The Divine King Comes to Judge the Earth

The liturgy of this psalm celebrating Yahweh’s kingship opens with calls to praise stated in general terms (vv. 1–3). Reasons for the praise are then stated in terms of Yahweh’s incomparability among those claiming divine status, his past act of making the heavens, and his royal attributes (vv. 4–6). The liturgy then moves to another section calling for praise but this time specifying how and where (vv. 7–9). The final section specifies the content of this praise, which looks especially to his future act of judging. In response, the whole cosmos is to reverberate with praise (vv. 10–13).

96:1–3 The opening imperatives of praise are universal in scope: it is to be performed by all the earth and among the nations. The Hebrew word for proclaim (bāśar), m…