Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 5 (5)
Pray Psalm 96.1-4.
Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
Sing Psalm 96.1-4.
(Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above)
Sing to the LORD! O, bless His Name! All nations tell His glory!
Salvation’s tidings loud proclaim; let earth rehearse His story!
For God is greatly to be praised; His throne above all gods is raised!
Fear Him and sing His glory!
Read Psalm 96.1-13; meditate on verses 11-13.
Preparation
1. Why all the rejoicing in this psalm?
2. What must God’s people give Him?
Meditation
What a joyous psalm! Look at those verbs: Sing. Bless. Proclaim. Declare. See how the text from verse 5 onward enlarges the ideas contained in these. The joy that accompanies the day of salvation cannot be contained. We must rejoice in it, as will the nations of the world and the creation all around.
The work of the people of God is to proclaim the salvation of the Lord day to day (v. 2). We do so by our lives as much as by our words, showing Jesus to our world and being ready always to talk about Him. Thus the glory of the Lord spreads throughout the Personal Mission Fields of those who have the Lord’s salvation and reaches to all nations and peoples (v. 3).
God is our Maker and Sovereign, the only true God (vv. 5, 6). Honor, majesty, strength, and beauty are the Lord’s—here recalling other psalms with clear Messianic implications (cf. Pss. 27, 29, 93). Jesus brings the day of salvation to the world (1 Jn. 2.8), and He will bring the greater and final day of salvation when He comes to judge the world (vv. 10, 13).
Our duty, as the world moves toward that day, is to call the nations to fear the Lord and worship Him, to say unto them that Jesus reigns and His Kingdom is advancing on earth as it is in heaven (vv. 4, 9, 10). Even the creation will benefit from the day of salvation, as the freedom from sin we enjoy in Jesus impacts everything within the reach of our active will, including creation (Rom. 8.19-22). And at the second coming of Jesus, the final day of salvation, all of creation will be remade and perfected forever. No wonder the seas roar and fields and woods rejoice in anticipation of that day.
Let us do the same today and every day.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
Today’s psalmist most assuredly used up a month’s supply of words of obeisance in this one song!
Sing, bless, proclaim, declare, praise, fear, give glory, bring an offering, worship, tremble, rejoice, be glad, roar, and be joyful (Ps. 96.1-12).
And why are we to do this?
Because the One to Whom we are being obedient and showing our deepest respect
is He Who is the LORD God. The Judge of all the earth (2 Tim. 4.1).
“For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth” (Ps. 96.13).
“Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously’” (Ps. 96.10).
Jesus is coming to judge the world righteously.
“Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments…He… was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges…” (Rev. 19.1, 2, 11).
The psalmists all knew of this One Who would be coming to save, and keep, and judge His people.
God had been talking about Him since the beginning of time. As God told Moses:
“I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren,
and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My Name,
I will require it of him” (Deut. 18.18, 19).
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David,
and He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely.
And this is the Name by which it will be called:
‘The LORD our Righteousness’” (Jer. 33.14-16 ESV).
Jesus is that “good thing” (Jer. 33.14) God promised so long ago.
Jesus said: “He who believes in Me,
believes not in Me but in Him Who sent Me.
And he who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me.
I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness…
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—
the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father Who sent Me gave Me a command,
what I should say and what I should speak.
And I know that His command is everlasting life.
Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me,
so I speak” (Jn. 12.44-46, 48-50).
He is the Day of Reckoning and Salvation. Therefore we: sing to Him, bless His holy Name, proclaim His salvation, declare His glory, praise His beauty, fear and obey Him, give glory to Him, bring an offering for His work, worship His holiness, tremble as we work out our salvation, rejoice in His love, are glad for His forgiveness, roar like the sea with thankfulness, and are joyful for life with Him here and now and there and then.
Reflection
1. Jesus is coming again! How does this fact affect your daily walk with and work for the Lord?
2. Jesus has come, bringing the salvation of God! How does this fact affect your weekly planning?
3. Jesus has come, and I am His! How does this fact affect the conversations you have with others?
We are to hope and pray for that time, when Christ shall reign in righteousness over all nations. He shall rule in the hearts of men, by the power of truth, and the Spirit of righteousness. His coming draws nigh; this King, this Judge standeth before the door, but he is not yet come. The Lord will accept the praises of all who seek to promote the kingdom of Christ. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 96.10-13
Pray Psalm 96.5-13.
Praise the Lord that today is the day of salvation—the day to grow in Christ’s saving work and to proclaim it to others. And praise and thank Him for that great day of salvation yet to come.
Sing Psalm 96.5-13.
(Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above)
All other gods are idols vain; the LORD created heaven.
Splendor and strength with Him obtain; to Him be glory given!
All fam’lies, praise this mighty LORD! Give strength and glory to His Word;
exalt the LORD of heaven!
Bring off’rings sweet to Him, our LORD, in holy garments praise Him!
Tremble before Him, all the earth; among the nations raise Him!
The earth is fixed, it will not move; the peoples will His justice prove.
Exalt the LORD and praise Him!
Let heaven sing with lusty voice; let earth and sea sing sweetly!
Let fields and trees in Him rejoice, for He is coming swiftly
to judge the world in righteousness, the peoples in His faithfulness.
He comes; exalt Him greatly!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
