Psalm 96

A Bible Devotion from Psalm 96

Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness

1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

4 For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength. 8 Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. 9 Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously."

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and all its fullness; 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice 13 before the LORD. for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth.
Psalm 96, NKJV

Psalm 26 is another glorious Psalm of praise to God. Look at some of the beautiful imagery in vs. 6, Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary, vs. 9, Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, and verse 12, Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.

We think of the time of judgment as being just for mankind, but even nature: the sea, the field and the trees of the woods will rejoice when the day of judgment is upon us. All of nature is under the same curse of sin that affects us. When God judges the world with righteousness, not only will God's people rejoice, but all of nature will rejoice as well.

We look for a time of a new heaven and a new earth. What will it be like? We can only speculate, but I don't think it is wrong to think of the new earth as being like the Garden of Eden.

Think about Psalm 96 and pray today that, with all nature, you are already rejoicing about the time when God will return in righteousness and will judge all people perfectly.

Next: Psalm 97 - Rejoice in the Lord

More Devotions on the 96th Psalm from my blog, Daily Bible Devotions.

A New Song, verses 1-5

Beauty of Holiness, verses 6-9

The Trees Rejoice, verses 10-13