John Calvin Commentary Psalms 96:9

"Oh worship Jehovah in holy array: Tremble before him, all the earth." — Psalms 96:9 (ASV)

Worship before Jehovah: The Psalmist continues with the same line of thought. In requiring offerings from his people, God was not to be considered as needing the services of his creatures, but as giving them an opportunity to profess their faith. The true reason, therefore, is mentioned here why the offering was commanded: so that his people might bow down before him and acknowledge that they and all that belonged to them were his.

Mention is made of the beauty of the temple, referring to the fact that the Gentiles would be raised to a new honor by being united into one body with God’s chosen people. At the time when this psalm was written, it was generally considered hardly believable that the Gentile nations would be admitted into the temple alongside the holy seed of Abraham.

This should make us appreciate more deeply our calling as Gentiles, which at that time seemed so incredible and unfeasible. We may be convinced that only God could have opened for us the door of salvation. The expression the beauty of the temple is intended to foster a reverent view of the temple, so that people may approach it with humble fear, instead of rushing thoughtlessly into God’s presence.

The clause that follows in the verse is inserted for the same purpose—tremble before his face, suggesting that we should bow down as supplicants before him when we consider his awe-inspiring majesty. This is not to say that he would deter worshippers from drawing near to God. They should consider it their greatest pleasure and enjoyment to seek his face.

But he would have us humbled for the true and serious worship of God. I might add that the beauty or glory of the sanctuary did not consist in silver and gold, in the preciousness of the material from which it was made, nor in polished stones, nor in any splendor and decoration of this kind, but in the representation of the heavenly pattern that was shown to Moses on the mount (Exodus 25:9).