Give It Up For God

Psalm 96:7-13

7O nations of the world, recognize the LORD;

recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.

8Give to the LORD the glory he deserves!

Bring your offering and come to worship him.

9Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.

Let all the earth tremble before him.

10Tell all the nations that the LORD is king.

The world is firmly established and cannot be shaken.

He will judge all peoples fairly.

11Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice!

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!

12Let the fields and their crops burst forth with joy!

Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise

13before the LORD!

For the LORD is coming!

He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness

and all the nations with his truth.

The Ark of God made its ascent up Mount Zion, into the special tent that David had prepared. People sang and shouted, trumpets blasted, and David danced. They gave gifts of food, and the Levites sang a song of thanksgiving that David had written for the occasion.

Apparently the song was so well received that they included part of it among the hymns of the community, for the words of Psalm 96 are also found in David’s song as it is recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36.

These verses depict the entire universe—heavens, sea, fields, trees—joining with people of every nation in giving glory to God. “Recognize the Lord,” our text says, and that’s a good way to render the Hebrew word here. The word for “recognize” comes from one of the words for “give.” In modern slang, a TV host might tell an audience, “Give it up for our special guest!” and they would applaud. That’s what the psalmist is saying here: “Recognize the Lord—give it up” for him, and grant him the glory he deserves.

This psalm also mentions the Lord’s “holy splendor.” The King James Version says: “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” There is something beautiful about holiness, and the Lord shares his holiness with us. Through Jesus Christ, we become holy in his eyes—and that’s a beautiful thing.

He framed the globe, He built the sky;

He made the shining worlds on high

And reigns in glory there.

His beams are majesty and light,

His beauties, how divinely bright!

His dwelling place, how fair!

ISAAC WATTS

Fascinating Fact

Some scholars think Psalm 96 is a pastiche of quotations from other Scriptures. In this section alone we find references to Psalms 86:9; 100:4; 29:2; and 97:1.

Notable Quotable

“How high and glorious must be the beauty of His holiness, which is the perfect combination of all his infinite perfections.”

JOSEPH LE CONTE