Psalm 96:10

Psalm 96 stands among the psalms that celebrate the LORD as King (Psalms 93 and 95 to 99), which ring with the cry “The LORD reigneth”. It begins by calling all the earth to sing a new song and to declare his glory among the heathen (Psalm 96:1–3). It then sets the LORD high above the idols of the nations (Psalm 96:4–6) and summons the peoples to give him glory and to worship him in his courts. Verse 10 gives the message they are to carry, and verses 11 to 13 call the whole creation to answer it with joy.

“Say among the heathen” is a command to God’s people, and the heathen are the gôwy, the nations or Gentiles, all the peoples outside Israel (in the plural, goyim). The message is meant for every tribe and tongue. In a world where each nation served its own gods, thought to hold sway within its own land or people, it was a bold thing to announce that the LORD rules over all of them. The psalm has already said why: “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5). The living God who made the heavens is King of the whole world, so Israel had news for the whole world. The same missionary heart beats in God’s call through Isaiah: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22). It comes to its full expression when the risen Christ sends his disciples to “teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

The heart of the message is “the LORD reigneth”. The verb mâlak means to reign or to be king, and here it speaks of God’s kingship as a present fact. He is ruling now, over all creation, all peoples and all circumstances, and every rival claim, whether of a human ruler or of a false god, gives way before his. Psalm 93 opens with the same cry: “The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty” (Psalm 93:1).

“The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved” ties the stability of the world to the reign of God. The verb kûwn speaks of something made firm, secure and lasting. The LORD who reigns upholds the world he made, and its order holds because he holds it. Psalm 93 joins the two truths in the same way: “the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.”

People ask what this means in a world of earthquakes, wars and constant change. The promise is about the hand that holds the world. The earth still shakes and the nations still rage, yet the world’s existence, purpose and end are fixed by God, and no force can overturn them. Creation endures as long as he wills, and it serves his saving purposes to the end. Hebrews speaks of a final shaking after which “those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12:27), and believers receive a kingdom that stands for ever. In the New Testament this upholding is the work of the Son, for by him all things were created and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:16–17).

The last line of verse 10 moves from the King’s rule to his justice: “he shall judge the people righteously.” His reign brings both a settled world and moral accountability. The word for “righteously”, mêyshâr, means evenness or straightness, and figuratively uprightness or equity. God’s verdicts are level and impartial, and he judges every people by the same true standard, in keeping with his holy character.

Another psalm of this group ends in almost the same words: “with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity” (Psalm 98:9). For those who suffer wrong this is a comfort, because justice will prevail. For those who do wrong it is a warning, because accountability is certain. Verse 13 comes back to this judgment and says more about it.

When the news of God’s reign goes out, creation itself is called to answer: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.” The heavens, shâmayim, are the sky and everything above it, the stars and the heavenly bodies. They are to rejoice, sâmach, to feel and show great joy. The earth, ʼerets, with its dry land, mountains, valleys and all that lives on it, is to be glad, gîyl, a word meaning to rejoice, for which Strong’s gives a root sense of spinning round in strong feeling. The second line says again what the first said, with a fresh word, as Hebrew poetry often does for emphasis.

Then the sea, yâm, is told to roar. Strong’s ties the word for sea to a root meaning to roar, from the noise of its surf, so the sea is called to do with gladness what it already does by nature. The verb here, râʻam, means to tumble or be violently stirred, and it is used of thunder as well as of crashing waves. The waters, the most turbulent part of creation, are brought under God’s command and made to sound out his majesty. “The fulness thereof”, mᵉlôʼ, means all that fills it: its creatures, its waters and its hidden depths. Everything in the sea is included in the call.

Heavens, earth and sea name the great realms of creation, so the whole world is summoned. The psalm was likely sung in the temple, by a people who lived close to the land and knew the thunder and the sea as displays of God’s power. Where the nations around them tied the powers of nature to many gods, Israel praised one Creator and King over heaven, earth and sea alike.

Verse 12 brings the call onto the land: “Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein.” The field, sâdeh, comes from a root meaning to spread out. It is open, flat country, often the land under the plough that feeds people. “All that is therein” takes in its crops, its animals and all the life it supports. It is to be joyful, ʻâlaz, to jump for joy, to exult and triumph, an outward and lively delight in its Creator and his righteous rule.

“Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.” The trees of the wood, ʻêts yaʻar, are the forest trees, the wild growth beyond the farmer’s care. Their verb, rânan, means to give a ringing cry or shout, usually for joy, or to sing aloud. Strong’s gives its first sense as a creaking or shrill sound, and it is easy to hear the rustling of the leaves and the swaying of the branches as the forest’s song. Isaiah uses the same picture when “all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12). The tended field and the wild forest together cover the whole land, so all of it, cultivated and untamed, joins the praise of the God who rules both.

The reason comes in the next words, which run straight on into verse 13: the trees rejoice “before the LORD: for he cometh”. Creation’s joy is joy in his presence, at the news that he is on his way.

“For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth.” The doubled words (ki-ba, ki-ba in Hebrew) make the coming certain and urgent, like a herald calling the same news twice. The LORD who reigns now will come to bring his rule to its completion, and his purpose in coming is to judge the earth, every inhabitant and every part of the world.

The verb is shâphaṭ, a primitive root meaning to judge, decide or govern, to pronounce sentence. Judging and governing belong together in the word, so the Judge who comes is the King of verse 10 exercising his rule. He comes to give his verdict on the whole earth.

He will judge “the world with righteousness”. The word tsedeq means rightness, righteousness and justice, and it is used of right conduct, right judgment, honest speech and even just weights. His judgment matches his holy character, so every verdict is right and fair and every wrong is answered.

He will judge “the people with his truth”. The word ʼĕmûwnâh, which the KJV renders “truth” here, means firmness, reliability and faithfulness. God judges in faithfulness to his own character and to his word, and he judges things as they really are. Every hidden thing comes into his light and every falsehood is exposed. The last two lines pair the world with the people and righteousness with truth, so his judgment is universal in its reach and perfect in its integrity.

The same hope runs through Scripture. “And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness” (Psalm 9:8). Isaiah promises a righteous King who “shall not judge after the sight of his eyes” (Isaiah 11:3–4), and of whom he says, “with righteousness shall he judge the poor” (Isaiah 11:4). Amos cries, “let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). The psalms of the LORD’s kingship sound it again and again, from his everlasting rule in Psalm 93 to his holiness in Psalm 99. At the end of the Bible stands the great white throne, where the final judgment takes place (Revelation 20:11–13).

The New Testament shows us who it is who reigns and who is coming. The risen Jesus says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18), and the confession “that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11) is the New Testament form of “the LORD reigneth”. The heavens, earth and sea that are called to rejoice were made by him: “All things were made by him” (John 1:3), and “by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth” (Colossians 1:16). Through his cross God reconciles all things to himself (Colossians 1:20). The new song with which the psalm opens looks ahead to the new covenant he made by his death and resurrection, which opens a new age of redemption for people and for creation alike.

The judgment of verse 13 is given to him. “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22), “and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:27). His first coming already brought light into the world and exposed sin (John 3:19). The full judgment waits for his return, when the Son of man comes “in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). He “shall judge the quick and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1), and John sees him on a white horse, “called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11), with the very righteousness and faithfulness of this verse. On that day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:10–11).

“The LORD reigneth” gives you somewhere to stand when the world feels unsteady. Final control rests with the God who holds the world firm, and his kingdom stands for ever. That lets you live in confident hope, trusting his purposes and his timing.

The command to say it among the nations still stands. You tell it in words to people who have yet to know him, near and far, and you show it by a life that reflects his righteousness and truth.

His coming judgment speaks to you in two ways. It gives you peace about the wrongs beyond your power to right, because he sees all and will set all things right. It also calls you to integrity now, to do justice and speak truth, since the Judge who is coming judges with righteousness and with his truth.

And when you next hear the surf, or walk past a field or under the trees, you can remember that they are called to praise the same Lord you praise, and that caring for them is part of honouring their Maker. You can join their song and look forward with them to the day he comes.