Commentary on Psalms Volume 3 John Calvin
COMMENTARY ON PSALMS - VOLUME 3 and decoration of this kind, but in the representation of the heavenly pattern which was shown to Moses on the mount, (Exodus 25:9.)
Psalm 96:10-13
10. Say among the heathen, Jehovah reigneth; also the world shall be established, it shall not be moved: he shall judge the peoples 89 in righteousness, [literally, in righteousnesses.] 11. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder, and the fullness thereof. 12. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein; likewise let all the trees of the wood rejoice. 90 13. Before Jehovah; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 91
10. Say among the heathen, Jehovah reigneth His language again implies that it is only where God rules and presides that he can be worshipped. The Gentiles could not possibly profess the worship of God, so long as his throne was only in the small corner of Judea, and they were not acknowledging his government. Accordingly, the Psalmist speaks of his extending his kingdom to all parts of the world, with the view of gathering unto himself in one, those who had formerly been divided and scattered. The expression, Say among the heathen, signifies that God would enlarge the boundaries of his kingdom by his word and doctrine. What is said of the world being established, is "The peoples. The Hebrew word is plural, and it is rendered plurally by all the ancient versions. It is not one people only, but all the nations upon earth, that God will judge." — Street.
The Hebrew verb,רננוrannenu, here rendered rejoice, "expresses," says Mant, "the vibratory motion either of a dancer's feet, or of a singer's lips. Hence it signifies, to wave to and fro' as trees." In support of this sense of the word he refers to Bishop Horsley's note on Psalm 98:8, and Parkhurst's Lexicon on,רנן1:2. Accordingly, he translates the verse — "Be glad, ye fields, and fruits, the fields that spread; Wave high, ye woods, in worship wave the head;" which, he observes, will remind the reader of Adam and Eve's morning hymn: — "— and wave your tops, ye pines, With every plant, in sign of worship wave."
Paradise Lost, v.
This psalm has been admired for its grandeur and magnificence. The three last verses in particular have been frequently quoted as a specimen of sublimity in sentiment and language, which cannot be surpassed. "Nothing can excel in this respect," remarks Bishop Lowth, "that noble exultation of universal nature in the 96th Psalm, which has been so often commended, where the whole animate and inanimate creation unite in the praises of their Maker. Poetry here seems to assume the highest tone of triumph and exultation, and to revel, if I may so express myself, in all the extravagance of joy." — Lectures on Sacred Poetry, volume 1, page 378.