Humanity is a creature that lives in the parentheses within eternity called time. Because of this, we talk in three tenses—past, present, and future. In Psalm 96, each tense of time is acknowledged as containing a reason for joyful worship of Jehovah.
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples” (vv. 1-3) is appropriate because of:
- The past: Jehovah is our Creator. “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary” (vv. 4-6).
- The present: Jehovah is our King. “Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously’” (vv. 7-10).
- The future: Jehovah is our Judge. “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and all its fullness; let the field be joyful, and all that isin it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice 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” (vv. 11-13).
Oh, the worthiness of Lord!
