Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 47:2 and following. Indeed, this psalm expresses the joy that will fill the hearts of the faithful when, after the judgments mentioned in Psalm 46, Christ establishes his reign. Israel will have a position of pre-eminence over all peoples and will teach them to haunt God, his glories, his supremacy (Isaiah 2:2-3). As the people’s relationship with God is restored, we notice that the name of Jehovah reappears (Ps 46:8, 12). It is Christ who, finally recognized, takes his title of great king on all the earth (Zec 14:9). And we understand why we Christians do not call Jesus our king: We are citizens of heaven, not subjects of the earthly kingdom. Christ will not reign over the Church but with her; she will be in the same position as a queen alongside the king her husband. Would we not sing, we who have not only a great King to celebrate, but a divine Savior, a risen Lord, a heavenly Bridegroom who loves his Church and comes to seek it? How many glories gathered in the same person, wonderful glories that should from now on fill our mouths and hearts with the eternal song of true worshippers!
‘Clap your hands, all people.’ As the psalmist demands the nations, as a sign of their joy and thanksgiving; to God, to applaud, or to exhort them to a joy more than ordinary, it is certain that he speaks here of the deliverance that God had made for them. If God had erected a formidable kingdom among the Gentiles, it would have deprived them of all their courage and overwhelmed with despair, rather than giving them material to sing and jump for joy. Moreover, the inspired writer does not deal here with some common or ordinary blessings of God; but such blessings that will fill the whole world with great joy and arouse the spirit of all men to celebrate the praises of God. What he adds soon after, is that all nations have been subjected to Israel, so must necessarily be understood as a submission that is more excellent and more to be desired than all the kingdoms of the world. For many nations were dependent on David and his son Solomon; but as long as they were, they did not cease, at the same time, to whisper, and eagerly carried the yoke imposed on them, as they were far from giving thanks to God with a simple and joyful heart.
‘The princes of the peoples are reunited.’ The Psalmist enriches and amplifies the preceding sentence with various expressions. He again states that the way God gained dominion over the Gentiles was that those who were previously strangers united in adopting the same faith with the Jews; and so different nations, from a state of dispersion, were gathered into one body: When the doctrine of the gospel manifested itself and shone, it did not remove the Jews from the covenant that God had made long before with them. On the contrary, he instead joined us with them. Since the call of the Gentiles was nothing but the means by which they were grafted and incorporated into Abraham’s family, the prophet rightly states that strangers or strangers of all directions were gathered to the chosen people, so that by such an increase the kingdom of God could be extended to every corner of the globe. In this regard, Paul says (Eph 3:6,) that the Gentiles were one body with the Jews, so that they could participate in the eternal inheritance. By abolishing the Mosaic ceremonies, “the wall in the middle of the partitions” that separated jews and Gentiles is now removed, (Eph 2:14😉 but it is still true that we are counted among god’s children only if we have been grafted into Abraham’s stump. The prophet also tells us that the princes themselves will regard it as the climax of their bliss at being reunited with the Jews; as we will see in another psalm (Ps 87:5).
As a result, the “deliverance” referred to in Isaiah’s prophecy spilled over into the whole earth, in order to constitute the people of the God of Abraham, (Isaiah 10:22, 23). And fromthem very important and instructive truths appear here: First, we learn that all those who would be counted among the children of God must seek to have a place in the Church and join it, in order to maintain fraternal unity with all the pious; and, second, that when we speak of the unity of the Church, it must be considered as consisting in the agreement to obey the word of God, so that there may be a sheepfold and a shepherd. Moreover, those who are exalted in the world with regard to honors and riches, are exhorted to strip themselves of all pride, and to voluntarily carry the yoke with others, in order to show themselves the obedient children of the Church.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Cheer the great king:
· Majesty of God
1 Ch 29:11 To you, Jehovah, greatness, strength and magnificence, eternity and glory, for all that is in heaven and on earth belongs to you; to you, Jehovah, the kingdom, for you rise sovereignly above all! Ps 29:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic. Ps 93:1 The Lord reigns, he is clothed with majesty, the Lord is clothed, he is surrounded by force. Also the world is firm, it does not falter. Isa 2:10 Enter the rocks, and hide in the dust, To avoid the terror of the Lord and the brilliance of his majesty. Isaiah 57:15 For thus speaks the Most High, Whose abode is eternal and whose name is holy: I dwell in high places and in holiness; But I am with the contrite and humiliated man, In order to revive the humiliated minds, In order to revive the contrite hearts.
· Power of God, general references
1 Ch 29:12 Wealth and glory come from you, you dominate over everything, strength and power are in your hand, and your hand has the power to enlarge and strengthen all things. 2 Ch 25:8 If you go with them, even if you would do acts of valour in battle, God will make you fall before the enemy, for God has the power to help and bring down. Ps 62:12 God spoke once; Twice I heard this: It is that the strength is God’s. Ps 65:7 He strengthens the mountains by His strength, He is surrounded by power; Rom 16:25 To him who can strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery hidden for centuries,
· Praise be to God, ordained
-With the songs Ps 9:12 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion, Publish among the people his high deeds!
-With the musical instruments Ps 33.2 Celebrate the Lord with the harp, Celebrate him on the ten-stringed lute.
-Universal Ps 67:4 The people praise you, O God! All people praise you.
-Perpetual Hb 13:15 Through him, let us constantly offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
-Four reasons to express praise 1 Pet 2:9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you from darkness to his admirable light,
· People of God, general references
-Possession cherished as a treasure Ex 19:5 Now, if you listen to my voice, and if you keep my covenant, you will belong to me among all peoples, for the whole earth is mine;
-Chosen by the Lord Dt 14:2 For you are a holy people to Jehovah, your God; and Jehovah, your God, has chosen you, that you may be a people who belonged to him among all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
-Raised above the nations Dt 26:19 that he may give you superiority over all the nations he has created in glory, fame, and magnificence, and that you may be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as he told you. 1 Sam 12:22 Jehovah will not abandon His people because of His great name, for Jehovah has resolved to make you His people. Ps 29:11 The Lord gives strength to His people; Jehovah blesses His people and makes them happy.
-Led as a flock Ps 78:52 He made His people leave like sheep, He led them like a flock into the wilderness. Ps 100:3 Know that Jehovah is God! It is He who made us, and we belong to Him; We are his people, and the herd of his pasture.
Prepared for service Luke 1:17 he will walk before God with the spirit and power of Elijah, to bring the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the rebels to the wisdom of the righteous, in order to prepare for the Lord a well-disposed people. Acts 15:14 Simon recounted how God first cast his eyes on the nations to choose from among them a people who bore his name.
-Characterized by the zeal Tt 2:14 which has given itself for us, in order to redeem us from all iniquity, and to make a people that belongs to it, purified by it and zealous for good works.
“The law is written on his heart Hb 8:10 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, I will write them in their hearts; And I will be their God, and they will be my people. 1 Pet 2:9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you from darkness to his admirable light, Rev 21:3, and I heard from the throne a loud voice that said: Behold the tabernacle of God with men! He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.
From all the above, we note that theGod of Jacob, celebrated in the previous psalm as a warrior, or as the God of battles, is greeted here in a later phase of his glorious ways. His people, the Jewish people, express themselves here in the awareness of the position and dignity to which He has now called them on earth. And He Himself is celebrated by them as having come to Zion, to sit there as King on all the earth; and all nations are invited to come and bow down before Him. It is “mounted”. The portals have now raised their heads to let in the king of glory (Ps. 24). Jehovah, Jesus, God of Israel, is now king over all the earth; there is an Eternal, and his name is one (Zec 14:9). For Ps. 47 continues this deliverance to its brilliant results for Israel, according to the glory of God on earth. Jehovah is now a great King on all earth; he subjugates the peoples to Israel and he himself chooses their heritage. Verses 5 to 9 celebrate this fact with a song of triumph, as well as the reunion, to the people of the God of Abraham, of those among the nations who now recognize God. He is especially the King of Israel (the King of the Residue), but if he is such, he is King throughout the earth. God is magnified in these verses, he is the God of Israel: it is the celebration of the earthly part of the millennial glory of God, of which Israel, recognized in the delivered residue, is the center. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the Lord reigns, he is clothed in majesty.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.