Sing to Him a New Song

Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous!Praise is fitting for the upright.

Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

The psalm opens with a call rather than a request. The righteous are told to rejoice in the LORD, and praise is described as fitting for the upright, something that suits them. The KJV says praise is comely for the upright.

Also read Romans 5:19, Psalm 118:15, Philippians 4:4, Psalm 32:11

Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre.Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

Praise is given instruments here: the lyre and the harp of ten strings. The psalm expects thanks to be played as well as spoken.

Also read Psalm 92:3, Psalm 150:3-6, Psalm 149:3, Psalm 81:2-3

Sing to him a new song.Play skillfully with a shout of joy!

Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

The verse asks for three things at once: a new song, skilful playing and a shout of joy. Praise here is both careful and loud.

Also read 2 Chronicles 34:12, Psalm 40:3, 1 Chronicles 15:22, Isaiah 42:10

For the LORD’s word is right.All his work is done in faithfulness.

For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

Here the psalm gives its first reason for praise. The LORD's word is right and all his work is done in faithfulness, so what he says and what he does match.

Also read Psalm 25:10, Psalm 36:5-6, Psalm 119:128, John 14:6

He loves righteousness and justice.The earth is full of the loving kindness of the LORD.

He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Righteousness and justice are named as what God loves. The second half makes a large claim: the earth is full of his loving kindness, so the psalm finds it everywhere.

Also read Psalm 145:15-16, Acts 14:17, Psalm 119:64, Psalm 45:7

By the LORD’s word, the heavens were made:all their army by the breath of his mouth.

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Creation is described as an act of speech. The heavens were made by the LORD's word, and everything that fills them, called their army, by the breath of his mouth.

Also read 2 Peter 3:5, Job 26:13, Jeremiah 8:2, Job 33:4

He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap.He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

After the heavens in verse 6, the psalm turns to the sea. God gathers its waters together as a heap and lays up the deeps in storehouses, as if the ocean were supplies kept in a barn. Even the deep is something he stores and orders.

Also read Genesis 1:9-10, Joshua 3:16, Exodus 15:8, Joshua 3:13

Let all the earth fear the LORD.Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

Because God made everything, everyone is called to fear him. The verse widens the audience from the righteous of verse 1 to all the earth and every inhabitant of the world.

Also read Revelation 14:6-7, Psalm 76:7, Psalm 96:9-10, Jeremiah 10:7-12

For he spoke, and it was done.He commanded, and it stood firm.

For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

This is the psalm's shortest account of creation. He spoke and it was done, he commanded and it stood firm. There is no gap in the verse between the word and the result.

Also read Psalm 93:5, Revelation 4:11, Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 119:90-91

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing.He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.

The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

The LORD who made the world also undoes human plans. The counsel of the nations comes to nothing and the thoughts of the peoples have no effect. The next verse sets God's own counsel against them.

Also read Psalm 140:8, 2 Samuel 15:31, Job 5:12-13, Isaiah 44:23

The counsel of the LORD stands fast forever,the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

This verse answers verse 10. The plans of the nations come to nothing, but the counsel of the LORD stands fast forever, and the thoughts of his heart last to all generations. The KJV reads The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever.

Also read Isaiah 46:10, Isaiah 14:27, Jeremiah 29:11, Micah 4:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

The psalm names who is truly blessed: the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen as his inheritance. The KJV reads Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

Also read Titus 2:14, Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6-8, Deuteronomy 33:29

The LORD looks from heaven.He sees all the sons of men.

The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

The psalm moves from God's word to God's sight. He looks from heaven and sees all the sons of men, with nobody left out. Verses 14 and 15 carry the thought on: he watches all the inhabitants of the earth and considers all their works.

Also read Psalm 53:2, Psalm 11:4, Psalm 14:2, Psalm 102:19

From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,

From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

Also read Isaiah 57:15, 1 Kings 8:43, 1 Kings 8:39, Psalm 123:1

he who fashions all of their hearts;and he considers all of their works.

He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

God does not only watch from a distance. He fashions all their hearts and considers all their works, so he knows people from the inside.

Also read Proverbs 24:12, Psalm 44:21, Jeremiah 32:19, Proverbs 27:19

There is no king saved by the multitude of an army.A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

The psalm names things people rely on for safety. A king is not saved by a large army, and a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. Numbers and force are both set aside as not enough.

Also read Exodus 14:28, 1 Kings 20:27-29, 2 Chronicles 32:21, 2 Chronicles 32:8-9

A horse is a vain thing for safety,neither does he deliver any by his great power.

An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

The horse, set beside the army and the mighty man of verse 16, is called a vain thing for safety. Its great power does not rescue anyone. Verse 18 then says what does: the LORD's eye on those who fear him.

Also read Ecclesiastes 9:11, Isaiah 30:16, Job 39:19-25, Proverbs 21:31

Behold, the LORD’s eye is on those who fear him,on those who hope in his loving kindness,

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Where armies and horses fail, God's eye does not. His attention rests on those who fear him and hope in his loving kindness. This is the psalm's answer to the false safety of verses 16 and 17.

Also read Romans 4:4-8, Psalm 13:5, Psalm 34:15-20, Psalm 147:11

to deliver their soul from death,to keep them alive in famine.

To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

This verse finishes the sentence begun in verse 18. God's eye rests on those who fear him in order to deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. The rescue is described in plain terms of life, death and food.

Also read John 10:28, Psalm 91:10, Psalm 37:19, Matthew 6:31-33

Our soul has waited for the LORD.He is our help and our shield.

Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

The psalm changes voice here, from calls to praise to a shared statement. Our soul has waited for the LORD, and he is called our help and our shield.

Also read Psalm 62:5-6, Isaiah 8:17, Psalm 144:1-2, Psalm 130:5-6

For our heart rejoices in him,because we have trusted in his holy name.

For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

Joy is tied to trust. The heart rejoices because it has trusted in God's holy name, which brings back the rejoicing that opened the psalm in verse 1.

Also read Revelation 4:8, 1 Chronicles 16:35, Psalm 13:5, John 16:22

Let your loving kindness be on us, LORD,since we have hoped in you.

Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

The psalm ends as a prayer. The people ask that God's loving kindness rest on them, in keeping with the hope they have placed in him.

Also read Psalm 119:76, Psalm 5:11-12, Psalm 13:5, Matthew 9:29