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.
(Psalm 96:10-13)

October 16, 2026

Dear friends,

Not a lot of people -- Christians included -- associate the idea of God's judgment with great joy. Does the thought of the judgment of God make you happy? It should.

This psalm, Psalm 96, among other passages of Scripture, tells us that the judgment of the Lord, specifically the coming day of earth's judgment, is a very good thing, so much so that all of creation rejoices to see that day. The seas will roar, the fields will exult, and all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.

There are various kinds and ways of judgment that God exercises, both in time and for eternity, both for believer and unbeliever, but the view of this psalm is of all peoples and nations, and of all creation. And it's a good thing, for with this judgment he sets all things right.

The Apostle Paul agrees: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21) (So, there may be some truth to Bob Ross's frequent encouragement to add "happy trees" to your paintings.)

The statement about the joyfulness of God's judgment is related to the repeated truth that "The LORD reigns!" (Ps 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1) This refrain hearkens back to the words of King David's prayer of thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles 16, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

(1 Chronicles 16:31-34)

Of course, "LORD" (all caps) is not a generic word for God, but the Hebrew word, YHWH (often written, Yahweh), namely, the God of the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, and supremely revealed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 18; 8:58; 14:9). In these psalms where "the LORD reigns" we are told specifically that "all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens." (96:5)

So, because the LORD -- the God of the Bible-- rules over all, he will hold all accountable, and when his Son, our Lord Jesus returns, he will set all things right. According to his standard, with biblical equity (96:10). And that is both comfort and admonition to his people, as we read world news, because God's judgment will reveal things as they really are, the good for the good that is in them, and the evil for the evil that is in them, and he will restore things to their rightful place and divinely created order. This is why "all the trees of the forest sing for joy". The reason: "...for he comes to judge the earth." And the result, worship: "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" All of this goes together -- joy, judgment, gratitude, worship, goodness. God's judgment and steadfast love are inseparable.

Therefore, as the psalmist says, the peoples of the earth are warned: "Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!" (Psalm 96:9) Only those who long for the holiness and beauty of God will see and enter the world set right by his holiness. The new world is for those who themselves are new creatures: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

So... do I look forward to God putting all things right in this world? Am I yielding to his putting all things right in my life even now?

IN OTHER LINKS.

-- Sin, in its various forms, brings disruption to the life of shalom [peace, well-being]. It breaks, disrupts, pollutes, twists, distorts, or perverts the way things ought to be. "Perversion" does not just mean creepy things.

-- "We forget that, while we agree about the abuses of things, we should differ very much about the uses of them. The only way to discuss the social evil is to get at once to the social ideal. We can all see the national madness; but what is national sanity?" (G. K. Chesterton, 1910)

-- I've been reading updates from Purdue University's expedition to Nikumaroro Island, as they seek to find remains of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra airplane. Follow here.

-- Have you voted? We may not be in control of many things, but we should pray and we should vote.

FINAL QUOTE.

“If God is not glorious to you, you cannot properly glorify Him.” (Michael Reeves)

And that's it for this week!

Sandy

Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.