Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
This Psalm focuses on the reign of our Lord God. The Lord is eternal, ever existing. He has created all that exists. He reigns over the entire universe. He controls all the elements of the natural world, the sun, moon, stars, planets, galaxies, the weather, the seas, rivers, and earthquakes so that all these operate according to His will. He has set in motion laws and principles that allow all things to function as He wills.
There are no other gods. What are worshipped by human beings as other gods are merely lifeless idols or corrupt demons bent on leading all people astray.
In ancient times and in primitive societies, men worshiped the forces of nature rather than the one who created them. Our modern culture is too sophisticated for that. Instead, the world worships many other idols: celebrity, wealth, power and science. Scientists have become the new priests of this contemporary idolatry. These scientists seek to control the forces of the created world, even to creating life as well as taking it. And we silly, naive human beings look to them to explain life and solve all of life’s problems and cure all the world’s ills and diseases, just as we saw with the COVID pandemic. Medical scientists sought to control the virus yet despite all their efforts they could not. Scientists cannot tamper with the forces of the Lord’s universe without suffering serious repercussions both for themselves as well as the rest of us. Those who try to explain the world apart from God’s revelation have no hope of solving anything.
Because God is Almighty, all human beings ought to acknowledge His power and presence as well as seek to praise and exalt Him. In addition, He is a God who is just and right. Therefore he judges all humans with equity. Because of His justice then, all human beings ought to obey what He commands. Those who do not obey Him though they clamor for justice may find that what they think is just and fair does not agree with what the Lord deems right. And He alone has the final say in the matter.