NOTES for Psa 96

Not only do the signs of God's presence appear utterly fearsome; contemplating His majesty, it is easy to conclude that it is altogether incompatible with everything that exists on earth. And if the Lord can melt mountains more easily than a flame melts wax, what are human beings before Him, such weak and insignificant creatures?

Yet it is precisely the human being who proves to be the only one capable of speaking with God. Human greatness consists in being able to stand before God, not only on one's own behalf but also on behalf of all creation, while the One before whom the universe trembles agrees to hear us.

This is precisely why the account demanded of us will be the greatest. The sins into which we fall are abhorrent in themselves, but even that is not all, because unfortunately they cannot be called merely our private affair. No, they can affect the destiny of all creation. Yet our deliverance from sin will also become the beginning of the healing of the distorted world.

The first line expresses the central thought of the entire psalm, whose details the psalmist then sings. The Lord reigns: let the earth rejoice! The psalmist sees God’s throne, surrounded by the radiant flame of His mercy, as the center and foundation of the universe. Everything is ordered around this center; without it, the world turns into a chaotic accumulation of phenomena. Only the Creator’s reign gives the world harmony and meaning. This is one of the most important elements of biblical revelation about us and our life. For only from there, from God’s throne, do light, truth, and joy enter our life.