Missions-minded Worship
Psalms 96
We know that we are supposed to worship God, but do we know the reasons why we should do this?
#Worship
#holiness
Published January 23rd, 2020; Updated January 23rd, 2020
Notes
Main point summary
Arc
notes
Notes
I recognize that my arc may not be completely accurate, but I wanted to provide something for others to compare to their own work. I welcome your comments and critiques. In studying this passage, I found Derek Kidner's commentary to be a valuable resource.
Main point summary
We are to worship God by telling him of his greatness then by telling others of him.
Arc
editing
OT
Psalms 96:1-13
esv
nasb
mine
a Oh sing to the Lord b a new song;
a Sing to the Lord a b new song;
Sing a fresh new song of praise to YHWH!
sing to the Lord , all the earth!
Sing to the Lord , all the earth.
Everybody, sing to YHWH!
Sing to the Lord ,
Sing to the Lord ,
Sing to YHWH,
series
bless his name;
bless His name;
bless and praise his name.
c tell of his salvation from day to day.
a Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Proclaim the good news of his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
Tell of a His glory among the nations,
Talk of his glory among the people who do not know God and who do know him,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
THAT IS, tell of his wonderful awe-inspiring works to all people!
ideaexplanation
For d great is the Lord ,
For a great is the Lord
WHY? BECAUSE YHWH is great!
and e greatly to be praised ;
and b greatly to be praised;
BECAUSE YHWH is worthy of high praise
he is to be feared above f all gods.
He is to be c feared d above all gods.
BECAUSE YHWH is worthy of fear far beyond every other false god.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
For a all the gods of the peoples are 1 idols,
BECAUSE/FOR every false god of mankind is nothing but a worthless, meaningless idol made by men's hands,
but the Lord g made the heavens.
But b the Lord made the heavens.
BUT God is the Maker of all things!
Splendor and majesty are before him;
a Splendor and majesty are before Him,
BECAUSE YHWH is surrounded by splendor and majesty;
h strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
AND BECAUSE with YHWH is strength and beauty
alternative
ground
Ascribe to the Lord , O i families of the peoples,
1 Ascribe to the Lord , O a families of the peoples,
SO, give to God (not as though he needs anything from us but because he is worthy--recognize Him)
j ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
1 b Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Give YHWH glory and strength (credit him with these things)
Ascribe to the Lord k the glory due his name;
1 Ascribe to the Lord the a glory of His name;
Give YHWH the glory that he deserves.
bring l an offering,
Bring an 2 b offering
Bring an offering to him
and m come into his courts!
and come into His courts.
and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in n the splendor of holiness; 1
a Worship the Lord in 1 holy attire;
There, humbly bow before YHWH A) in the beauty of his holiness or B) in holy apparel. (Recognize that this God is holy and worship him thusly.)
o tremble before him, all the earth!
b Tremble before Him , all the earth.
Tremble and stand in awe and fear before this glorious and holy God, all you peoples of the world.
Say among the nations,
Say among the nations,
Tell the people of every nation that
p “The Lord reigns !
“ a The Lord reigns;
YHWH rules and reigns as King! (He rules the world with truth and grace!)
Yes, the world is established;
Indeed, the a world is firmly established,
Yes, the world in (now/finally) established,
it shall never be moved ;
it will not be moved;
and it will never be moved.
negativepositive
he will q judge the peoples with equity.”
He will b judge the peoples with 1 equity.”
For, God will judge the peoples of earth with perfect justice and uprightness.
Let r the heavens be glad,
Let the a heavens be glad,
SO, let the heavens and skies be glad,
and let s the earth rejoice ;
and let the b earth rejoice;
and let the earth rejoice!
let t the sea roar , and all that fills it;
Let c the sea 1 roar, and 2 all it contains;
Let the oceans and all that is int them roar in praise,
let u the field exult , and everything in it!
Let the a field exult, and all that is in it.
and let the fields and everything in them exult and rejoice!
Then shall all v the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord ,
Then all the b trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the Lord ,
AND then all the trees of the forests sing for joy before YHWH
for he comes ,
a for He is coming,
BECAUSE he is coming.
for he comes w to judge the earth.
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He is coming to judge the earth.
actionpurpose
He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
b He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.
And he will judge the peoples of earth in his righteousness and faithfulness.
actionmanner
inference
bilateral
in Psa 29:1-2 the same command is given to heavenly beings; here it is given to people (Gentiles)
EVERYBODY SING: a command to everybody on Earth to sing to YHWH in certain ways based on the his greatness, fear, creative work, and divine character.
see Psa 93:1 and Psa 104:1
"Its robust challenge to the accepted ideas of the day invites the Christian to be equally unimpressed by currently revered nonsense, whatever its pedigree or patronage." - Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), 380.
Everybody sing: 1 Everybody tell everybody: 2-3
Summary: it is God's command that everyone everywhere worship him and praise him b/c of man's sinful condition, he does not and cannot do this. it is therefore God's work in the hearts of people to enable them to obey this command, which he does by the witness and testimony of those he has already changed. thus, the command for all the earth to sing praise to God is partly accomplished by the people of God but they are to do so with missionary desire so that others may hear, believe, and join in the new song.
to BLESS God is to PRAISE God see Psalm 34:1; Psalm 145:1-2; Psalm 145:21; Psalm 113:1-2
The LXX translates with the word from which we get "evangelize"
Worship directed towards God (1-2b) Worshiping God by telling of him to men (2c-3)
REASONS to worship YHWH: 1. Because YHWH is great 2. Because YHWH is worthy of much praise 3. Because YHWH is worthy of fear 4. Because YHWH is unlike all other gods 5. Because YHWH made all things 6. Because of YHWH's splendor and majesty 7. Because of YHWH's strength and beauty
Worthless idols God = Elohim idols = el-il = insignificant; vain; like the bee among birds Most translations simply render as "idols" >when we think of idols we usually think of statues or pagan gods; an object representing deity >but when OT uses the word as a derogatory term (i.e. worthless, non-entities) --"they are nothing...nobodies...worthless" In Job 13:4 - "You are worthless physicians" In Jer 14:14 - "they are prophesying... worthless divination"
Psalm 115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
can't decide if this is a series (all separate acts 1-3) or an ID/Exp (that 2c-3b is further explanation of 1-2b)
discourse
Comments
Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.