Psalm 96 opens with a call to sing a new song to Hashem. Rashi writes that this psalm speaks of the future: it does not mean people should sing now, but rather in the Future to Come, at the time of the redemption. The end of the psalm proves this, as it states, "For He comes to judge the earth" - this refers to the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to judge the earth, which will occur in the Future to Come at the redemption. And we have a general rule, Rashi notes, that wherever "a new song" is mentioned, it always refers to the future.
שִׁירוּ לַיהֹוָה שִׁיר חָדָשׁ, שִׁירוּ לַיהֹוָה כָּל הָאָרֶץ׃ - Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Radak explains the expression "Sing" as being similar to what is said in another psalm, "Come, let us sing joyously to the Lord" - one person says to his fellow, "Come, let us go and sing joyously to Hashem." Here too, people will say to one another: "Sing to Hashem a new song, for having gathered you from among the nations and assembled you from the exiles." And why "new"? Because you will compose a special new song for Him, distinct from the psalms and songs that have already been written. And in Psalm 98, it repeats "Sing to the Lord a new song," to reinforce this matter a second time.
Radak further writes that David composed this psalm when he brought up the Ark from the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite. Following the tragedy of Peretz Uzzah, David had been deeply afraid to bring the Ark to himself after it left the house of Avinadav, diverting it instead to the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite. Later, when he saw that the house of Oved-Edom was blessed, David realized how immense this was: the Ark does not bring death, but rather blessing. Therefore, he took the Ark and brought it up to Jerusalem with song and joy. At that time, David composed this psalm along with the psalm "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His Name," with slight variations between them. Through these variations, he introduced a "new song," adapting it to speak of the ingathering of the exiles. The song here speaks of a reality in which there will be a new song, unlike the songs of exile: songs dedicated specifically to the theme of redemption.
Let us note: all the songs in the Torah and the Prophets are written in the feminine form - shirah. "A new song (shirah chadashah) the redeemed praised," "Then Moses sang this song (hashirah hazot)." In the Future to Come, however, it is stated in the masculine: "Sing to the Lord a new song (shir chadash)." What is the difference? The goodness and triumphs that the Jewish people experienced in this world were not enduring; they were temporary successes. There was the First Temple - and it was destroyed. There was another success, the Second Temple - and it was destroyed. Here in this world, we do not have permanent triumphs, only fleeting ones, which is why we refer to them as shirah, in the feminine form.
The feminine is an expression of weakness, as in the phrase "my strength was weakened like a female." Since our successes are not permanent, but rather fragile and transient, they are compared to the feminine aspect. Alternatively, one could say: the masculine (dechura) is likened to the sun, which radiates and bestows. Woman is likened to the moon, because the moon has nothing of its own, but receives from the light of the sun and reflects it onward. Furthermore, woman is likened to the moon in terms of renewal: a woman's cyclical nature mirrors the renewal of the moon. The moon waxes and wanes, unlike the constant sun.
The people of Israel are likened to the moon, whereas the nations are likened to the sun. With the nations, the state is static until they come to an end. (Incidentally, scientists say that even the sun will eventually burn out; no need to worry, according to their calculations it will take hundreds of millions of years, by which time the light of the moon will already be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold like the light of the seven days, so we are not concerned. But according to the calculation of its fuel, it will run out at some point.) The sun's reality remains constant until it ends, whereas the moon is continually renewing itself. The feminine aspect is not permanent strength and stability, but rather rise and fall, rise and fall. Such is the state of Israel in this world: they rise, and then comes a period of exile and hardship; then the Second Temple, and once again the moon wanes, diminishes, and brings another reality of struggle. But the good destined to come in the future will be in the aspect of a shir - the masculine form, something permanent that never ceases, stronger than the feminine. Therefore, it is said here, "Sing to the Lord a new song," referring to the future redemption that will endure forever.
The Malbim prefaces by noting that in our psalm and the one following it, the psalmist will describe the Providence of Hashem, may He be blessed, operating through nature. As recalled, the Malbim already outlined the sequence of these upcoming chapters: here, the psalmist discusses the individual Divine Providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, through the medium of nature - that is, hidden miracles - and later he will address open miracles, supernatural Providence, such as "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the valley of Ayalon." Thus, these two chapters speak of how the Holy One, blessed be He, arranges nature in a manner aligned with the salvation of Israel and the success of His servants and lovers of His Name - Hashem arranges nature to accommodate our guidance, our success, and our deliverance.
Regarding this, it is said: "Sing to the Lord a new song." The Malbim explains: the nations knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, is what the Malbim calls the "First Cause." The nations also believed in God, but they believed in Him as the God of gods, Elaha d'Elahin, as Nebuchadnezzar and others expressed it. This means they believed a God exists, but that He does not intervene here below, that He does not come to rescue someone from a fiery furnace, and that He is not concerned with what happens in the world. To them, He is the supreme Leader who does not involve Himself in governing mundane affairs. They did not believe that Hashem, blessed be He, is entirely unlike any other agent.
For any craftsman who acts in this world creates a reality that, once made, no longer requires him. A builder builds me a house - I do not need him to stand and hold up the balcony with me; woe to me if I needed that! From the moment it is built, the house is supposed to stand on its own. The builder did his work and finished. The Malbim gives the example of a clock: after the watchmaker crafts it, I do not need him to keep turning the gears constantly; he made it, it is done, and from then on it runs on its own. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, this is not so: after creating His world, He continues to sustain and direct His works with infinite power, that is, without limit. The preservation of creation is a continuous creation; all of reality depends on the power of Hashem, may He be blessed, such that if He were to withdraw His hand for a single moment, everything would revert to nothingness. This is "He Who in His goodness renews each day continuously" - and notice the emphasis: "continuously" means that every single second the Holy One, blessed be He, renews reality. If for one moment Hashem were to withdraw His will from reality, everything would return to nothingness and void.
According to this, the meaning becomes clear: you sing to Hashem a new song - over the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, renews the work of Creation every day. By contrast, the nations sing an old song to Hashem: Hashem is the God of gods, He created His world so-and-so many years ago, and since then He does not intervene. It was an action done and finished, and ever since, the world stands on its own. We do not believe this; rather, we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, renews in His goodness each day continuously. If so, there is a renewal of the world at every single moment. Therefore, we give thanks for the sunrise that took place today, and no one says: "Why should you give thanks for the sunrise? After all, it rose yesterday, a month ago, and a thousand, two thousand, and three thousand years ago, and it will rise in another thousand years!" That is a gentile perspective, which genuinely thinks that the sun rises today because it rose yesterday. But as a Jew, I know that every single day the Holy One, blessed be He, opens the doors of the eastern gates and breaks open the windows of the firmament. There is a daily act performed by Hashem, and therefore I must thank Him for it each day. It does not occur by sheer inertia; it is not something merely set in motion at Creation that now runs on its own. Therefore, we sing to Hashem a new song, for Hashem continuously renews the work of Creation every day.
And in addition to this: "Sing to Hashem, all the earth." Not like now, when most of the masses among idolaters deny Hashem and attribute all of creation to the stars and constellations. The new song will be one that all the earth will sing to Hashem, and the nations too will recognize the Creator's guidance.
We have already discussed this in our study of the Kuzari, noting that the Rambam writes that the other religions that later emerged ultimately lead toward the completion of the redemptive process. Why? Because if we examine the state of the nations prior to these religions, we see it was dreadful: people would carve an image, worship it, bow down to it, and sacrifice to it, slaughtering and offering sacrifices to animals - cow worshipers as in India, lamb worshipers as in Egypt. These were pagans and idolaters of the lowest degree. By contrast, when Christianity arrived, it spoke of an abstract God: there is a reality of God without making an image of Him, without carving a statue and saying, "This is my god." This was a significant advance toward recognizing Hashem, may He be blessed; it was no longer raw idol worship, but a recognition that there is a Supreme God Who created the world.
Islam approaches even closer to the recognition of God, since it does not speak of a son born of the holy spirit impregnating a woman; they do not speak in such terms, but rather of an abstract God, where the Holy One, blessed be He, directs worlds through His prophet. And even though "that madman," as the Rambam calls him, never prophesied any true prophecy, they regard him as a prophet who supposedly received messages from the angel Gabriel - or who was simply afflicted with epilepsy, as historians suggest. At any rate, they speak of something abstract and spiritual as God, without idol worship, without statues, and without crosses; they speak of something higher. Therefore, one is halachically permitted to enter a mosque (though it is not guaranteed how one will emerge), whereas entering a church is forbidden, even on a tour arranged by one's workplace, because it is a house of idolatry. A non-Jew is permitted to worship Hashem with shituf (associating another entity with Him) - that is, believing in both Hashem and an intermediary - so for them this was an advance; but a Jew is forbidden to enter a house of idolatry, and a church involves worship with shituf, as they ascribe corporeal divinity to that man. A mosque, however, presents no such halachic issue, as Islam is a later religion that believes exclusively in God. They are much closer to recognizing Hashem, the God of Israel, which is vastly superior to the idolaters who built altars and worshiped Asherah trees and celestial bodies, who were utterly distant from Hashem, may He be blessed.
This is what is meant by "Sing to Hashem, all the earth": even the masses among the idolaters, who once denied Hashem and believed in false deities, will all sing to Hashem and recognize the sovereignty of the Creator, may He be blessed.
שִׁירוּ לַיהֹוָה בָּרְכוּ שְׁמוֹ, בַּשְּׂרוּ מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם יְשׁוּעָתוֹ׃ - Sing to Hashem, bless His Name; proclaim His salvation from day to day.
What is the meaning of "Proclaim" (basseru)? Radak explains: to bring good tidings to one another. Just as the verse stated earlier, "Sing to Hashem a new song," where each person says to his fellow, "Come, let us sing to Hashem a new song," so too will each person share the tidings with his fellow. But seemingly, what is there to announce if everyone already knows the good news? Radak explains: even though everyone will know the salvation together, the retelling of the salvation will be beloved to them each and every day as if it had occurred right then. For tidings possess the freshness of a new report, which delights a person on the day he hears it, after which that sweetness gradually fades.
Take, for example, someone who was the first to hear about the collapse of the Twin Towers or the assassination of Rabin. These are two classic examples where people ask, "Where were you when it happened?" and people remember. But if someone comes two hours later and tells you again, it is already old news; they have already had time to rebuild, there is already a memorial! News is captivating when it is brand new: no one has heard it yet, and suddenly a report breaks that causes a massive stir. But once heard in subsequent broadcasts, it is no longer news. Regarding this, Scripture says: the matter of the redemption will be so sweet in your eyes that you will "proclaim His salvation from day to day" - every day you will say: "There was a salvation! There is redemption!" and it will be as sweet to you as if someone just brought you breaking news, bringing you joy as though you were hearing something you had never heard before. The redemption will be experienced as something constantly fresh, inspiring eager desire and excitement to discuss and recount it.
The Malbim explains that this verse corresponds to what was said at the beginning, "Sing to Hashem a new song": "Sing to Hashem, bless His Name." A blessing (berachah) is offered for good that we receive from Hashem. The essence of blessing is always abundance and increase, as the root b-r-ch signifies multiplication. Indeed, if we look at the Hebrew alphabet, which letters represent the greatest jump? Among the units, the letter beit represents the greatest leap relative to alef; for alef is one, and when doubled it becomes two, becoming beit. The letter gimmel compared to beit adds only a third: it was two and became three; that is not doubling. Doubling occurs only with beit. And likewise among the tens: yud is ten, and the great jump is kaf (twenty), which is doubled. And likewise among the hundreds: kuf is one hundred, and the doubling is reish (two hundred). Together, these letters spell bechor (firstborn). The Gra notes: this is why a firstborn receives a double portion, for the letters of bechor represent the doubling of the letters preceding them. Therefore, blessing always denotes multiplication and abundance. And when one blesses Hashem, what is one actually saying? You, Hashem, are the Source of blessing; You are the spring, the celestial pool (bereichah) from which abundance flows and bestows downward.
We bless Hashem for the goodness and the bounty that we receive from Him, may He be blessed. The nations, however, do not recognize Hashem as the director and provider, and therefore they only praise His Name and do not bless Him. A gentile does not recognize that the blessing he has today comes from Him, may He be blessed; he believes that Hashem once created the world, but that he receives daily sustenance from Him through divine providence - this he does not acknowledge. Therefore, a gentile does not bless Hashem, but only praises Him as the One Who created the world and is all-powerful, so there is reason to praise Him, but he receives no felt blessing from Him. But you, the people of Israel, to whom we said, "Sing to Hashem a new song" - sing to Hashem and bless His Name, for you know His blessing and how much daily bounty flows from Him, may He be blessed. And you shall herald His salvation from day to day, for His salvation is renewed on a daily basis.
And what are tidings (besorah)? The Malbim explains that a besorah always denotes something out of the ordinary, as in the phrase "he is a bearer of good tidings" (ish besorah) - he comes to announce something nonstandard, something you do not hear every day. A besorah is something whose occurrence was uncertain and does not normally arrive on a constant basis. Consequently, the term besorah would seemingly not apply to the dawn breaking in the morning, since that is neither new tidings nor an extraordinary event; it is daily, constant, and inevitable. Yet despite this, the verse says: proclaim even His constant salvation each day. Herald that the dawn has broken, herald that the luminaries have shone. Even though people view this as natural and routine, as believers we know that this is a besorah, for the fact that the sun rose yesterday does not mean it must rise tomorrow. The fact that the sun has risen for the past five thousand years does not mean it will rise tomorrow as well. And why did it rise today? Because today Hashem willed it once again. And that is news - a true besorah. What appears to you as natural and taken for granted - we, the Jewish people, believers the children of believers, know that nothing is natural and nothing is merely routine; rather, at every moment the Holy One, blessed be He, renews Creation. And if Hashem renewed it, it is worthy of being heralded. The Malbim further notes that a besorah always refers to something good, with the exception of Shmuel I 4:17, where the term is used for bad news because the messenger witnessed the event with his own eyes and it is therefore called a besorah; but generally, whenever we speak of a besorah, we are speaking of good news.
סַפְּרוּ בַגּוֹיִם כְּבוֹדוֹ, בְּכָל הָעַמִּים נִפְלְאוֹתָיו׃ - Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all the peoples.
The Radak explains: Recount among the nations the honor that Hashem bestowed upon you before the eyes of the peoples. This refers to the future Redemption, when the people of Israel, who had been downtrodden and despised, will recount His glory before the eyes of the peoples - demonstrating the lofty and exalted heights to which Israel ascends.
The Malbim explains the progression of the verses: Verse 2 - "Sing to Hashem, bless His Name, herald His salvation from day to day" - corresponds to the first half of verse 1, "Sing to Hashem a new song." And verse 3 - "Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all the peoples" - corresponds to the second half, "sing to Hashem, all the earth," which refers to what the nations will sing.
Here we must make a distinction: among the nations there are two categories, goyim and amim. The Malbim notes in several places that amim (peoples) hold a higher status than goyim (nations). An am is generally an expression for an organized nation that also possesses a king, whereas a goy is more akin to disparate tribes. Amim are unified as a people; they have a constitution, laws, and social order. One can speak of the European nations as amim, or of America as an am; but wandering tribes or factions that lack organized government are termed goyim rather than amim. Thus, the goyim are lesser than the amim; they occupy a lower tier and know nothing of Hashem at all. The amim are on a higher level; they know that there is a Holy One, blessed be He, but they view Him merely as the Prime Cause - as the One Who created the world, but not as the One Who continuously bestows bounty, supervises, and actively sustains the world at every moment.
According to their outlook, it is appropriate to give Him honor, in His capacity as the Prime Cause, but not to bless Him, for a blessing is offered for daily bounty, and such a nation does not believe in continuous daily bounty from Him, may He be blessed, nor that miracles come from Him. Therefore it says, "Declare His glory among the nations" - glory, but not wonders, for according to their worldview, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not actively bring about salvations in the world, nor does He intervene to perform wonders and overturn the laws of nature.
Let us organize these concepts clearly. There are three levels. The lowest consists of the goyim, who do not recognize Hashem even as the Prime Cause or Creator of the world. Above them are the amim, organized nations who recognize Hashem at least as the Prime Cause, though not as One Who continually acts within nature and performs wonders. And above all is the people of Israel, who recognize the Holy One, blessed be He, and know His constant providence, aware that all blessing comes from Him at all times.
Now see how wondrously everything falls into place. The preceding verse, "Sing to Hashem, bless His Name, herald His salvation from day to day," addresses us: the people of Israel, who recognize constant providence and constant bounty. "Bless His Name" - for the daily blessing comes from Him; "herald His salvation from day to day" - for the daily sunrise is from Him. Meanwhile, the goyim, who do not know Hashem at all and are the lowest among the nations, will also be elevated slightly: "Declare His glory among the nations" - they will recognize that Hashem possesses glory, acknowledging that there is a Prime Cause. And the amim, who already recognize His glory but do not believe that Hashem performs wonders and constantly renews Creation each day, will also advance: "His wonders among all the peoples" - they will come to recognize His wonders as well, realizing that it is within the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, to alter and overturn the order of nature as He wills.
The psalm speaks of the future Redemption, which is why it uses the masculine form shir - a permanent goodness that will never cease, unlike the feminine shirah of this world, whose successes are fleeting like the waxing and waning moon. A "new song" is the song sung to the Holy One, blessed be He, Who in His goodness continually renews the work of Creation each day. He is not like a craftsman whose work is finished and who is no longer needed; rather, everything depends on His power at every moment. From this it follows that even the daily sunrise is a besorah, worthy of being heralded and blessed. And in the time to come, all levels will be elevated: the goyim will recognize His glory, the amim will recognize His wonders, and Israel will herald His salvation from day to day - until "sing to Hashem, all the earth" is fulfilled in its entirety.