11–12 The coming of God to judge is here a cause for joy. All nature is called on to celebrate his coming—heaven, earth, sea (v. 11; cf. Isa 42:10–12; 44:23; 49:13; 55:12–13), sea creatures (cf. 24:2; 98:7; Isa 42:10), fields and wild animals (“everything in them,” v. 12; cf. 24:1), and “trees of the forest” (cf. Isa 55:12–13). C. Houtman (“De Jubelzang van de Struiken der Wildernis in Psalm 96:12b,” in Loven en Geloven, ed. M. H. van Es et al. [Amsterdam: Ton Bolland, 1975], 151–74) may well be right in his extensive argument that “forest” is an inadequate translation. He renders it as “thicket” or “wilderness” and concludes that the psalmist longs for a transformation of creation at the coming of Yahweh in which even the jungle and thicket will have a share.[1]
11–12. In these verses, the soul of the inspired writer is so lifted up, that he even calls upon the inanimate parts of creation to join in celebrating the glorious king Messiah’s praises. The heavens and the earth, the sea and its fulness, the fields and the trees of the wood, all shall manifest, by tokens, joy in the glories of their Creator. For as the whole creation groaneth by reason of the fall, so in redemption every thing shall bear a part in holy joy.[2]
Ver. 11.—Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad. “An appeal for the sympathy of nature” (Cheyne): comp. Isa. 44:23; Jer. 51:48. If the final coming of Messiah’s kingdom be the event alluded to in ver. 10, as is quite possible, the calling on heaven and earth to rejoice may indicate a real renovation of the material universe, such as to bring it into harmony with the newly established spiritual conditions of the period (comp. Isa. 65:17–25; Rev. 21:1–4). Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof (comp. Ps. 98:7). The sea is to show its joy by raising its voice, and “roaring,” or “thundering.”
Ver. 12.—Let the field be joyful; i.e. “the cultivated ground.” And all that is therein. Its vines, its olives, its other fruits, and its harvests. Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord. Lebanon and Bashan shall rejoice equally with Carmel and Sharon. The whole earth shall “break forth into singing” (see Isa. 44:23).[3]
11. “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad.” Above and below let the joy be manifested. Let the angels who have stood in amaze at the wickedness of men, now rejoice over their repentance and restoration to favour, and let men themselves express their pleasure in seeing their true prince set upon his throne. The book of creation has two covers, and on each of these let the glory of the Lord be emblazoned in letters of joy. “Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.” Let it be no more a troubled sea, wailing over ship-wrecked mariners, and rehearsing the griefs of widows and orphans, but let it adopt a cheerful note, and rejoice in the kingdom of the Lord. Let it thunder out the name of the Lord when its tides are at its full, and let all its teeming life express the utmost joy because the Lord reigneth even in the depth of the sea. In common with the rest of the creation, the sea has groaned and travailed until now: is not the time close at hand in which its hollow murmur shall be exchanged for an outburst of joy? Will not every billow soon flash forth the praises of him who once trod the sea?
“Waft, waft, ye winds, his story!
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole.”
12. “Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein.” Let the cultivated plains praise the Lord. Peace enables their owners to plough and sow and reap, without fear of the rapine of invaders, and therefore in glad notes they applaud him whose empire is peace. Both men, and creatures that graze the plain, and the crops themselves are represented as swelling the praises of Jehovah, and the figure is both bold and warranted, for the day shall come when every inhabited rood of ground shall yield its song, and every farmstead shall contain a church. “Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.” He does not say let them rejoice, but they shall do so. The faith of the Psalmist turns itself from the expression of desire to the fully assured prediction of the event. Groves have in old times stood shuddering at the horrid orgies which have been performed within their shade, the time shall come when they shall sing for joy because of the holy worship, the sounds of which they shall hear. The bush is the stronghold of savage men and robbers, but it shall be sanctified to retirement and devotion. Perhaps the Psalmist was thinking of the birds; so Keble must have supposed, for he versifies the passage thus—
“Field exults and meadow fair,
With each bud and blossom there,
In the lonely woodlands now
Chants aloud each rustling bough.”[4]
[1] VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, p. 725). Zondervan.
[2] Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Job–Psalms (Vol. 4, p. 475). Logos Bible Software.
[3] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Psalms (Vol. 2, p. 320). Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[4] Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 88-110 (Vol. 4, pp. 183–184). Marshall Brothers.
Truth2Freedom's Blog 