Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.
The verse belongs to the psalm David gave to be sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem with gladness, calling the sea and all it holds and the fields and all they hold to rejoice in praise of the Lord. It stands in 1 Chronicles 16:23-33, which repeats Psalm 96 with slight variations as a composed prayer and praise made to be sung, as 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 repeats Psalm 105. Its language is Hebrew poetic personification, not plain prose to be taken literally, picturing the inanimate sea roaring and the inanimate fields and even the trees rejoicing and acting as living beings at God's presence. It is part of Israel's charge to declare Jehovah's glory among the nations so Gentiles might be converted, showing the truth entrusted to Israel was for the world, with creation's praise joining the proclamation of God's salvation through His works and His Word. That rejoicing takes place before the Lord at His coming judgment after probation, showing the gospel had been preached world-wide in the past. Those who held it teach that this singing of inanimate creation proves the dead are likewise personified to speak and act as though alive, so the conversing of Dives and Lazarus does not prove conscious life after death.
Setting and Language
The call belongs to the psalm David gave to be sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, an undertaking completed with gladness. In that psalm the sea and its fullness and the fields and all that is in them are summoned to rejoice in praise of the Lord.
The call stands within 1 Chronicles 16:23-33, which contains the whole of Psalm 96. That portion repeats Psalm 96 with slight variations as a composed prayer and praise made to be sung, just as 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 repeats the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105.
Its language is Hebrew poetic diction and must not be construed literally as plain prose but figuratively. It is personification in which the inanimate sea and its fullness are pictured as roaring and the inanimate fields and all within them are represented as rejoicing. Inanimate parts of creation are there given speech and action like living beings, with even the trees pictured as singing at the presence of God.
Universal Witness and Doctrine
The extended summons to praise is a charge laid upon Israel to declare the glory of Jehovah among the nations, that the Gentiles might be turned to Him. The truth and the law committed to Israel were not committed for Israel alone but for the world, and Gentiles who give themselves to God come under one law with Israel. The salvation of God is to be proclaimed to all the world in His works and by His Word, and the roaring fullness of the sea and the rejoicing of the fields with all that is in them join as creation's praise in that universal witness. That worldwide call shows that the gospel and the grace of God had been preached world-wide in the past.
The rejoicing of the sea and all within it, and of the fields and all within them, takes place before the Lord. In the setting of the surrounding verses this rejoicing accompanies the Lord's coming to judge, which follows the close of the period of probation.
The roaring and rejoicing of inanimate creation at the presence of God is not literal living speech but personification, picturing things that cannot speak and act as though they were alive. In the same way the dead in hades are personified and made to speak and act with reference to the facts of their cases as though they were alive. Therefore the conversing of Dives and Lazarus in death is not proof of conscious life after death.
The verse belongs to the psalm David gave to be sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem with gladness, calling the sea and all it holds and the fields and all they hold to rejoice in praise of the Lord. It stands in 1 Chronicles 16:23-33, which repeats Psalm 96 with slight variations as a composed prayer and praise made to be sung, as 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 repeats Psalm 105. Its language is Hebrew poetic personification, not plain prose to be taken literally, picturing the inanimate sea roaring and the inanimate fields and even the trees rejoicing and acting as living beings at God's presence. It is part of Israel's charge to declare Jehovah's glory among the nations so Gentiles might be converted, showing the truth entrusted to Israel was for the world, with creation's praise joining the proclamation of God's salvation through His works and His Word. That rejoicing takes place before the Lord at His coming judgment after probation, showing the gospel had been preached world-wide in the past. Those who held it teach that this singing of inanimate creation proves the dead are likewise personified to speak and act as though alive, so the conversing of Dives and Lazarus does not prove conscious life after death.
Setting and Language
The call belongs to the psalm David gave to be sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, an undertaking completed with gladness. In that psalm the sea and its fullness and the fields and all that is in them are summoned to rejoice in praise of the Lord.
The call stands within 1 Chronicles 16:23-33, which contains the whole of Psalm 96. That portion repeats Psalm 96 with slight variations as a composed prayer and praise made to be sung, just as 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 repeats the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105.
Its language is Hebrew poetic diction and must not be construed literally as plain prose but figuratively. It is personification in which the inanimate sea and its fullness are pictured as roaring and the inanimate fields and all within them are represented as rejoicing. Inanimate parts of creation are there given speech and action like living beings, with even the trees pictured as singing at the presence of God.
Universal Witness and Doctrine
The extended summons to praise is a charge laid upon Israel to declare the glory of Jehovah among the nations, that the Gentiles might be turned to Him. The truth and the law committed to Israel were not committed for Israel alone but for the world, and Gentiles who give themselves to God come under one law with Israel. The salvation of God is to be proclaimed to all the world in His works and by His Word, and the roaring fullness of the sea and the rejoicing of the fields with all that is in them join as creation's praise in that universal witness. That worldwide call shows that the gospel and the grace of God had been preached world-wide in the past.
The rejoicing of the sea and all within it, and of the fields and all within them, takes place before the Lord. In the setting of the surrounding verses this rejoicing accompanies the Lord's coming to judge, which follows the close of the period of probation.
The roaring and rejoicing of inanimate creation at the presence of God is not literal living speech but personification, picturing things that cannot speak and act as though they were alive. In the same way the dead in hades are personified and made to speak and act with reference to the facts of their cases as though they were alive. Therefore the conversing of Dives and Lazarus in death is not proof of conscious life after death.