Some scholars think this Psalm might be especially sung by Israel at the beginning of the Millennium. And I can see why. After seven years of unfathomable persecution by man, and the pouring out of the wrath of God, the darkest days in human history will become brilliant light in the glory of Christ Jesus. I can almost hear the remnant of Israel singing these words.
But there are a couple of things to keep in mind: When the psalmist first wrote it this piece, he was about 3,000 years away from the Millennium. This wasn’t tucked away in a drawer or file folder with a notation that only the Messiah could open it. This is a song which has been sung by the saints of God for centuries. And the things which are set forth here are not limited to that glorious day. These principles and exhortations are universal in both time and distance.
“O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.”
Singing for the Lord is far more appropriate than mourning before Him as far as worship is concerned. The heathen might curse and scream, cut themselves, starve themselves and cast vestal virgins into the heart of volcanos, but the saints of God sing, because they have every reason to express joy. Sure there ought to be – there must be – repentance, but once we have tasted the Lord’s grace, we should be filled with humble joy. And songs are one of the best ways to rejoice.
“Sing unto the Lord a NEW song.” A new song, because the Lord’s blessings are new every day. And perhaps we should sing a new song, because we shouldn’t be satisfied with worship yesterday. It should be a new song because we are more skilled in our music than we were yesterday. And we are more aware of the Lord’s blessings today than we have ever been before.
And these songs of praise and joy shouldn’t be confined to just a few of us. The whole earth is full of His blessings, so the whole earth should be full of His praises. If the people of God withhold their tongues, it might be that the stones of the earth would immediately cry out – just as Jesus said.
“Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.”
Notice the repetition: “sing, sing, sing.” Is the psalmist excited, or is he emphasizing the importance of this type of worship? Some see this Psalm divided into several sections, and here in this first, they take note of the triple use of God’s name – “Sing, sing, sing unto Jehovah“ the triune God. “O sing a new song unto God the Father: sing unto the Son, all the earth. Sing unto the Holy Spirit; bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.” To “bless the name of the Lord” is to speak well of Him, to praise Him, and to glorify Him.
Shew forth and praise the Lord’s never-ending salvation. (Remember that many experts put this Psalm into a Millennial context.) Today is not millennial, and what is the best way to show forth God’s salvation today? I have a quote which will go into the bulletin one of these days. It points out that music has not been much of a part of Baptist worship services until 300 years ago. The quote says that preaching, hearing and enjoying the gospel is worship. On the other hand here we sing and “shew forth his salvation from day to day.” Salvation is a done-deal but with eternal consequences, blessings and results.
When we hear of good things about our children and others we love, we have reason to rejoice. But the best earthly news is only temporary in nature, and tomorrow we may forget about it completely. Your football team once won the Super Bowl, then it was my team, but will either ever win it again? What a temporary, secular and low-important joy. The election of a conservative, constitutionally-minded government is not to be compared to the victory won at Calvary. The results of Christ’s victory have been echoing in my soul for decades, and they will for ever.
“Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.”
Notice that the references go from salvation – to glory – to wonders. Even if we are looking at each of these individually, they still should result in praise. “Declare his glory among the heathen.” There is glory in God’s wisdom, and His power, and His omnipotence, and His justice, and His…..
In the New Testament, the word “wonders” usually refers to His miracles. “Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, (was) a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you…” Our evangelism ought to be telling people about the Lord’s glory and wonders, telling them about the miracle of salvation which He has given us.
“For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.”
The Lord is magnificent and absolutely perfect – He is great. And of course he should be greatly praised. Have you ever seen something, and you couldn’t wait to get home to tell someone else about it? The greater the event or the greater the person, the more quickly you wanted to share it. But there is nothing and no one greater than our Lord. In exactly the same way, we should be filled with excitement about sharing Him with others.
And yet, He is to be feared above everything called “god” in this world. For the wicked that “fear” should mean “terror.” But for the child of God it should mean respect and reverence.
“For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.”
Of course the gods of the unbelievers are nothing but idols. But the psalmist isn’t merely saying that they are mere lumps of wood and stone. He was saying that they are empty vanities, like Dagon with his broken hands sprawled prone across the threshold of his temple. I can’t say if the psalmist was manipulating his words and playing with his poetry, but in Hebrew he said: For all the “elohim” of the nations are “elilim” – nothing.
But of course Jehovah is the Creator of Heaven and earth. And which is greater – heaven or earth? If we are talking about parts of creation – to the universe, the earth is just a speck of dust. It is not much more than a single grain in the midst of the sands of the Sahara.
“Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”
I am pretty sure that the psalmist was playing the poet here – repeating and re-repeating. The Hebrew word for “honour” is translated “Glory” (9), “honour” (6), and “majesty” (4). And the word for “majesty” is translated ” glory” (7), “majesty” (7), and “honour” (5). And then the fourth word into which each of those two Hebrew words are translated is “beauty.” “Glory and glory are before him: strength and glory are in his sanctuary.”
“Strength and beauty are in the Lord’s sanctuary.” Does that mean that the Lord’s sanctuary is beautifully made? Does it mean that the Lord is the epitome of strength and beauty? Or does it mean that strength and beauty are servants and worshipers of the Lord?
“Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.”
Usually when the Bible speaks about “the people” it is referring to the people of Israel. They stand in contrast to “the nations.” We’ve already had examples of both those earlier in this Psalm. But we notice that this reference is more universal than just Israel – “kindreds of the people.” This is one reason that some understand it to be a Messianic Psalm. And in this verse the people’s kindred are encouraged to give thanks unto the Lord.
That may be something easy to understand, but how can anyone give “strength” unto Jehovah? “Give unto the LORD glory and strength.” There is no way that we can do anything to increase the strength or the ability of the Lord. But this could be simply suggesting that we give to the Lord whatever strength we might have, without any thought of adding to the Lord. We should give the Lord whatever we possess – wealth, time, strength, energy. But actually this is not an exhortation for anything like that. This merely means: acknowledge and ascribe to the Lord the glory and strength that is His. Recognize and admit that the Lord is omnipotent and infinitely magnificent.
“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.”
As serious as the first part of this verse is, it is still almost silly. How can any of us give the Lord the glory which He actually deserves? How can insignificant little creatures like us give the Lord His due glory? The answer is – with all the little squeaks that we can. In this case, it really is “the thought that counts.”
And don’t forget to bring an offering when you come into His courts. It is significant that the word is translated “offering,” just as it should be. This Hebrew word is rendered “offering” 164 times and “sacrifice” only 5 times. Because we are no longer required to bring blood sacrifices before Jehovah – that has been finished. And when we remember that we are coming before the Lord Jesus, a blood sacrifice even becomes blasphemous. And yet, the commandment that we do not come before the Lord empty, still stands. We come the throne of grace based upon the sacrifice that the Saviour made for us. It isn’t really necessary that we plead that blood, because that is what our Intercessor does for us. But we should still come with the offerings of our lips and the evidence of our service. Psalm 116:17 – “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.”
“O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.”
It has been often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder – and we know that to be true. Two people look at the same painting, and one is blessed while the other is left unmoved. Two people look at a third person, and one sees skin and form, while the other sees a soul. The fashion world declares that something is beautiful, but no one is forcing any of us to agree. And yet don’t we tend to follow the opinions of those we know and love? When someone we love loves a particular piece of music, and he plays or listens to it frequently, don’t we often learn to love it as well?
Well, our Lord and Saviour has determined that there is nothing more beautiful than holiness. Man may say that we ought to worship in a magnificent cathedral, but the Lord says, “That is not nearly as important as worshiping me in the beauty of holiness.” Can the sinful man even worship the Lord at all? Can the unsaved man worship the Lord? All that the worldling can do with any skill is fear, ie. “tremble” before him.
Most of the rest of the Psalm describes segments of the Lord’s Creation
and encourages them to rightly worship the Lord.
“Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth.” The worship of the Lord should not be confined to Israel. And certainly the Lord’s sovereignty extends to all the people of the earth.
“The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.” In fact it is impossible for the Lord to do anything else but judge righteously. He couldn’t make an error in judgment if He tried – it’s impossible. And the Lord wouldn’t for a moment consider a deliberate perversion of judgment.
“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad.” Is this talking about angels again joining with men in rejoicing in the blessings of Christ? “Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.” As I say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What more can the seas do than roar. But the roaring of the breakers on a rocky shore is an extremely beautiful thing.
“Let the field be joyful and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice, before the Lord.” We have the seas rejoicing in the Lord, then the plains and farms, and then the mountains and forests. The fish of the sea rejoices in its God, as does the bison, the deer and the bear.
“For the Lord cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth:
he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”
When will this transpire? Soon. “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” and He rules over mountain, plain and sea at this very moment. But He will reign more crisply and directly when Christ returns to establish His Millennial and then eternal kingdoms.
And He will judge the world in righteousness based upon His eternal truth. And where do we find that truth? In the pages of the Word of God. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
Sing unto the Lord a new song, a song of praise and thanksgiving.