Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 73

The ninety-fifth psalm, which was spoken through David, originally included a phrase that has been removed - a phrase that declared, 'The Lord reigns from the wood' (Psalm 96:10). What remains is the statement, 'The Lord reigns,' but the original phrase specified that God's reign began 'from the wood,' a reference to the cross. This is a unique claim, as no other god or lord in the nations has ever been said to reign in this way, except for the one who was crucified. The Holy Spirit, in the same psalm, affirms that this crucified Lord has been saved and has risen. This distinction highlights the difference between the Lord and the gods of the nations, which are merely idols of demons. To help clarify this point, I'd like to recite the entire psalm for you. It begins, 'Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth.' The psalm continues, 'Sing to the Lord and bless His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day.' It also declares, 'Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.' The reason for this declaration is that 'the Lord is great and worthy of praise, feared above all gods,' and this is because 'all the gods of the nations are demons.' In contrast, 'the Lord made the heavens,' and 'confession and beauty are before Him.' The psalm also states that 'holiness and majesty are in His sanctuary.' It invites the nations to 'bring to the Lord glory and honor, bring to the Lord glory in His name.' The psalm encourages worship, saying, 'Take up sacrifices and come into His courts, worship the Lord in His holy court.' And it concludes with a call to reverence, saying, 'Let all the earth tremble before Him.' The original phrase, 'The Lord reigns from the wood,' is a testament to God's triumph over the world, which will not be shaken. The Lord will judge the peoples with uprightness, and 'the heavens will rejoice and the earth be glad.' Even 'the sea and its fullness will be shaken,' and 'the fields will be joyful and all that is in them.' The natural world will respond to the Lord's coming, for 'He is coming to judge the earth,' and 'He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His truth.' Trypho responded to this by saying that if the rulers of the people had indeed removed parts of the scriptures, God would be aware of it, but to an unbeliever, this seems implausible. I agreed that it might seem implausible to an unbeliever, but I pointed out that this action is more disturbing than the idolatry that the people had previously practiced, or their sacrifice of children to demons, or even their killing of the prophets. I expressed my concern that Trypho might not have even heard the prophecies I mentioned earlier, which provide sufficient evidence for the points I'm making, along with the additional points that I will discuss later.