away. Now we don't have to bring a lamb to sacrifice when we engage in external-public worship. Instead, we are to "present our bodies a living sacrifice" which is our spiritual service "in spirit and in truth".

Rom 12:1
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Paul uses the oxymoron "living sacrifice" to describe what acceptable worship is. A sacrifice that is offered is usually supposed to be dead. But we are to present our bodies a "living sacrifice". I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

The Greek word here for 'service' is 'latreian' which is another word for worship. The idea is an act or spiritual service of worship. It means to yield the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness (Rom 6:13).

This service is described as "reasonable". The word reasonable comes from the Greek word "logikos". We get our word "logical" from it. It implies the use of reason or logic. If your mind is working properly, you will understand that it is "reasonable" to serve God. It makes sense.

Logikos gets its root from the same Greek word that is often translate "the word" in the New Testament. The root is "logos". Only that service which is according to his written word is acceptable to God. It must be spiritual worship done "in spirit and in truth".

For more information on the nature of worship, click here.

In The Beauty Of Holiness

Jesus gave the parable of the man who came to the king’s wedding without a wedding garment. When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed the man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen." (Matt 22:11-14).

Whitewashed Tombs

Likewise, we need to be properly clothed when we go to worship the Lord. I'm not referring to a suit and tie or a fine dress. If you want to get dressed up for church that's fine, no problem. Just make sure that you are not the Pharisees whom Jesus likened to "whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleaness". In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matt 23:27-28).

But I am not referring to outward beauty. This psalm calls us to " worthip the LORD in the beauty of holiness." Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of holiness (1 Peter 3:3).

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matt 23:25-26).

Holiness is under-rated in our society. Holiness needs a good PR campaign because I'm here to tell you that holiness is cool. No I'm not referring to an outward pompousness like the Pharisees had. I mean an inward purity characterized by the fruit of the spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

If you have these spiritual fruits on the inside shines outwardly.

Rev 19:6-9

6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

The Lord has a monopoly on holiness. He is the sole supplier of it. There is no one else you can go to for it. And you can’t manufacture holiness your own. Among all the “gods” of this world, the Lord is the only one who even advertises and markets holiness. Their market research indicates that holiness isn’t a feature that sells.

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.

The LORD Reigneth

The LORD hasn't retired and moved to south Florida. He is still in charge. His power keeps the sun shining and the earth spinning. In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). By his power all things hold together (Col 1:17).

If you look around America today it might not appear that way. They kicked the Lord out of our public schools and hardly anyone said a word. He was expelled from our universities and now we are reaping the consequences. We didn't lose the battle. We didn't even put up a decent fight.

However the Lord’s rule over the world “shall not be moved”. The idea is that of a kingdom that is firmly established and he cannot be overthrown. As Paul said “he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31).

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness 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.

Let The Field Be Joyful

Rom 8:19-23

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

It’s a dog eat dog world out there. It’s survival of the fittest. The whole creation is corrupted because of sin. It is subjected to futility and frustration. It cannot reach its fullness. It’s in bondage to decay. But when the Lord comes to judge the earth, the creation will be released from its bondage just as the sons of God will be delivered from the bondage of corruption. And so “the heavens will rejoice and the earth will be glad”. It will be a joyous time for the entire creation.

The Stones Would Cry Out

Will the field literally be joyful and the trees of the woods literally rejoice? Just food for thought here, but Jesus said something during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem that made it seem possible.

Luke 19:37-40

37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

It could be that Jesus is speaking proverbially here in Luke 19:40, but I believe Jesus means that the stones would literally cry out. That is because God directed the praise that he was receiving. It was absolutely appropriate and necessary for the triumphal entry of the Messiah. Also, it was the literal fulfillment of Psalm 118:25.

It is likely that David is using metaphors in verses 11 and 12 where he describes the “trees rejoicing” and is not speaking literally. However it would be just like the Lord to blow a few people’s minds by causing the trees to literally rejoice. “With God all things are possible. God can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham, so he can out of the mouths of those children perfect praise (Luke 3:8, Matt 21:16).

His Truth

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.

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." John 17:17. In his prayer, Jesus stated that the Father's word in truth.

In John chapter 12 Jesus taught that it is this word of truth that will be the standard by which men will be judged in the last day.

John 12:46-50
6 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

What is truth? How is it defined? The Bible records how a certain man asked the question over 2000 years ago. That man was Pontius Pilate.

John 18:37-38
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

What is truth? In Latin: "Quid es veritas?". This is a question that mankind has been struggling with all through history. A controversy rages today. In the 21st century, many people believe that truth is relative. The notion of absolute truth is often discarded for this relativism. The modern conventional wisdom is that what is true for you may not be true for me. It is therefore up to each individual to decide what is true from their own relative position.

Imagine that you are about to take a drink of your favorite refreshment. I suddenly stop you from drinking and warn you that the liquid you are about to consume contains a lethal dose of arsenic and will kill you instantly. How will you react mentally? Will you interpret my statement as being my own personal perception of the truth and that what is true for me may not be true for you? Will you disagree with "my" truth and dismiss it as inapplicable to you? Or will you seek to ascertain whether I am telling the truth in an absolute sense or not? Will your mind attempt to judge whether my statement is correct or not? Truth takes on importance when there are consequences to believing it or not.

The downfall of Relativism is that it has a major logical flaw: Relativism is self-contradictory. The main premise of Relativism is: "There is no absolute truth". But upon examination we find the premise to be self-refuting. There is no absolute truth, EXCEPT the truth that there is no absolute truth!

What is truth?

Jesus declared that HE is the truth. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the TRUTH, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me." John 14:6.

Notice that Jesus said I am THE way and THE truth; not A way and A truth. According to Jesus, there is only one way to the Father and only one truth concerning that way. The truth is that there are not many ways to God. God has provided the way for us to reach him. That way is Jesus. God is God and we are not. God dictates how we are to approach him. When we reject God's way and insist on our own way, we demonstrate our own arrogance and pride.

One way, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God: that is the truth.

For a more in depth study of "his truth," please see "What Is Truth?"

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