Psalm 96:11-13
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
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Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice
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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.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad: The thought introduced in the previous line is used as reason for all creation to be glad. The fact that God is a righteous judge who will call things into account is good for creation – good for the heavens, the earth, the sea, the field, and all the trees. (Guzik)
i. “Transported with a view of these grand events, and beholding in spirit the advent of King Messiah; the Psalmist exults in most jubilant and triumphant strains, calling the whole creation to break forth into joy, and to celebrate the glories of redemption.” (Horne)
ii. Paul had this concept in mind in Romans 8:21: because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Guzik)
iii. “The thought that inanimate nature will share in the joy of renovated humanity inspires many glowing prophetic utterances, eminently those of Isaiah – as e.g., Isaiah 35:1-10. The converse thought, that it shared in the consequences of man’s sin, is deeply stamped on the Genesis narrative.” (Maclaren)
iv. All the trees of the woods: According to VanGemeren, the idea here is more than just a forest, but of wilderness or even thick jungle. The sense is that all creation is excited that God is coming to judge the earth.
For He is coming to judge the earth: The psalm ends with the joyful confidence that God will judge and set things right. The goodness of this is apparent to those who love God, love His ways, and hurt over the injustices of the present age. (Guzik)
i. He is coming to judge the earth: “To rule it with discretion; not to tax it, and control it by force, as kings often do, but to preside as magistrates do whose business it is to see justice carried out between man and man.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “As C. S. Lewis points out, the ancients lived in a world where judges usually needed to be bribed and right judgment was exceedingly hard to come by, especially for weak, poor, or disadvantaged persons. In such a climate, the disadvantaged did not fear judgment but rather longed for it, because it meant a day when evil would be punished and those who did the right things would be vindicated.” (Boice)
iii. “The world of men may be glad also, because the reign of Jesus means equity for the oppressed, equal-handed justice for the poor, peace among the nations.” (Meyer)
iv. “Honesty, veracity, integrity, will rule upon his judgment-seat. No nation shall be favored there, and none be made to suffer through prejudice. The black man shall be tried by the same law as his white master, the aboriginal shall have justice executed for him against his civilized exterminator, the crushed and hunted Bushman shall have space to appeal against the Boer who slaughtered his tribe, and the South Sea Islander shall gain attention to his piteous plaint against the treacherous wretch who kidnapped him from his home. There shall be true judgment given without fear or favor. In all this let the nations be glad, and the universe rejoice.” (Spurgeon)
v. “He smites with destruction. But the fierceness of His wrath, the weight of His stroke, are inspired by His love of man, and His determination to establish that order of life in which strength and beauty shall abound.” (Morgan)
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“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad.” Above and below let the joy be manifested. Let the angels who have stood in amaze at the wickedness of men, now rejoice over their repentance and restoration to favor, and let men themselves express their pleasure in seeing their true prince set upon his throne. The book of creation has two covers, and on each of these let the glory of the Lord be emblazoned in letters of joy.
“Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.”. Let it be no more a troubled sea, wailing over shipwrecked mariners, and rehearsing the griefs of widows and orphans, but let it adopt a cheerful note, and rejoice in the kingdom of the Lord. Let it thunder out the name of the Lord when its tides are at its full, and let all its teeming life express the utmost joy because the Lord reigneth even in the depth of the sea. In common with the rest of the creation, the sea has groaned and travailed until now; is not the time close at hand in which its hollow murmur shall be exchanged for an outburst of joy? (Spurgeon)
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For he cometh – That is, he will come. He will manifest himself as a righteous judge. He will come to reign over the world, and there will be in his reign universal occasion for joy. The allusion would seem to be to some future time when God would come to reign among people; to dispense justice; to vindicate his people, and to establish truth. The “language” is such as would properly refer to the anticipated reign of the Messiah, as a reign of righteousness, and is such language as is frequently employed in the Old Testament to denote the character of his reign. There is no reason to doubt that this psalm may be “designed” to describe the reign of the Messiah, and that the psalmist in this language may have looked forward to that future kingdom of righteousness and peace.
For he cometh to judge the earth … – See this language explained in the notes at Psalms 72:2-4; and the notes at Isaiah 11:2-5. What is here stated occurs now, wherever the gospel reigns in the hearts of people; it will be fully accomplished when the Lord Jesus shall come again and judge the world. (Barnes)
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For he cometh, for he cometh; which is repeated to show the certainty of Christ’s coming, and the importance of it, and the just reason there was for the above joy and gladness on account of it; and it may be also, as Jerom and others have observed, to point out both the first and second coming of Christ, which are both matter of joy to the saints: his first coming, which was from heaven into this world, in a very mean and abject manner, to save the chief of sinners, to procure peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life for them, and therefore must be matter of joy: his second coming, which will be also from heaven, but in an extremely glorious manner, without sin, or the likeness of it, unto the salvation of is people. (Gill)
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Psalm 96:11-13 Geneva Bible 1560
11 Let the heavens rejoyce, and let the earth be glad: let the sea roar, and all that therein is.
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it: let all the i trees of the wood then rejoyce
13 Before the Lord, for he commeth, for he commeth to judge the earth: he wil judge the world with righteousness, and the people in his truth.
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