Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
Psalm 47:1 (World English Bible)
START WITH SCRIPTURE:
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM
This week’s lectionary readings focus on the Day of Ascension, which always falls on the Thursday forty days following Easter Sunday.
OBSERVE:
This Psalm is described as a Royal or enthronement Psalm. These were Psalms devoted to Israel’s monarch, or in this case, celebrating the kingship of Yahweh.
The first thing we notice about this Psalm is the acknowledgment that Yahweh is not merely King over Israel — he is King over all the earth. All the nations are exhorted to clap their hands and shout to God, celebrating that:
Yahweh Most High is awesome.
He is a great King over all the earth.
Yahweh is not merely the local, parochial god of the tribes of Israel — he is God and Creator of all nations and all creation.
Nevertheless, the Psalmist is aware of Yahweh’s particular historical relationship with Israel:
He subdues nations under us,
and peoples under our feet.
He chooses our inheritance for us,
the glory of Jacob whom he loved.
This is in reference to the Abrahamic covenant that Yahweh has made with Israel, promising the land of Canaan to his heirs (Genesis 15:6-7). This promise is fulfilled when the tribes of Israel invade the land under the command of Joshua, following their forty-year sojourn in the wilderness, when the native tribes were subdued (see the book of Joshua).
The mysterious notation Selah, which many believe to be a music notation to pause, as one might find a rest in modern music, is followed by exuberant descriptions of God as king:
Selah.
God has gone up with a shout,
Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praise to God, sing praises.
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth.
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples are gathered together,
the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God.
He is greatly exalted!
This seems to be the description of a coronation, with shouts, trumpets and songs of praise. God takes his place on the throne, not only as king of Israel, but of all the earth and all the nations. Nevertheless the Psalmist is very clear — this same God, who reigns over earth and nations is also the God of Abraham. God’s story is the story revealed in the Hebrew Bible.
APPLY:
One of the primary purposes of worship is to remind us just who God truly is. Worship isn’t primarily for our sakes, or to lift up our emotions. Worship reminds us that God is Most High and awesome; he is the great King over all the earth, and all of us are under his feet!
Therefore it is most appropriate for us to demonstrate our praise by clapping our hands, shouting, sounding trumpets, singing his praises. And we note one very interesting translation — we are to:
Sing praises with understanding.
This suggests that our worship isn’t mindless or purely emotional. We are to worship also with our intellect! Bear in mind what Jesus tells us:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37. Emphasis mine).
RESPOND:
There is a battle cry that has been attributed to American Revolutionary soldiers during the American War of Independence from Great Britain:
No King but Jesus!
Whether or not they actually shouted these words in battle isn’t really the point. The point is that ultimately God — the Triune God — is the great King over all the earth.
People across the world live under a wide variety of political systems — monarchy, democracy, republic, communism, dictatorship — but in truth there is only one King.
The Psalmist reminds us of our ultimate allegiance:
The princes of the peoples are gathered together,
the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God.
The princes will ultimately acknowledge a King greater than themselves. And the shields of the earth represent the military power and honor of the nations that are infinitesimally tiny in comparison to the omnipotence of God.
Lord, when I consider that I am one of about seven billion people on earth, amid a universe of billions and billions of galaxies, I am overwhelmed. And then I consider that you are the creator and King over all these things. What else can I do but shout, sing and praise you as the Most High. Amen.
PHOTOS:
"happy days" by Ophelia Photos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 
3 comments