Some Christians are critical of modern Christian songs. Their complaints are mostly the same: these songs are empty of any content, or they're too repetitive. These faithful saints would be happy just to sing the old hymns. I sympathise with their complaints, but Psalm 96 begins, ″Sing to the Lord a new song″ (v. 1, emphasis added). It would be a great loss if we were to stop singing the wonderful songs Christians have sung down the centuries. But we need to continually write and sing new songs too. We need to continue to write songs in the language and musical styles of today. And sometimes a new situation, like a celebration or a tragedy, might be better expressed in the words of a new song. I thank God for the contemporary songwriters who bless the modern church with their new compositions.

The first three verses provide the foundation for the psalm. First, ″all the earth″ (v. 1) is commanded to sing to the Lord. This isn't just all people but all created things (vv. 11-13). God deserves praise from the billionaire and the baker, as well as the badger and the banyan tree, for He made them all. And the songs we sing should ″proclaim his salvation″ (v. 2). While there is a place to just sing God's praises, good songs remind us of how God has saved us, especially in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is only one God. All other gods are either pieces of wood or stone (v. 5) or fictions of the human imagination. The psalmist heaps up words of honour to God, whom he ascribes splendour, majesty, strength, and glory (vv. 6-8).

Psalm 96 commands all people to fear the Lord and tremble before Him (vv. 4, 9). Perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18) and Christians don't live in terror of our loving heavenly Father. At the same time, as we saw in Psalm 95, we never want to presume upon our salvation and live carelessly. Rather, we must ″work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling″ (Philippians 2:12). Psalm 96 reminds us that there will be a judgment day for every person (vv. 10, 13). While the Lord Jesus has taken our sins away, ″we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ″ (2 Corinthians 5:10). This should evoke godly fear in the hearts of us all.

The psalmist instructs all creation to rejoice because God comes to judge the world (Psalm 96:13). In the book of Revelation, the heavenly hosts and the believers who have died in Christ are heard worshipping God. Like Psalm 96, they pile up words to describe His greatness (Revelation 5:12). They sing songs of salvation, worshipping the Lamb (vv. 9-10). They also rejoice in God's judgment (19:1-5). Perhaps the greatest lack in the modern church is that we don't often hear this call. Announce and sing, ″he will judge the peoples with equity″ (Psalm 96:10).