Psalm 47
God is worthy to be praised! Our Lord and King Jesus our Savior is awesome. Yet so often I find my mouth empty when asked to give Him praise. I find the same words I always have when I praise Him. And that just shouldn’t be. I mean He is God! He created the universe. He spoke and there was light. He spoke and there was land and seas. He stepped out of Heaven to live perfectly, laid down His life, and rose from the dead, all so He could save a sinner like me. He has done so much, He loves so completely, and He is great. The Psalms are full of wonderful praise for God, and in reading them, I can find the words, the praise, and the adulation for Almighty God.
Psalm 47 is a song by the Sons of Korah to praise God the King of kings. Verses 1-4 read,
“Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah”
There are so many ways to give Him praise one way is simply to clap, to applaud Him. No words, just pure exaltation with an ovation of applause. Clapping our hands and dancing or moving rhythmically as we sing with our full voices to Him is another avenue of praise. Not every worship song must be slow and quiet, they can be joyful, loud, and full of shouts as well. Yes, there are times when we should be still and know He is God and there are times when our worship should be a celebration of unadulterated joy.
And why should we express our joy? Why should our joy overflow and be given back to The One who gave it to us? Because He is awesome. Because He is to be feared, intensely respected for what He can do. He can speak and the entire earth will be flooded. He can speak and cities are obliterated. He can speak and 5,000 men are fed with a little bread and fish. He can speak and people are healed, forgiven, and given eternal life.
Our King gave Israel many victories and they acknowledged that with cheers and celebration. He has given us victories as well. For us victory happened when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Ultimate triumph came when Jesus resurrected on the third day and defeated death, sin, and Satan. That victory will be manifested one day soon when the enemy will be thrown into the pit of Hell. All the nations, all the peoples who are not saved will suffer with him. But we will forever be with Jesus. Our heritage is the Kingdom of Heaven, not just one day in the future but here and now. Verses 5-7 read,
“God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!”
How many times has our Lord come down to do a mighty work for His people? He came and led them through the Red Sea, the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. He came down in to die on the cross and rose again. Then Jesus ascended to Heaven and gave us The Holy Spirit. He is with us always. He doesn’t have to come down to meet us for our needs. He is here meeting our needs, communing with us, and doing great works. But He will come down again. He will descend on a cloud and gather us to Him. He will lead the angel armies and destroy the works of Satan. He is our mighty King, worthy to be praised.
He is our King. One day every person will bend their knee to Him. One day every mouth will declare He is Lord. But He is King now. He rules now. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father right now. One day He will descend to the earth and every person will profess that He is King. For some that day will be a day of defeat, they will acknowledge Jesus too late. For us, we recognize Him now. We confess His Lordship and Sovereign Majesty now. And we, His royal heirs will one day be gathered before His throne clapping, singing, shouting, and celebrating with joy. Verses 8-9 read,
“God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!”
There is not a kingdom on earth that does not belong to God. There are many people, many nations, many kingdoms who have not recognized God’s sovereignty but it makes it no less true that He is God, King of kings, Lord of lords, and Prince of peace.
There are so many reasons to praise Him. We praise Him for all He has done. We praise Him for all He will do. We praise Him because He is I Am, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is LORD God Almighty.
God is worthy to be praised! Our Lord and King Jesus our Savior is awesome. Yet so often I find my mouth empty when asked to give Him praise. I find the same words I always have when I praise Him. And that just shouldn’t be. I mean He is God! He created the universe. He spoke and there was light. He spoke and there was land and seas. He stepped out of Heaven to live perfectly, laid down His life, and rose from the dead, all so He could save a sinner like me. He has done so much, He loves so completely, and He is great. The Psalms are full of wonderful praise for God, and in reading them, I can find the words, the praise, and the adulation for Almighty God.
Psalm 47 is a song by the Sons of Korah to praise God the King of kings. Verses 1-4 read,
“Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah”
There are so many ways to give Him praise one way is simply to clap, to applaud Him. No words, just pure exaltation with an ovation of applause. Clapping our hands and dancing or moving rhythmically as we sing with our full voices to Him is another avenue of praise. Not every worship song must be slow and quiet, they can be joyful, loud, and full of shouts as well. Yes, there are times when we should be still and know He is God and there are times when our worship should be a celebration of unadulterated joy.
And why should we express our joy? Why should our joy overflow and be given back to The One who gave it to us? Because He is awesome. Because He is to be feared, intensely respected for what He can do. He can speak and the entire earth will be flooded. He can speak and cities are obliterated. He can speak and 5,000 men are fed with a little bread and fish. He can speak and people are healed, forgiven, and given eternal life.
Our King gave Israel many victories and they acknowledged that with cheers and celebration. He has given us victories as well. For us victory happened when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Ultimate triumph came when Jesus resurrected on the third day and defeated death, sin, and Satan. That victory will be manifested one day soon when the enemy will be thrown into the pit of Hell. All the nations, all the peoples who are not saved will suffer with him. But we will forever be with Jesus. Our heritage is the Kingdom of Heaven, not just one day in the future but here and now. Verses 5-7 read,
“God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!”
How many times has our Lord come down to do a mighty work for His people? He came and led them through the Red Sea, the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. He came down in to die on the cross and rose again. Then Jesus ascended to Heaven and gave us The Holy Spirit. He is with us always. He doesn’t have to come down to meet us for our needs. He is here meeting our needs, communing with us, and doing great works. But He will come down again. He will descend on a cloud and gather us to Him. He will lead the angel armies and destroy the works of Satan. He is our mighty King, worthy to be praised.
He is our King. One day every person will bend their knee to Him. One day every mouth will declare He is Lord. But He is King now. He rules now. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father right now. One day He will descend to the earth and every person will profess that He is King. For some that day will be a day of defeat, they will acknowledge Jesus too late. For us, we recognize Him now. We confess His Lordship and Sovereign Majesty now. And we, His royal heirs will one day be gathered before His throne clapping, singing, shouting, and celebrating with joy. Verses 8-9 read,
“God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!”
There is not a kingdom on earth that does not belong to God. There are many people, many nations, many kingdoms who have not recognized God’s sovereignty but it makes it no less true that He is God, King of kings, Lord of lords, and Prince of peace.
There are so many reasons to praise Him. We praise Him for all He has done. We praise Him for all He will do. We praise Him because He is I Am, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is LORD God Almighty.
RSS Feed
