Psalm 96: What Makes God So Special?

It would have been interesting to live in a polytheistic world.  In the Old Testament, Israel was surrounded by pagan nations that worshiped other gods.  I'm sure that - just like Christians get challenged about the veracity of our beliefs today - Israel found itself questioned about their commitment to the Lord above anything else.  I believe Psalm 96 can be read as a response to this challenge of faith.

According to the Psalmist, here are the things that set the Lord God apart from all the other gods:

• The Lord is great, and is to be revered among all gods (vs. 4).
• The Lord made the heavens, while all the other gods are merely idols (vs. 5).
• Glory is due to God's name (vs. 8).
• Words that describe God are salvation, honor, majesty, strength, beauty, holy splender (various).
• The Lord is king (vs. 10).
• He is coming to judge the world (vs. 13).

The end result of God's specialness and uniqueness is that all the world should be engaged in His worship.  The Psalmist calls for a new song to be sung, a song to be sung by "all the earth" (vs. 1).  The universality of God's kingship and worship transcends just the nation of Israel.  It involves "all the peoples" (vs. 3) and "all the earth" (vs. 9).

God is not a provincial god.  The fact that He is the God above all gods, the God of the universe, means that He is special and worthy of worship indeed!