Psalm 96 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 96 Short Summary:

Psalm 96 is a call to worship the God who will judge the world. God is worthy of worship from His people, citizens of foreign nations, and from the natural world. He is the true God in a world full of idols. He is described in Psalm 96 with adjectives like splendid, glorious, holy, and righteous.

Psalm 96 Summary

AUTHOR:

• The author of Psalm 96 is unknown.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Known New Testament References.

THEMES:

• God is worthy of worship from all sources.

DEFINITIONS:

• Ascribe (96:7) – To regard a quality belonging to someone or something. In Psalm 96, the psalmist ascribed strength and glory to God.

• Equity (96:10) - Being fair and impartial.

OUTLINE:

• SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG (96:1-13):

  • Psalm 96 is a call for all people to worship the Lord.

  • “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day” (96:1-2).

  • The psalmist wanted people to spread the news of the greatness of God across the nations. He wanted foreign nations to know that their idols were nothing compared to the God of Israel.

  • He wrote, “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens” (96:5).

  • He wanted God to receive the glory and worship He deserved.

  • “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!” (96:9).

  • Not only was it right to worship the Lord it was also wise, because God intends to judge the earth. His judgement will be righteous, faithful, and fair.

  • So the psalmist’s advice was for all people to join in with the creation (96:11-12) in exulting the Lord of the earth.

APPLICATION:

• In the past couple decades, there has been a resurgence of spiritualists, neopagans, and new age teachers promoting the idea that we need to bring ourselves into alignment with nature and the universe.

• To that I say, amen!

• How does one go about aligning themselves with nature?

• This psalm makes it pretty clear. Aligning yourself with nature means worshipping the God who created nature (96:10-11) and acknowledging Him as the Lord who will judge the earth.

• “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth” (96:11-13a).

• To try to align yourself with nature, without recognizing the God nature worships is never going to work.