Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and all that fills it. Let the field exalt and everything in it and all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord. For he comes, for, he comes to judge the earth. He’ll judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
– Psalm 96:11–13
Don’t you love all that imagery of all the earth rejoicing over God in anticipation of God coming to judge and redeem the world? Let the heavens be glad.
Psalm 96:11–13 Portrays the Resounding Joy of Creation
Just picture the heavens as you look to the skies. Picture the skies being glad. Let the earth rejoice. Just look around you at the world today. Just picture all of creation rejoicing. Let the sea roar and all that fills it. Just picture the sea, picture the ocean roaring and everything in it roaring.
Let the field exalt and everything in it. Just picture a grassy field full of flowers. Exalting then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Even as I’m reading this, I’m looking out at trees and I’m just picturing them singing for joy. All of this before the Lord, before Yahweh, before God, before he comes. And what does he come to do? He comes to judge the earth, to judge the world in righteousness and the peoples and his faithfulness.
God comes to bring full and final justice and mercy on all who have trusted in him, all who’ve turned from their sin and by his grace lived for his glory among all the peoples. Oh, I can’t help but to think about Romans 8 when I read these verses in Psalms 96. How creation is awaiting an eager expectation for God to return and for his justice and his righteousness to reign on the earth and the curse of sin and death to be no more.
Psalm 96:11–13 Is a Psalm of Triumph of Righteous Judgment
So we pray based on these verses in Psalm 96, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We want to see you come as Judge and Redeemer and Savior. God, we, we want to see the earth restored a new heaven and a new earth. Three from sin and all of its effects. God, bring it about. We pray. Come Lord Jesus, just come quickly and let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice and the sea roar and the field exalt and the trees sing for joy at your coming.
Oh, may it be today. Lord Jesus, come back today, if not today, tomorrow, soon. Come quickly, we pray and in anticipation of that day, we pray that you would help us to proclaim the Gospel of your justice and your faithfulness and your mercy to people around us. God, give us urgency to share the gospel today with people around us and to peoples around the world.
Just like Psalm 96:3 says, to declare your glory among all the nations. Your marvelous works among all the peoples because you’re coming to judge all the peoples in your faithfulness.
Praying for the Casiguran Dumagat Agta People
God, we pray specifically today for small remote people groups in the Philippines like the Casiguran Dumagat Agta people, oh God, 900 of them. This small semi-nomadic people group. God, we pray disciples we made among them that a church might be planted among them that they might rejoice and be glad in you. Jesus said they might be ready for the day when you return. Oh God, help us to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all the peoples knowing that the end is coming. God, use our prayers, our giving, our lives, our families, our churches, to spread the good news of your grace among all the nations with urgency and anticipation of the day when you will come and all creation will shout your praise. In Jesus’ name we pray according to Psalm 96:11–13. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
