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Psalm 96 is for royalty. It should start with timpani and end with a trumpet. (If you don’t have a drummer or trumpeter handy, read on.) This enthronement psalms (93; 95-99) calls the people to praise God (verses 1-3, 7-10a, 11-12a) and gives reasons why God is worthy of praise (verses 4-6, 10b, 12b-13). Taken … Continue reading “Psalm 96:1-9 [10-13] Commentary by Nancy Koester”

The Lord is king! One of the most consistent, counter-cultural, and evangelical messages of the Bible is that the Lord reigns as king, the crucified-and-resurrected Christ is king — of our lives, of God’s church, of the world, of history, of the universe. Which means, of course, that we are not. You are not. I … Continue reading “Psalm 96 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”

God’s rule extends to everyone, everywhere, and for all time. This is the remarkable claim of Psalm 96 as it summons the entire world to acknowledge the reign of God. In the ancient Near East, many kings made similarly comprehensive claims about the extent of their own rule. Indeed, it was a common feature of … Continue reading “Psalm 96 Commentary by Joel LeMon”

Psalm 96:1-9 calls all people of the earth and indeed the earth itself to sing praise to God and to worship God in God’s temple. This section of the psalm is dominated by imperatives that call forth that praise: “sing to the Lord;” “tell of his salvation;” “declare his glory;” “ascribe glory and strength;” and … Continue reading “Psalm 96:1-9 Commentary by Jerome Creach”

According to 1 Chronicles 16, when David brought the ark to Jerusalem, he also appointed Asaph and other Levites to sing praises to God. Their praise included Psalm 96 (minus the opening line and several others — see 1 Chronicles 16:22-33). In short, the Chronicler at least suggests the possibility that major portions of Psalm … Continue reading “Psalm 96:1-9 Commentary by J. Clinton McCann”

Psalm 95 appears in a grouping of psalms that focus on the reign of God (Psalms 93, 95-99). These psalms are sometimes categorized as “enthronement psalms” because of their focus on God’s eternal kingship. One popular theory about their origins is that they were recited in the Jerusalem temple during a New Year festival that … Continue reading “Psalm 95 Commentary by Jerome Creach”

How odd it is to be hearing and singing Psalm 95 in the middle of Lent! The “preacher” who composed the book of Ecclesiastes wrote famously wrote that “for everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). And just to be sure we understood, he added, “a time to … Continue reading “Psalm 95 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”

Psalm 95 appears in a grouping of psalms that focus on the reign of God (Psalms 93, 95-99). These psalms are sometimes categorized as “enthronement psalms” because of their focus on God’s eternal kingship. One popular theory about their origins is that they were recited in the Jerusalem temple during a New Year festival that … Continue reading “Psalm 95:1-7a Commentary by Jerome Creach”

Psalm 95 is a bit unusual in that it is a hymn of praise that includes a prophetic warning, as do Psalms 50 and 81. The psalm’s combination of a double call to worship (the lectionary reading) and a prophetic word is best explained with a liturgical or festival setting. The psalm celebrates and interprets … Continue reading “Psalm 95:1-7a Commentary by W. H. Bellinger, Jr.”

Yahweh malak. After almost thirty years of ministering to the dead-language-impaired, I still marvel at the problems associated with the first two words of Psalm 93, two of the very first words one learns in the study of Hebrew. Virtually every translation simply and elegantly renders these words, as does the NRSV, “The LORD (“Yahweh”) … Continue reading “Psalm 93 Commentary by Mark Throntveit”