Psalm 47 *
In the name of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, dear friends:
Located right in the middle of the Bible is a priceless treasure commonly known as the Psalms. In a way this collection of Hebrew poetry is the Old Testament equivalent of our hymnal. But the psalms are much more than inspired songs.
The psalms have been a source of great comfort for believers
for thousands of years. In Psalm 50 God invites
us: “Call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (15). In Psalm 91 the Lord assures us that “he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that
you will not strike your foot against a stone” (11,12).
Other psalms contain verses that define key Bible doctrines. Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me,” is often cited to establish the doctrine of original sin. Psalm 139 beautifully describes the omniscience (1-4) and omnipresence (8-10) and omnipotence (13,14) of God.
Still other psalms are Messianic. In other words, they give God’s people glimpses of the promised Savior. In Psalm 22, for example, King David provides us with many details about Jesus’ suffering and death…one thousand years before it happened.
The opening words, “My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (1), were repeated by Jesus himself
as he was hanging on the cross. When Jesus’
enemies mocked and ridiculed him, they were unknowingly paraphrasing verse 8, “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue
him.” And verses 16 and 18 give us
amazing insight into the manner of Jesus’ execution: “They have pierced my hands and my feet…they divide my garments among
them and cast lots for my clothing.”
Not all of the psalms are Messianic. Not every psalm is as comforting as Psalm 23. And that’s okay. Some psalms were written to teach. Some were written to comfort. Some were written to inspire. And some psalms were simply written to encourage God’s people to sing God’s praises. Psalm 47 is a perfect example.
Psalm 47 is heavy on repetition. There are five references to praising God in nine verses, and there are at least four places where God is described as a king. All of this repetition makes Psalm 47 an excellent choice for Christ the King Sunday.
Today we give thanks because our God is in control. Today we rejoice because our God rules. This morning we raise our voices with the Sons of Korah and…
SING TO OUR KING!
I. Praise Him because of what he
has done for us
II. Praise Him because of what he still does for us
Most of the psalms were written by Jews for Jews, but the
scope of this psalm stretches far beyond the nation of
Clapping and shouting aren’t exactly the norm when it comes
to Lutheran worship, but we need to remember that the setting of these verses
isn’t a church sanctuary or even a synagogue service. Instead picture the glorious procession of a
triumphant ruler: “How awesome is the
Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth” (2)!
Pizza is not awesome.
Fourth of July fireworks are not awesome. Even natural wonders like
“He subdued nations
under us, peoples under our feet” (3). The
psalm itself doesn’t explain how and when God subdued nations and peoples, so I
will. How about the time when the armies
of
Or how about the time when the Israelites came up against
the city of
Or how about the time when Joshua led an army against a group of Amorite kings? Not only did God give his people a great victory, not only did he send a hailstorm that killed more soldiers than Israelite swords, but he also made the sun stand still so that Israel’s enemies could not escape (Joshua 10). How awesome is that?
God gave his people many military victories like these, but
these conquests were only a means to an end.
Every army that was defeated, every king that was conquered, brought
When Abraham pitched his tents in
It didn’t happen for a few hundred years, but the Lord made
good on his promises to Abraham and Jacob.
He transformed the
We are included in “all peoples,” and we are blessed. We are blessed through Abraham’s offspring. We are blessed because God kept his promise to send a Savior. We are blessed because Jesus gave up his throne in heaven to become one of us. We are blessed because Jesus gave up his life to take away our sins. We are blessed because our King “has ascended amid shouts of joy” (5). We are blessed because we will rule with him in heaven.
We didn’t do anything to earn our salvation. We can’t do anything to earn our salvation. So what do we do? We sing to our King. We thank him. We praise him. We praise God for everything he has done for us. But we don’t stop there because God didn’t stop there. On this Christ the King Sunday we praise God because of what he still does for us.
Which leads to an interesting question. What is God doing right now? Is he seated on a judge’s seat attended by legions of angels? Is he watching everything happening on earth on thousands of heavenly monitors? Does he follow some kind of heavenly schedule?
Psalm 47 doesn’t go into great detail describing what God does, but it does give us a general description of God’s divine activity. “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne” (8).
Simply put, God rules. God rules over rulers. God is the only true superpower because every nation and every citizen of every nation is subject to him. But the Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth isn’t a tyrant or a dictator or even a benevolent despot. Our King is our Father. Our King is our Savior.
And he has made us citizens of his kingdom. “The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham” (9). Do you understand what that verse means? Let me read it again: “The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham” (9).
The Israelites were physical descendants of Abraham. The Jews boasted because they were the children of Abraham. But they weren’t special because they had Abraham’s blood coursing through their veins. They were blessed because they held onto the promises God had given to Abraham. And those promises were not exclusive to them.
The Bible tells us that Abraham was saved by faith, and so are we. By faith we are the children of Abraham. By faith we belong to the God of Abraham. By faith we belong to God and live in the kingdom of his grace. And even now he is ruling in our hearts.
But it doesn’t always feel like it, does it? If we are honest with ourselves, there are probably times when we wonder if God is really in control. I’m not saying that we openly question God’s authority, but it can be a struggle when we see what’s going on in our world.
If God is in control of everything, why did he allow one hurricane after another to batter our nation’s coastline? If God is in charge, why does he permit people to kill themselves and others is the name of religion? If the Supreme Commander of the universe is on our side, why is our church body ailing? Why are we preparing to call back more missionaries? Why are we talking about closing schools?
These are important questions. These are difficult questions. But before we look up there for answers, perhaps we need to look in here first. We need to examine our hearts and ask ourselves some tough questions.
Do I put my trust in God, or are there times when I would rather believe that I am in control? Do I pray the way God wants me to? Do I make full use of the gifts God gives me to strengthen my faith? Do I support the work of the church? Do I recognize that the work of the church begins with me? Instead of asking God those tough questions, do I need to ask for God’s forgiveness?
We don’t know why everything happens, but God does. We can’t always explain why things happen, but God can. And sometimes he does. But even when he chooses to keep his plans hidden from us, his love for us always remains in view.
When Jesus was crucified, Pontius Pilate had this notice
affixed to his cross: “Jesus of
Our King will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews
13:5). Our King will never permit us to
be tempted beyond what we can bear (I Corinthians
“All’s well that ends well.” The person who coined that phrase probably wasn’t talking about the Christian calendar, but the statement is an appropriate one. Today we come to the end of another church year, and it ends very well. In fact, with Christ as our King it couldn’t end any better. Therefore, it is our honor and privilege to sing to our King. We praise him because of what he has done for us. We praise him because of what he still does for us. Amen.