This psalm is similar in structure and design to Psalm 95:1-11. It is an exhortation to universal praise, and was doubtless designed to be used in public worship - in the service of the sanctuary.
The psalm has no title in the Hebrew, and its authorship cannot with any certainty be determined. There is, however, a very marked similarity between this psalm and a portion of that which was composed and sung at the removal of the ark by David, as recorded in 1 Chr. 16, and of which it is said 1-Chronicles 16:7, "Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord, into the hand of Asaph and his brethren." Of the original psalm, therefore, David was undoubtedly the author. Psalm 96:1-13 is merely an abridgment of that one, or more properly an extract from it, since it is essentially similar to one portion of it, and is taken from it with very slight variations, 1-Chronicles 16:23-33. But by whom the extract and the slight alterations were made, and on what occasion this was done, we have no certain means of ascertaining. The title in the Septuagint is, "When the house was built after the captivity. An ode by David." The same is the title in the Latin Vulgate. According to this, it is supposed that on the dedication of the temple, when it was rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity, a portion of a psalm composed by David was selected and arranged for that purpose.
Hence, it might be properly called "A Psalm of David;" though not, of course, composed by him for that particular occasion. This seems to me to be a very probable account of the origin of the psalm, and of the reason why it has its present form. In the original psalm 1 Chr. 16 there were things which would not be particularly appropriate to the dedication of the temple, while the portion which is extracted is eminently suited for such a service. DeWette doubts the genuineness of the psalm in 1 Chr. 16; and Hengstenberg supposes that that psalm was made up of parts taken from psalms which were then in common use. But it seems to me that the suggestion above is the most natural, and sufficiently explains the origin of this psalm. It would be very appropriate to the re-dedication of the temple; and it is appropriate to be used in similar services at all times.
The structure of the psalm is very simple, and it does not admit of any particular analysis.

All the inhabitants of the earth are invited to praise the Lord, Psalm 96:1-3. His supreme majesty, Psalm 96:3-6. The tribes of Israel are invited to glorify him, Psalm 96:7-9; and to proclaim him among the heathen, Psalm 96:10. The heavens and the earth are commamded to rejoice in him, Psalm 96:11-13.
This Psalm has no title, either in the Hebrew or Chaldee. The Syriac: "Of David. A prophecy of the advent of Christ and the calling of the Gentiles to believe in him." The Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Arabic have, "A Song of David, when the House was built after the Captivity." We have seen in 1-Chronicles 16:23-33 (note) a Psalm nearly like this, composed by David, on bringing the ark to Sion, from the house of Obed-edom. See the notes on the above place. But the Psalm, as it stands in the Chronicles, has thirty verses; and this is only a section of it, from the twenty-third to the thirty-third. It is very likely that this part was taken from the Psalm above mentioned, to be used at the dedication of the second temple. The one hundred and fifth Psalm is almost the same as that in Chronicles, but much more extensive. Where they are in the main the same, there are differences for which it is not easy to account.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 96
This psalm was written by David, as appears from 1-Chronicles 16:7 to whom it is ascribed by the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions. This and part of Psalm 105 were first composed and sung at the bringing of the ark from the house of Obededom to the city of David; and here it is detached from that with a new introduction to it, and applied to the times and kingdom of the Messiah, and; with great propriety, since the ark was an eminent type of him. The inscription in the Syriac version is,
"a Psalm of David, a Prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, and of the calling of the Gentiles that believe in him:''
and very rightly, since express mention is made of them in it, and of the publication of the Gospel among them; and clear reference is had to Christ, who is the Jehovah all along spoken of Jarchi well observes, that wherever a "new song" is mentioned, it is to be understood of future time, or the times of the Messiah; and the end of the psalm shows it,
he cometh to judge, &c.

(Psalm 96:1-9) A call to all people to praise God.
(Psalm 96:10-13) God's government and judgment.

A Greeting of the Coming Kingdom of God
What Psalm 95:3 says: "A great God is Jahve, and a great King above all gods," is repeated in Psalm 96:1-13. The lxx inscribes it (1) ᾠδὴ τῷ Δαυίδ, and the chronicler has really taken it up almost entire in the song which was sung on the day when the Ark was brought in (1-Chronicles 16:23-33); but, as the coarse seams between vv. 22-23, vv. 33-34 show, he there strings together familiar reminiscences of the Psalm (vid., on Ps 105) as a sort of mosaic, in order approximately to express the festive mood and festive strains of that day. And (2) ὅτε ὁ οἶκος ᾠκοδομεῖτο (Cod. Vat. ᾠκοδόμηται) μετὰ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν. By this the lxx correctly interprets the Psalm as a post-exilic song: and the Psalm corresponds throughout to the advance which the mind of Israel has experienced in the Exile concerning its mission in the world. The fact that the religion of Jahve is destined for mankind at large, here receives the most triumphantly joyous, lyrical expression. And so far as this is concerned, the key-note of the Psalm is even deutero-Isaianic. For it is one chief aim of Isaiah 40:1 to declare the pinnacle of glory of the Messianic apostolic mission on to which Israel is being raised through the depth of affliction of the Exile. All these post-exilic songs come much nearer to the spirit of the New Testament than the pre-exilic; for the New Testament, which is the intrinsic character of the Old Testament freed from its barriers and limitations, is in process of coming into being (im Werden begriffen) throughout the Old Testament, and the Exile was one of the most important crises in this progressive process.
Psalm 96:1 are more Messianic than many in the strict sense of the word Messianic; for the central (gravitating) point of the Old Testament gospel (Heilsverk@fcndigung) lies not in the Messiah, but in the appearing (parusia) of Jahve - a fact which is explained by the circumstance that the mystery of the incarnation still lies beyond the Old Testament knowledge or perception of salvation. All human intervention in the matter of salvation accordingly appears as purely human, and still more, it preserves a national and therefore outward and natural impress by virtue of the national limit within which the revelation of salvation has entered. If the ideal Davidic king who is expected even does anything superhuman, he is nevertheless only a man - a man of God, it is true, without his equal, but not the God-man. The mystery of the incarnation does, it is true, the nearer it comes to actual revelation, cast rays of its dawning upon prophecy, but the sun itself remains below the horizon: redemption is looked for as Jahve's own act, and "Jahve cometh" is also still the watchword of the last prophet (Malachi 3:1).
The five six-line strophes of the Psalm before us are not to be mistaken. The chronicler has done away with five lines, and thereby disorganized the strophic structure; and one line (Psalm 96:10) he has removed from its position. The originality of the Psalm in the Psalter, too, is revealed thereby, and the non-independence of the chronicler, who treats the Psalm as an historian.