1 O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered 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 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king!!”
These opening lines of the well-known Christmas hymn were written by Isaac Watts. Many people don’t know that Watts did not write this as a Christmas carol. He wrote a book which was a series of poems on the Psalms and used them to point toward Jesus Christ. The poem he wrote which became the familiar hymn was for Psalm 98 which is very similar to Psalm 96. More than a century later the poem was set to music and the second half of the poem was adjusted to the hymn we sing today.
Psalm 96 is one of several “Enthronement Psalms” in this section of the Psalter. These are psalms of praise that lift up the universal kingship of God. In the 96th Psalm, we are encouraged to sing a new song to the Lord and all the earth and to declare His glory among the nations and His marvelous works among the peoples. The fact that “The Lord is king, and the world is firmly established” is worthy of praise by all of creation. “He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His truth.”
I’ve always been struck by how the world seems to stop to celebrate Christmas. In my first pastoral call in Fort Smith, I would leave the church after midnight on Christmas Eve after cleaning communion cups after the 11:00 pm service. I had a tradition of driving down Garrison Avenue in downtown Fort Smith, normally still busy with activity. But on Christmas morning, all was still. The beautiful Christmas lights were shining–but no cars or people were in sight. The words I had just sung of Silent Night seemed so real, “All is calm, all is bright.” For a moment, it seemed that time stood still and the world stopped to acknowledge this astounding event–our King had come to earth in the form of a tiny child.
In the midst of your Christmas celebration, I pray that you can experience a moment of peace and quiet, and prayerfully reflect on the wonder and awe that God sent His Son to dwell among us and to remember what Christ has done for each of us and for the world.
Psalm 96 ends by saying “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; for the Lord is coming!” Today, our waiting and preparation are over!! Let us rejoice–for the Lord is come! May we all receive Jesus Christ in our hearts and lives once again!!
Merry Christmas!!
Contributed by Rev. Stewart Smith