Proclaim and Declare

Psalm 96

Almost everybody has heard the story of David and Goliath. David fought Goliath when he was still a youth. Around that same time, Samuel anointed David as king. David was 15 years old when he was anointed, and he began to rule as king when he was 30 years old. 

For hundreds of years before David was born and up to the time he began his reign, the Tabernacle of God, which Moses had built, was in Gibeon. However, The Ark of the Covenant (the box that was covered in gold and contained some preserved manna, the stone tablets on which the law was written, and Aaron’s rod) was not in the tabernacle. The ark was to be kept in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle called the Holiest of Holies. It was only to be moved when the tabernacle was moved (the tabernacle was an ornate tent used in place of a temple while the Israelites traveled in the wilderness). At the end of the days of the judges, while Samuel (the one who wrote First and Second Samuel) was still young, the Israelites foolishly took the ark out of the Holiest of Holies and carried it into battle against the Philistines. They hoped that this special object would give them victory.

God disapproves of the veneration of objects or people, so God gave the Philistines the victory that day, and the Ark of the Covenant was taken captive by the Philistines. The Philistines had taken the Ark captive quite a few years before David became king. But, the Philistines could not keep the Ark because God struck them with diseases wherever the Ark went. As a result, the Philistines sent the Ark back to Israel. The Ark stayed in Kiriath-jearim for over 20 years, where it was when David came to power.

David sought the Lord with all his heart, and when he became king, he wanted to make sure the worship of God remained the center of the nation. As he consolidated his power, he established a new capital city by capturing the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. Then, once Jerusalem was established as the nation's capital, David tried to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem, but Israel did not follow the procedures that God had specified for moving the ark. The result was the death of a man named Uzziah, who reached out and touched the ark (touching the ark was strictly forbidden in the Law of Moses).

When Uzziah was struck dead, the movement of the Ark stopped, and for many years it stayed in that place in the house of a man named Obededom the Gittite. While the Ark was kept safe in that place, David took time to make a new tabernacle in Jerusalem and study in the law of Moses the proper way to move the ark.

When the preparations were completed and the day to move the Ark finally came, the whole nation of Israel celebrated. 2 Samuel 6 tells us:

2 Samuel 6:14-15 (NKJV) ¹⁴Then David danced before the LORD with all [his] might, and David [was] wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

David was a poet and a musician, and many of the Psalms were written by him. As part of his preparations for bringing the Ark into Jerusalem, David wrote a song. Perhaps it was that song that he danced to. We do not know because the Scriptures do not tell us. However, the Scriptures do tell us the words of the song; the song is Psalm 96.

At the time, it was a new song, so it starts with the words, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!” 

New also means “fresh.” We must remember to always keep our praise of God “fresh” and new. I love singing the doxology, but sometimes when we sing something over and over, we stop thinking about the words we are singing. People will never stop writing new songs, and we shouldn’t. When our hearts are moved by the Spirit to worship, we must respond and those with poetic and musical gifts should exercise those gifts to the glory of God. Inventive, new, and fresh worship is a gift from God.

However, we should not throw out the old. Most of the Psalms are over 3,000 years old and they are just as good today as the day they were written. The Psalmist calls on us to “bless” the Lord (bless means praise) and we do this by using our mouths to make known His faithfulness.

God chose Israel and set it apart from other nations to be His special people for the purpose of making His name known among the nations. When God set them apart, they were no different from other peoples. But, God’s law and presence with them made them unique, so the whole world could see that there was no God like the God of Israel.

Psalm 96 came out of Israel’s unique relationship to God. As the Ark of the Covenant entered Jerusalem and David danced before the Lord, this song was sung to declare the glory of God. David declares several truths about God.

First, He declares that there is no God like God. Psalm 96:4 says:

Psalms 96:4-5 (NKJV) ⁴For the LORD [is] great and greatly to be praised; He [is] to be feared above all gods. ⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols…

Idols are empty and meaningless, but the spiritual bondage that accompanies idols is real. We tend to think that idols are no longer an issue in our modern world, but this is not true.

Japan is one of the most modern, technologically, and scientifically advanced countries in the world. And, it is a country filled with idols of all kinds; wood, stone, and ceramic gods are everywhere. Even the emperor is worshipped as a god. Stones and objects become gods by ceremonies where spirits are prayed into them. The emperor becomes a god by an extra special ceremony. That ceremony remains secret from the public. 

Japan is one of hundreds of nations where idols are worshipped.

When the psalmist says that the gods of the nations are idols, he points out that it is foolish to bow before objects. But that is not all. The Israelites and you and I know that the spirits behind the “idols” are evil, fallen angels who seek to deceive and destroy men and women.

To strengthen the point that God is to be feared above all gods, the psalmist says:

Psalms 96:5 (NKJV) For all the gods of the peoples [are] idols, But the LORD made the heavens. 

Only one God created all things. God’s glory and greatness are seen in the things He has made. Psalm 19 says:

Psalms 19:1 (NKJV) To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.

This is the second truth the psalmist declares. God is the creator of all things. From the vastness of space to the tiniest atom, all creation shows how incomprehensibly great God is. The psalmist calls upon us to join all creation in singing, proclaiming, and declaring the greatness of God. His strength and power are beyond our ability to understand. Psalm 96:10 says:

Psalms 96:10 (NKJV) Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved…”

The world is firmly established because the Lord reigns. No other explanation for our existence is satisfactory. All such explanations fall short of the facts seen in the data available to us.

The third truth the psalmist singles out is that God is our Savior. 

In the second verse of the psalm, the psalmist says:

Psalms 96:2 (NKJV) Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Salvation is good news. “His salvation” lets us know that salvation is from the Lord, and salvation cannot be obtained anywhere else.

Psalm 96:10 says, “He shall judge the peoples righteously.” And then, verse 13 says:

Psalms 96:13 (NKJV) 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.

Alongside and undergirding all the psalmists’ praise of the Lord is the truth of salvation. We can praise Him because He saves us. 1 John 4:19 says:

1John 4:19 (NKJV) We love Him because He first loved us.

The great rejoicing of this song comes out of this love. If God did not provide salvation, the fact that “He shall judge the world with righteousness” would be terrible. For those who do not accept the salvation that God offers, His judgment will be terrible. As Psalm 96:4 says:

Psalms 96:4 (NKJV) …He [is] to be feared above all gods.

The Bible tells us our God is a consuming fire. No injustice or unrighteousness will survive in His presence. The prophet Jeremiah says:

Jeremiah 10:7 (NKJV) Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise [men] of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [There is] none like You.

The psalmist praises God because He is the only God, the creator, and Savior. He calls for us to respond with singing, and with proclamation and declaration. Throughout the psalm, there is a call to tell the nations, the peoples of the earth, about God. Let’s look at verses 2 and 3.

Psalms 96:2-3 (NKJV) ²Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. ³Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

These two verses call on us to proclaim the good news and declare His glory. These two words call for two different types of communication. The word rendered “proclaim” means to preach. 

We do not all preach, but we are all involved in preaching the gospel. Our tithes and offerings, and prayers support the proclamation of the gospel. If we do not give, people will not hear the good news. Romans 10 asks:

Romans 10:14 (NKJV) How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

We all have a part in this preaching because we are all members of the Body of Christ. The body working together accomplishes the proclamation of the good news.

The second word Psalm 96 uses to call us to action is “declare.” This is a different word and a different activity than proclamation. Another translation of the word is “tell.” We are to “tell” of His glory. The idea communicated here is telling others what God has done for us.

This is something that every individual can do. One does not need to stand on a street corner and shout, although there is a time and place for that. However, we can all tell a friend, neighbor, or family member what God has done for us.

The psalm ends with an incentive for all of us. 

Psalms 96:13 (NKJV) 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.

Three thousand years ago, David knew that God was coming. He did not understand all the details, but He knew God was coming. God came to the world He created as a baby when Jesus was born. At that time, He purchased our salvation. He will come again, and this time He will judge the world with righteousness as David says. 

In 1 John 3:3, the Bible tells us:

1John 3:3 (NKJV) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

The way we live, one would think we do not believe He is coming. The time for us to proclaim and declare is coming to an end. He is coming soon, and those who do not believe in Jesus Christ will face judgment. 

With all the good things God has done for us, surely we can declare His glory! We have good news to share. The angels called it “good news of great joy!” Psalm 96 overflows with praise because God is worthy of our praise, and he has done great things for us.