Introduction
Psalm 96 is a psalm of a new song, a call to the entire earth and all nations to recognize the sovereignty of Hashem. The psalm is built upon the fundamental distinction between the conduct of nature and the conduct of miracles, between the name Elokim and the Tetragrammaton (Havayah), and between the status of Israel and that of the nations of the world. We will follow the order of the verses and see how the Malbim, Radak, Ibn Ezra, and Rashi illuminate every word of the psalm.
"Ascribe to Hashem, families of the peoples" - Why the Nations Lack Lineage
הָבוּ לַיהֹוָה מִשְׁפְּחוֹת עַמִּים הָבוּ לַיהֹוָה כָּבוֹד וָעֹז׃ - Ascribe to Hashem, families of the peoples; ascribe to Hashem glory and strength.
The Midrash relates that when the nations of the world came to receive the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: "Bring your book of lineage." What is the meaning of this demand? Among the Jewish people, every person traces their lineage back through their father, which inherently guarantees the transmission of the Torah across generations: what I received from my father - my father is a role model to me, and I pass this on to my children, and I am a role model to them. There is lineage; there is esteem and value passed from father to son. But they have no lineage: what the father said - who cares?
Among the nations in particular, as is well known, honoring parents is sorely lacking to the utmost degree. There is contempt for parents: "What does Dad understand? You give him a smartphone and he struggles with it; he lacks basic intelligence." And who is considered intelligent in his eyes? Someone who knows how to swipe a finger on a device. Yet in practical life wisdom, your father knows things that in fifty years you will not even have learned what he has already managed to forget. Today people do not know how to manage their lives: a person may be an expert on all the device's features, but in his personal life he is overdrawn, in debt, and in trouble. His father knew how to conduct himself: if there is money in the pocket, he buys; if not, he does not buy. But today the perception is that elders are "old-fashioned," that the world belongs to the young, and the life wisdom of an adult counts for nothing.
Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: What is the point of giving you the Torah? In the end, you will disregard whatever your father passed down to you; you do not accept the foundational principle that "fathers do not pass down falsehood to their children." You have no lineage - so how could you possibly receive the Torah?
This is what the verse tells us here. The nations do not trace their lineage back to Hashem. "Ascribe to Hashem, families of the peoples; ascribe to Hashem glory and strength" - whoever truly desires to receive "strength," which is the Torah, must prove that he possesses the quality of "families of peoples": that he has family, structure, a father and a son, and the son receives from his father. If you have tradition, it is guaranteed that you will carry it forward, and you are fit to receive the Torah.
Copy-Paste onto the Truth of Israel
What is the most widely printed book in the world? The Tanach. On what are all the major religions based? The Tanach. Nothing is more universally known and recognized. On the contrary, anyone who sets out to invent a fabrication must paste it onto an existing truth. All of Islam is pure copy-paste: they looked for a holy site - Al-Aqsa. And what is Al-Aqsa? The site of the Jewish Temple. Go build something of your own in Deir al-Balah - no, they need a site that already commands reverence. They also took the narrative of the Akeidah (the Binding of Isaac) and turned it into the binding of Ishmael. What ignorance: invent a new story! Even that basic creativity is absent: they take your narrative and swap the names; they take your holy site and build their sanctuary upon it. But a falsehood must be marketed, and how do you market it? You take something that is already deeply rooted and revered, build your narrative upon it, and appropriate it for yourself.
The entire Sefer HaKuzari is founded on this premise. The king summoned the Christian and the Muslim, since Judaism seemed to him the least relevant - how few Jews there are, and they are downtrodden and despised, whereas Christianity and Islam boast vast multitudes. Yet it became apparent that Christianity begins with the Torah of Moshe, and Islam also professes belief in the Torah of Moshe. He said: If so, I shall turn to the source. Why bother with imitations? Let us go directly to the source.
Muhammad himself was an illiterate man. It is said that he had a Jewish mentor who advanced him, but he himself was not a great scholar. People tell a joke about a man who was looking for a place to put on tefillin. He looked right and left and could not find a quiet spot, until he saw an open building with chairs and benches. It looked to him like a kind of synagogue, so he went inside and put on tefillin - but it was actually a church. Just then, people began gathering for mass. Seeing him standing there in tallit and tefillin, they were at a loss as to what to do. They told the priest, and the priest stood up and announced: "If there are any Jews here - leave!" The Jew got up, took his tefillin bag, walked over to the portrait of that man (Jesus), took it down as well, and said: "Jesus, let's go; they don't want us here."
"Sing to Hashem, bless His Name" - Shem Havayah and Shem Elokim
שִׁירוּ לַיהֹוָה בָּרְכוּ שְׁמוֹ בַּשְּׂרוּ מִיּוֹם־לְיוֹם יְשׁוּעָתוֹ׃ - Sing to Hashem, bless His Name; proclaim His salvation from day to day.
The sefer Tenufah LeChaim explains, based on what is cited in holy books in the name of the disciples of the Arizal, that the spiritual form of a Jew bears both Shem Havayah and Shem Elokim upon his head, whereas the nations of the world possess only Shem Elokim, and do not have the Name Y-H-V-H upon them. The reason: Shem Havayah brings about changes in nature - Havayah signifies that Hashem brings all existence into being, and all existence continually emanates from Him, blessed be He. In contrast, the numerical value (gematria) of the Name Elokim equals hateva ("nature" - Elokim plus the letter Hei equals the numerical value of hateva). The nations are bound within the framework of nature, whereas for the Jewish people Hashem performs miracles, through the aspect of Shem Havayah which is above nature. Consequently, whenever there is a dispute or confrontation between Israel and the nations, Israel is bound to prevail: we possess both Names, both the power of nature and the power of miracles, while the nations of the world have only the power of nature.
This is what the verse means by "Sing to Hashem, bless His Name" - bless Shem Havayah, blessed be He, which is His unique Name. Therefore, "proclaim His salvation from day to day": the Jewish people are saved through Shem Havayah, for when Hashem is blessed, He bestows abundant bounty, and through this we also triumph over the nations.
סַפְּרוּ בַגּוֹיִם כְּבוֹדוֹ בְּכׇל־הָעַמִּים נִפְלְאוֹתָיו׃ - Relate His glory among the nations, His wonders among all the peoples.
And what shall we relate among the nations? That "He has not done so for any other nation." The Holy One, blessed be He, did not grant this stature to the nations, and they cannot take pride in Shem Havayah, but only in Shem Elokim, which operates within the framework of nature. "His wonders among all the peoples" - all the wonders that Hashem performed through Shem Havayah, whereas for the nations He did not perform such signs and wonders.
כִּי־גָדוֹל יְהֹוָה וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד נוֹרָא הוּא עַל־כׇּל־אֱלֹהִים׃ - For great is Hashem and exceedingly praised; He is awesome above all gods.
Shem Havayah is awesome and exalted above everything Hashem performs through Shem Elokim. Shem Elokim represents nature, and "He is awesome above all elohim" - above all the operations He conducts through the power of Shem Elokim. Furthermore, Shem Elokim is the Name of strict justice (Din), while Shem Havayah is loving-kindness (Chesed). With the people of Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, acts as a father to children, as it says, "You are children to Hashem your God," and like a father who has compassion on his children, He guides us with loving-kindness. Among the nations, it is the aspect of Shem Elokim, the Name of justice: if they give, they receive; if they do not give, they do not receive - Hashem governs them with strict justice. Therefore, the nations are also destined to be like the burnings of lime, for that is the justice due them according to their evil deeds.
"Ascribe to Hashem the glory of His Name" - How to Honor the King
הָבוּ לַיהֹוָה כְּבוֹד שְׁמוֹ שְׂאוּ־מִנְחָה וּבֹאוּ לְחַצְרוֹתָיו׃ - Ascribe to Hashem the glory of His Name; bring an offering and come into His courtyards.
Ibn Ezra explains that "the glory of His Name" refers to the Ark (Aron), which is called Shem ("Name") because the Name of Hashem rests upon it and the Tablets are placed inside it. "And come into His courtyards" - to bring the Ark into the courtyards of Hashem.
Radak explains: Accord honor to Hashem by bringing an offering to His courtyards, which are the courtyards of the Beit HaMikdash. Just as people in those days honored earthly kings by presenting an offering before them, so too, "Ascribe to Hashem the glory of His Name" - how? "Bring an offering and come into His courtyards." Today, although we cannot bring an offering, we certainly can come into His courtyards. And what are His courtyards? Synagogues and houses of study, as the Gemara states that since the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing in His world except the four cubits of Halachah, and synagogues and study halls, which are termed a "diminished sanctuary" (mikdash me'at). Through this, we give honor to Hashem. And when someone fails to come to the synagogue, what does the Gemara in Berachot call him? An "evil neighbor." Hashem says: He lives in My neighborhood and does not come to visit; he does not enter the synagogue - he is called an evil neighbor.
The Malbim compares the Holy One, blessed be He, to a king who sits in his innermost chambers, hidden from the view of his subjects. Honor is rendered to his name, for his person cannot be seen or grasped directly, and so one honors the king's name instead. In this respect, people resemble servants bearing tribute to the royal courtyard: an unlettered peasant is not admitted into the king's inner palace to present his offering. Rather, there is a reception vestibule where his tribute is received with gratitude, to be brought before the king later, while the commoner himself never penetrates into the royal chamber. So it is with us: we honor the Name of Hashem, yet we cannot reach His very Essence. "Bring an offering and come into His courtyards" - just as the bearer of an offering reaches only the outer courtyards rather than the inner palace, so too we cannot comprehend Him in His Essence, but only through His Name, the Four-Letter Name, blessed be He.
A Name That Is Not the Essential Name - Delving Deeper
If we delve deeper: the Kabbalists explain that everything brought into being in this world emanates from the letters of the Four-Letter Name, and all aspects of the Sefirot and their enclothments derive from it. Yet the Name Havayah itself, as discussed several times, is not the essential Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His absolute Essence. Within this world, it is certainly distinct from all other Divine Names, which are descriptive titles: Shaddai - He Who said to His world, "Enough!"; Elokim - the Master of all forces, the Almighty Ruler. All these Names describe actions and attributes. The Name Havayah is indeed a proper noun, but only within the realm of the Tzimtzum (the divine contraction) - within the reality that emerged after Hashem contracted His light, created an empty space, and formed His universe within it. But when speaking of His Essence beyond the Tzimtzum, even this Name does not apply, for every name imposes a limitation: when you define something by a name, you place it within a conceptual boundary. The Infinite (Ein Sof), blessed be He, has no essential name. What, then, is His Name? It is the manner in which He revealed Himself to us within the realm of the Tzimtzum; Hashem created all worlds through His Name, and this is the Name revealed to us, not His unfathomable Essence. Consequently, "Ascribe to Hashem the glory of His Name" applies specifically to the lower reality: the Holy One, blessed be He, possesses a revealed Name, but the King Himself remains unseen, and man stands like a bearer of tribute arriving only at His outer courtyards.
"Bow to Hashem in the Beauty of Holiness" - Reaching the King's Palace
הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַיהֹוָה בְּהַדְרַת־קֹדֶשׁ חִילוּ מִפָּנָיו כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ׃ - Bow to Hashem in the beauty of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.
In contrast to the concept of distant "glory and strength", Scripture declares: know that in these very courtyards you reach, you actually arrive at the King's palace. For this King is not detached from His people like an earthly monarch who remains inaccessible, guarded by royal sentries who bar entry. With the Holy One, blessed be He, this is not so; He stands ready to reveal Himself to anyone who comes to visit His courtyards and greet Him with an offering. And when you behold the King, as it were, bow before Him in the beauty of holiness. This stems from the revelation of the splendor of the Holy One, blessed be He. As explained, in splendor (hadar) He rises above the natural laws, acting beyond nature, which is termed holiness (kodesh). Holiness always signifies transcendence: an action outside the natural order. The natural order is termed mundane (chol), whereas the dimension of holiness encompasses miracles - the reality in which the Holy One, blessed be He, sanctifies Himself over the world, revealing His sanctity and supremacy. When Hashem reveals Himself to His creations through individual Divine Providence, He transcends the laws of nature in both holiness and splendor. At that moment, one serves Hashem directly rather than through intermediaries, for He "lowers Himself to look upon heaven and earth."
Therefore, "Tremble before Him, all the earth." This awareness ought to fill a person with shuddering, awe, and dread, recognizing His power to overturn the very laws of nature. The Holy One, blessed be He, is not merely some remote, abstract, and transcendent concept; His miracles are perceived within tangible reality. Thus, "tremble before Him" - not before His forces or the agents of nature, but before His very Being, as He reveals Himself through the wonders He performs here in this lower world.
The Unopened Letter
The work Otzrot HaHaggadah offers an allegorical interpretation of "Ascribe to Hashem the glory of His Name": a person genuinely wishes to give glory to Hashem, blessed be He, but how? By what means? Only through what Hashem Himself told us and revealed to us - Torah and mitzvot. There is no other path. The way to honor Hashem is to fulfill His will, to observe the mitzvot and the Torah He gave us. For if an earthly king sent you a personal letter and you never even opened it, out of mere curiosity, to see what he wished to say - could there be any greater insult? The king would say: "I sent you a letter; at the very least, open it and see what I am asking! Whether you comply or not is another matter, but at least open it and see what the king desires." The observance and study of Torah are, in essence, the reading of that letter. To study Torah means to read the letter written by the Holy One, blessed be He, and through this, one accords the greatest honor to Hashem. If a person fails to do so, neglecting to study Torah and refusing to understand his duty in this world, he is regarded as treating the King with contempt, and he will ultimately be held accountable. This is the meaning of "Ascribe to Hashem glory and strength": how is honor rendered? Through strength - "Hashem will give strength to His people" - through the study of Torah. Do not seek alternative avenues to render honor; follow the path Hashem revealed to us: Torah study and the fulfillment of mitzvot.
The Radak's Explanation and a Textual Correction
The Radak explains "Bow to Hashem in the beauty of holiness" as referring to the Beit HaMikdash, which is more magnificent and holy than all other structures; this is the adorned and consecrated place. "Tremble before Him, all the earth" - for you neither trembled nor feared Him until now, but upon seeing His wonders, tremble before Him. In examining the wording of the Radak, it appears that a printer's error crept into the text: it reads, "for you did not desecrate (chilaltem) nor fear," whereas it simply should read "for you did not tremble (chaltem) nor fear." The phrase "tremble (chilu) before Him" does not derive from desecration (chillul), but from trembling and quaking (chil and chalchalah). One cannot say "you did not desecrate nor fear"; rather, it means: you did not tremble or fear Him until now, and when you behold His wonders, that sight will lead you to tremble before Him and revere Him.
"Say Among the Nations: Hashem Reigns"
אִמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם יְהֹוָה מָלָךְ אַף־תִּכּוֹן תֵּבֵל בַּל־תִּמּוֹט יָדִין עַמִּים בְּמֵישָׁרִים׃ - Say among the nations: Hashem reigns! Indeed, the world is established so that it will not falter; He will judge the peoples with uprightness.
Rashi explains that this refers to the future to come, when this song will be sung. "He will judge the peoples with uprightness" - Hashem will give them a clear language and judge all nations fairly, and "uprightness" (*meisharim*) means according to merits, judging them favorably.
Radak explains that "Say among the nations" is addressed to the families of the nations who will come to the Beit HaMikdash when we return to the Land. Tell them: Hashem reigns. That is, the land will be tranquil, there will be no wars, and there will be peace and calm - "the world is established so that it will not falter." Everyone will recognize His kingship, blessed be He, and recognize that Hashem brought His people out of exile to redeem them with an eternal redemption; and indeed, even the rulers of the nations helped bring them here. Radak wrote this long before the UN resolution in 1947 to establish a home for the Jewish people here, a truly wondrous event in which all the nations united to establish a home for the Jewish people in their Land. Ever since, whenever the UN unites, it is almost invariably to pass resolutions of condemnation against the Jewish people. Not all of them, of course - Micronesia stands with us, thank God - but generally, the UN is always against us. Radak writes: "Hashem brought His people out of exile, for even their rulers brought them to their land," meaning their leaders would also assist us in returning here to the Land. Through this it will be clear that Hashem rules over all, and they will recognize the judgment Hashem executed among the nations, recognize that He is the true Sovereign rather than their earthly kings, and worship only Hashem.
"The world is established so that it will not falter" - the world will be firmly established in its proper order and will not collapse. When does the world collapse? When nation lifts up sword against nation and they learn war. But then there will be a reality of "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," a state of peace, and the nations will come here to bring an offering to Hashem, blessed be He. "He will judge the peoples with uprightness" - Hashem will judge the nations fairly, while destroying and eradicating the wicked nations that oppressed and persecuted us. We already see this unfolding: anyone who watches what is happening in Ukraine understands that they are paying a very heavy price for all the pogroms and terrible atrocities they inflicted upon us over many centuries - the appalling antisemitism, the massacres of Tach veTat (1648-1649), and later the Second World War. The Holy One, blessed be He, collects payment from the nations, and step by step He will hold all of them to account.
The Malbim: Miraculous Governance within Natural Governance
The Malbim explains: Proclaim among the nations that "Hashem reigns," meaning that He never surrendered sovereignty to the celestial forces, contrary to the belief of the nations that governance was handed over to the laws of nature. Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself reigns; He Himself directs everything and dispenses all abundance. Then all will realize that all governance is fundamentally miraculous - for natural governance is carried out through the agents of nature, but miraculous governance can be directed only by the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself.
Accordingly, the Malbim explains, you find that the natural order is not an independent, self-contained system; rather, miraculous governance is intimately intertwined with it, hand-in-hand. "Indeed, the world is established so that it will not falter" - even though you see the world standing firm and not collapsing, which appears to reflect the natural order, nevertheless, "He will judge the peoples with uprightness." The Holy One, blessed be He, forged a profound synchronization between the natural reality and the spiritual reality. This is a wondrous principle, explored at length by the Ramchal in *Da'at Tevunot* and elsewhere: the world outwardly operates through nature, so anyone who chooses to view the world through a natural lens will see only nature, whereas anyone who seeks to view it through a spiritual, miraculous lens will perceive the hand of Hashem.
Consider: when the Jewish people fulfill the will of the Omnipresent, does the Torah promise that gold will rain down from the sky? It does not. What does it say? "I will give the rain of your land in its season," and the earth will yield its produce. This is natural governance - the earth yields its harvest - but what triggers it? It comes as a result of our doing the will of Hashem, which is a miraculous reality dependent entirely upon human deeds below. The Holy One, blessed be He, harmonized the natural order with miraculous governance: if you are worthy, you receive abundance matching your good deeds - which is the essence of miraculous reward - yet you receive it through the channels of nature rather than through an open miracle like "Sun, stand still at Gibeon." Through the orderly functioning of heaven, earth, and nature, you receive abundance, livelihood, health, and "no sword shall pass through your land" - all of these are natural promises, yet they materialize only because of our spiritual conduct. Thus, it is supernatural, miraculous governance disguised as nature, rather than mere nature alone. After all, pure nature makes no distinction between the worthy and the unworthy, the righteous and the unrighteous: the sun rises simply because it rises, and the rain falls simply because it falls. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I infuse miraculous governance into the natural order, and this is known as providential governance (*hanhagah hashgachit*). He establishes the world and sets the laws of nature, yet alongside this, "He will judge the peoples with uprightness," judging the nations according to their deeds. The world does not run on nature alone; everything hinges on human actions below, and in accordance with them, the Holy One, blessed be He, channels His abundance.
"Let the Heavens Rejoice, and Let the Earth Be Glad"
יִשְׂמְחוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְתָגֵל הָאָרֶץ יִרְעַם הַיָּם וּמְלֹאוֹ׃ - Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and all that fills it.
יַעֲלֹז שָׂדַי וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ אָז יְרַנְּנוּ כׇּל־עֲצֵי־יָעַר׃ - Let the field exult, and all that is in it; then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.
Radak notes that the joy of the heavens, the gladness of the earth, the roaring of the sea, the exultation of the field, and the singing of the trees are all allegorical - a metaphor for the immense joy that will emerge when great peace and goodness fill the world. As proof: when Scripture wishes to convey the opposite, it says, "The sun and the moon grow dark," as if the heavenly bodies are not rejoicing but mourning; "The earth mourns and fades"; "I caused mourning; I covered the deep for him"; "And I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him." In verses such as these, creation itself is portrayed as mourning. Conversely, when Scripture wishes to describe widespread abundance, peace, and joy, it depicts all of creation as rejoicing and the trees as dancing. These are metaphorical expressions of that supreme redemption.
The Malbim notes with precision: it is written, "Let the heavens rejoice (yismechu hashamayim) and let the earth be glad (vetagel ha'aretz)," and there is a distinction between simchah (rejoicing) and gil (gladness or jubilation), as the Malbim reiterates on numerous occasions. Simchah denotes continuous, constant joy, whereas gil refers to newly renewed joy. A person who wins the lottery experiences not simchah but gil, for something new has occurred; when a child is born to him - that is gil. But when a person experiences ordinary, daily contentment, it is not called gil, since nothing new has transpired. Simchah is the regular, baseline state, while gil goes beyond that - something new that occurred and brought him sudden jubilation.
Accordingly, when creation is established in its orderly pattern and functions as usual, this is simchah - the natural order. When a miracle occurs and departs from nature to bring about something supernatural, that is gil, for one witnesses something transcending natural bounds. And having seen that the Holy One, blessed be He, conducts the world both through nature and through divine providence (hashgachah), with harmony between them, the heavens always function according to the constant natural order. Therefore, it is fittingly said, "Let the heavens rejoice" - their activity is fixed, operating through nature. Nonetheless, "let the earth be glad," for the earth receives according to human deeds: if one is worthy, he receives; if unworthy, he does not receive. This is the realm of miraculous, providential conduct.
This is precisely what the Gemara teaches: the bounty is fixed. The rain is designated to descend in a fixed measure, but where will it fall? It can fall upon the sea, or it can fall upon you. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, releases the heavenly bounty constantly, but if you are worthy, it reaches you as a blessing. If not, there are floods - and such floods, as seen in Europe today, can sweep through and cause immense destruction. On the other hand, that very same rain can descend as rains of blessing that water the fields and produce abundance. This is "let the earth be glad": the earth receives by way of gil, which is the providential, miraculous conduct, tailored to our actions, a renewed manifestation. Both aspects converge together: "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad."
"Let the sea roar, and all that fills it" - nevertheless, the earth behaves in accordance with divine providence. At times one sees the sea surge and flood the land, occurring when mankind's deeds are improper. At other times, "Let the field exult, and all that is in it; then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy," meaning the fields exult and the forest trees sing. The heavens do not alter their course and give rain as is their custom, but how does the earth receive it? According to our spiritual standing: if we are upright, we receive it for good; if not, we do not. This is hinted at here in the verse, and see how marvelous it is: when rain falls upon the fields, there is nothing more wonderful; there is no need for manual irrigation, and the fields yield produce. But when we are not upright, where does the rain fall? "Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy" - it falls in the forests. What benefit is that? Rain fell in the forest and not upon my fields, yielding no benefit to me. At times, when people are found guilty, plentiful rain falls, but instead of falling on the fields, it falls upon the forests. Thus, "Let the heavens rejoice" - the heavens are always rejoicing, constantly dispensing the full measure of bounty, which is the regular, natural order; "and let the earth be glad" - over something renewed, when the bounty arrives in a beneficial manner. For otherwise, that very same abundance can arrive destructively: through excessive rains that cause flooding and death, or by falling in places where rain is unneeded, leaving us without the beneficent manifestation of providence.
"Before the Lord, for He comes" - The Conclusion of the Psalm
לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה כִּי בָא כִּי בָא לִשְׁפֹּט הָאָרֶץ יִשְׁפֹּט־תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק וְעַמִּים בֶּאֱמוּנָתוֹ׃ - Before the Lord, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, and peoples in His faithfulness.
King David concludes the psalm: let the field exult, and the trees of the forest sing for joy - before whom? Before the Lord. The commentators address the repetition, "for He comes, for He comes." The Radak explains that the second phrase interprets the first: we rejoice before the Lord for He comes - and what is His coming? That He comes to judge the earth. And why did he double it? As is scriptural custom, the phrase is repeated for emphasis.
The Malbim explains that "for He comes" is stated twice because this coming occurs through an intermediary, namely through the natural order. Bounty is channeled through the celestial bodies, clouds, rain, and blessing - all of which constitute the natural order through which the Holy One, blessed be He, dispenses bounty from the heavens, which subsequently reaches the earth. And although from the perspective of the heavens the conduct is fixed, and the rain and bounty always descend appropriately according to the laws of nature, Hashem nevertheless judges the earth according to human conduct. Thus, two systems of guidance operate here.
"He will judge the world with righteousness, and peoples in His faithfulness": the Malbim explains that emunah (faithfulness) refers to Hashem's fixed governance through nature - constant, reliable faithfulness - where emunah denotes steadfast truth, that Hashem is, as it were, faithful to maintain His order without alteration. By contrast, tzedek (righteousness) corresponds to human deeds and righteousness: if people justify their existence through uprightness, they are worthy of bounty; if not, the reverse applies, through reward and punishment. Thus, Hashem orchestrates providential guidance within nature: not that He rains down manna from heaven, but everything occurs within natural pathways, and suddenly one sees the earth yield its produce in a supernatural manner - in extraordinary quantities far beyond the norm. It remains the course of nature, with no manna falling from heaven, yet the trees yield their fruit with exceptional bounty.
Therefore, "for He comes" is stated twice: the first refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, dispensing bounty from the heavens, in the aspect of "let the heavens rejoice"; and the second is "to judge the earth" - the judgment according to what the earth deserves, once the bounty descends below. In these two systems of governance: "He will judge the world with righteousness" - Hashem judges the world with righteousness according to human deeds, "and peoples in His faithfulness" - He judges the nations according to the natural equity due to them by nature. These two modes of guidance merge together, and through them the Holy One, blessed be He, directs His world.
In Summary:
Psalm 96 teaches us that the nations know only the Name Elokim, which represents nature and strict judgment, whereas Israel was granted the Four-Letter Name (Havayah), which transcends nature - hence, "Declare His glory among the nations" and "He is revered above all gods." "Ascribe to the Lord, families of peoples" teaches that only those who possess tradition and lineage, a son receiving from his father, are fitting to receive the strength (oz), which is the Torah. "Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His Name" - that we cannot grasp His divine essence, only His Name, and we give Him honor in the manner He revealed to us: through Torah study, fulfilling mitzvot, and entering His courtyards, which are the synagogues and houses of study. Finally, "Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad": the heavens exist in the constant simchah of natural order, and the earth in the renewed gil of divine providence tailored to our deeds - and both systems are bound together, until the Lord comes to judge the world with righteousness and peoples in His faithfulness.