O sing to the Cosmos a new song; sing to the Beloved, all the earth!
Sing to the Creator, and bless the Name above all names;
sing praises to the Glorious One from day to day.
Declare the splendor of the Radiant One to all nations,
the marvelous works of Love to all peoples!
For great is the Beloved, and greatly to be praised; reverence Love about all else.
For where your thoughts are, reveals the which you treasure;
seek only the true Treasure.
Truth and integrity live with Love; strength and beauty dwell with the Beloved.
Yield to Love, O families of the earth, yield to Love’s glory and strength!
Yield to Love and learn of justice;
make of yourselves an offering and be guided by Love!
Bow down in adoration and holiness;
for worthy is the Beloved to be praised in all the earth!
The Creator of the Cosmos reigns!
Yes, the world has been created, gift to all generations;
let truth and justice give birth to peace and harmony!
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the seas laugh, and all that fills them;
let the fields exalt, and everything in them!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before ether coming of the Beloved,
who reigns in glory!
For through Love will come truth and justice, offering all the people gifts of new Life.
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
Psalm 96 is an ancient song made new. The psalmist reminds us that whenever we experience God’s reign in a fresh or renewed way, we need a new song to reorient our lives toward praise. This new song proclaims that God is the Creator of all that exists and that we are created to join God in composing a new song of love, truth, justice, harmony, and peace.
The new song also reminds us that the future belongs to God, even when our present circumstances suggest otherwise. It is a song of hope, expectation, and confidence in God’s continuing work. It invites us to trust that God is shaping a future of renewal—not only for us, but through us and with us—as we participate in God’s reign of justice and peace.
This quote is from Elizabeth Lesser’s book Cassandra Speaks: When women are the storytellers, the human story changes. p. 219
Check out other psalm reflections in the links below or find more of my writing published in Presbyterian Outlook or listen to my experiments in podcasting on the Period Pastor Podcast. Follow me @periodpastor
Past reflection links:
Psalm 96 Year C (2021-2022)
Psalm 96 Year B (2020-2021)
I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020. Shortly after, we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom. Many churches use the Revised Common Lectionary (RLC) that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C). Starting in Advent 2019, the church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C. Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others. While we were using Psalms in year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A. In Advent of 2020 we rejoined those who use the lectionary in year B. Advent of 2021 year C. When we returned to in person worship, we took the psalm reflections out of the order of worship. I continued to write them for the blog. Advent of 2022 year A. I left church work in July of 2023 but continued the practice of writing psalm reflections. Advent of 2023 year B. Advent of 2024 year C. I finished year C early, so I began work on psalms I missed: Psalm 119, Year D and others not in the lectionary. By the end of 2025, I have written a reflection for each psalm.
Advent of 2025 year A.
I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings and the PCUSA planning calendar to make text selections.
Year A Psalms
1st Sunday in Advent Psalm 122, 2nd Sunday in Advent Psalm 72, 3rd Sunday in Advent Psalm 146, 4th Sunday in Advent Psalm 80, Christmas Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1st Sunday after Christmas Psalm 148, 2nd Sunday after Christmas Psalm 147, 1st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 40, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 27, 4th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 15, 5th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 112, Transfiguration Sunday Psalm 2 or Psalm 99.
1st Sunday in Lent Psalm 32, 2nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 121, 3rdSunday in Lent Psalm 95, 4th Sunday in Lent Psalm 23, 5th Sunday in Lent Psalm 130, 6th Sunday in Lent Psalm 118 or Psalm 31.
Easter Psalm 118 or Psalm 114, 2nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 16 or Psalm 111, 3rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 116 or Psalm 34, 4th Sunday of Easter Psalm 23 or Psalm 100, 5th Sunday of Easter Psalm 31 or Psalm 119: 9-32, 6th Sunday of Easter Psalm 66 or Psalm 115, 7th Sunday of Easter Psalm 68 or Psalm 21, Pentecost Psalm 104.
1st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 8, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 33 or Psalm 50, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 116 or Psalm 100, 4th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 86 or Psalm 69, 5th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 13 or Psalm 89, 6th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 45 or Psalm 145, 7th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 119: 105-112 or Psalm 65, 8th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 139 or Psalm 86, 9th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 105 or Psalm 128 or Psalm 119: 129-136, 10th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 17 or Psalm 145, 11th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 105 or Psalm 85, 12th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 133 or Psalm 67, 13th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 124 or Psalm 138, 14th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 105 or Psalm 26, 15th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 149 or Psalm 119:33-40, 16th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 114 or Psalm 103, 17th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 105 or Psalm 145, 18th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 78 or Psalm 25, 19th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 19 or Psalm 80, 20th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 106 or Psalm 23, 21st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 99 or Psalm 96, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 90 or Psalm 1, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 107 or Psalm 43, 24th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 78 or Psalm 70, 25th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 123 or Psalm 90, 26th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 100 or Psalm 95.
Sources and notes:
“The psalm envisions the LORD as a divine presence in his sanctuary-palace. The presence is mediated through the attributes of glory and majesty, strength and beauty.” Mays p. 308
“The message is intend to arouse joy and evoke faith in Yahweh as the nations come to understand that he reigns as king over the whole world.” WBC p. 512
“Psalm 96 is on of the hymns of praise sung by Asaph and his choral guild before the ark after David brought it to Jerusalem. The procession brining the ark of the LORD represented in liturgical drama his coming to his palace-temple as king (see Ps. 24:7-10). The reality behind the liturgical act was the marvelous works of salvation, the historical occasion when Israel had experienced the intervention of the LORD, moments Israel remembered in epic story (Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Samuel) and in poetry celebrating the LORD’s coming in theophany (Psalm 18; note the repetition of Ps. 29:1-2 and 98: 7-9). Phrases and clauses from Psalm 96 and from Psalms 97 and 98 appear in the prophecy of the exilic Isaiah (compare vv. 11-13 with Isa. 40:10; 44:23; 49:13; 55:12; also 59:19f.; 60:1; 62:11). Isaiah saw the return of the exiles from Babylon as a revelation of the LORD as king and as a demonstration of his rule that proved that the gods of the nations were nothing. The past “comings” of the LORD have a future. The liturgy remembers and anticipates. The psalm always places those who sing it in the presence of the LORD who has come and will rule the earth in righteousness and faithfulness.” Mays p. 309
“Every festival, or other occasion of worship, merited a new song to cellarage Yahweh’s new and renewed works.” WBC p. 513
“The “new song” is to express a new realization and acknowledgement act the future belongs to Yahweh. “A new song must be sung for a new orientation” (Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms, 144.) The new song is the song which breaks through the restraints of the present circumstances and voices expectation and confidence in the future works of God (see Krouse, II, 836).” WBC p. 514
“Is God, in Psalm 96, calling the earth that God “birthed” in Psalm 90 to joyously “dance” in God’s presence? Or is the earth to “tremble–writhe along with God” at God’s wondrous “birthing” of the earth? Whatever the meaning we choose for [Hebrew], the singer of Psalm 96 calls on the earth to participate in one way or another in the “new song” in answer to the work of God in creation.” W p. 29
“A new song must be sung for a new orientation. In the ancient world a new orientation was typified by a new reign, introduced by inauguration or coronation. Likely a genuinely new song was commissioned for such a grand, public event. The is a new God who has not been known in this way for these people until now, so there must be new music to match.” Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms p. 144
“This psalm marks the beginning of a new reign. Liturgy is not play acting, but it is the evocation of an alternative reality that comes into play in the very moment of the liturgy. So this moment is when God’s rule is visible and effective.” Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms p. 144
“The result of the newly won kinship of Yahweh brings a reliable, equitable order to creation.” Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms p. 145
“The ground work for the new celebration is a new orientation worked by this new king who comes triumphantly into situations of injustice and makes them right.” Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms p. 145
“Psalm 96 thus focuses on (a) the moment of inversion through enthronement when something new begins, and (b) the long-term implementation of that rule for anew ordering of life. put in conventional theological terms, the enthronement is the new justification of the world; the hope-for new life is the practice of sanctification of the world. The psalm is not only about the event (which most psalm scholarship seems to assume), but is also about the long-term process which has been begun here. Such a palm is always an act of profound hope, for such a realm has clearly not been establish simply by the use of the psalm. But liturgical use of the psalm is more than hope. It is making the further momentarily present now through word, gesture, practice. This psalm celebrates in face of the old order still present to us, an order of injustice and faithlessness. But that old order is an order which in fact has no serious claim to make. This liturgy is the beginning of the dismantling of that order.” Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms pp. 145-146
“The other explicit songs of enthronement (Psalms 47, 93, 98, 99) can be dealt with in more summary fashion because they articulate the same themes we have seen in Psalm 96.” Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms p. 146
Brueggemann Chapter 5 Enthronement Psalms in From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms.
“Two things are clear about the imaginative, liturgical world of ancient Israel. First, that world was peopled by many gods. There are many indicators in the Bible that Israel’s religious world was not monotheistic but consisted in a plurality of gods who sometimes cooperated and sometimes competed. Second, it is clear that the community of gods was not a democracy but was organized into a hierarchy that was often competitive.” Brueggemann, From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. p. 49
“When we come to the book of Psalms, it is clear that YHWH’s victory in the exodus is just one instance of an often-repeated lyrical celebration of YHWH’s victory over many things: (1) the gods, with the establishment of YHWH as king over all other deities who must submit to YHWH; (2) the threat of chaos; and (3) over all the powers of evil and death. Thus this God is peculiarly allied with Israel but is at the same time celebrated as the cosmic king over all creation. This interface of Israelite particularity and cosmic sovereignty is a regular feature of Israel’s psalms, an interface that constitutes one of the wonders and one of the quandaries of Israel’s faith.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. p. 49
“Six psalms are regularly identified as hymns that celebrate the kingship of YHWH over all gods and all creation and are, of that reason, termed “Enthronement Psalms” (Pss. 47, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99). Each of these six palms identify YHWH as “king,” a claim that evokes celebrative doxology in Israel that constitutes , in each case, the body of the psalm. It is the establishment and acknowledgment of YHWH’s kinship aha makes the world safe. Because of YHWH’s triumph, the other gods are either subordinate agents who cooperate with YHWH’s rule (as in the “council of the gods” in Psalm 82) or are completely defeated, humiliated opponents. Thus the lyrical imagination of Israel manage dot acknowledge a commonly assumed purity of gods while at the same time asserting YHWH’s superiority among the gods.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. pp. 49-50
“The other gods are advocates of other social policies, characteristically policies of greed and violence. One primary reason for jubilation is that teach god brings with him or her a set of norms and social policies. YHWH always comes with policies and norms of neighborliness.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. p. 53
“Insofar as the Psalms are scripts for dramatic, disciplined, intentional reperformance, we are belated particpants in this generative act of enthronement. In the liturgy, we, not unlike ancient Israel, regularly reassert that the world is under the governance of the God of justice and righteousness. In this way, the Psalms have immediate implications for social practice and policy. Since we live in a culture decisively out of sync with God’s divine governance as lived out in the Psalms, singing these poems is at one and the same time an act of hope (that God’s rule will prevail) and an act of resolve (to participate here and now in that newgovernance). Psalm 99 sounds the note of forgiveness that is the ultimate gift of this rule. O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them. (Ps 99:8) That is the kind of governance the world yearns for and that it so much needs in our day and age, time and place.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. p. 55
“In this celebration of Go’s majesty, it is of course in the interest of the psalm plot to proclaim that this is a fish and original composition. In point of face, ti is a weaving together of phrases and whole lines that appear elsewhere. Yair Hoffman actually characterizes it as a “mosaic” of lines drawn from familiar psalm. The every familiarity, of course, might have enhanced its accessibility to the Israelite worshiper.” Alter p. 338
I love the new song Julia Seymour wrote for the hymn tune “hymn to joy” based on psalm 96 in The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. (Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press. 2002.) Edited by Martha Spong.
Voices sing, “Our God is good all the time and everywhere,”
Prayers and praise and adulation in response to holy care
There is no one like our Mother, none pour forth in pow’r like her
Love that gives us life eternal, grace that makes our freedom sure.
False the idols that surround us, lies their word, untrue their claim.
Off’ring death at low, low prices, our souls’ pain their only aim.
Always present, our God save us with the truth we have a home.
Resting in the arms of mercy, anchored souls no longer roam.
Let us then reject the mistrust, fear, and hurt that fill our days.
Join we all in celebration, taking up God’s work and ways.
We are fam’ly, all united by the One who loves us best.
We are called to work together, til we reach our holy rest.
Alter, Robert. 2007. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary New York: W. W. Norton & Company
WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.
Bourgeault, C. (2006). Chanting the psalms: A practical guide Audio Book. New Seeds.
Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.
Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Brueggemann, Walter. Davis Hanskins, Editor. 2022. Our Hearts Wait: Worshiping Through Praise and Lament in the Psalms Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KY.
Brueggemann, Walter. (2002). Spirituality of the psalms. Augsburg Pub. House.
Brueggemann, Walter. (1984). The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg.
Chilson, Richard, ed. You Shall Not Want: A Spiritual Journey Based on the Psalms. Ave Maria Press, 2009.
Chittister, Joan. (2011). Songs of the heart: reflections on the psalms. John Garratt Publishing.
Cudjoe-Wilkes and Wilkes Cudjoe-Wilkes, G., Wilkes, A. J., & Moss, O. (2022). Psalms for black lives: Reflections for the work of Liberation. Upper Room Books.
WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.
Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
DAFLER, J. (2021). PSOBRIETY: A journey of recovery through the psalms. Louisville, KY: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX.
W de Claisse-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 4-5. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 22. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2020.
Green, Barbara. 1997. Like a Tree Planted: An Exploration of Psalms and Parables Through Metaphor. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
W Hopkins, Denise Dombkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 2-3. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 21. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2016.
NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Lewis, C. S. (2017). Reflections on the Psalms. Harper One, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.
McCann, J. C. (1993). A theological introduction to the book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Merrill, N. C. (2020). Psalms for praying an invitation to wholeness (10th Anniversary Edition ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.
Morgan, Michael. 2010. The Psalter for Christian Worship Revised Edition. Westminster John Knox Press.
Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.
Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.
Weems, Ann. 1995. Psalm of Lament. Westminster John Knox Pres
OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.
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