January 10
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
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 to him a psalm of praise.
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
The nations continue to fight for their dominance in the world. It remains the idea: “My kingdom over/against your kingdom.” Every war seems to have people on each side making claims of having God on their side. We each pray for the defeat of our enemies. One could misunderstand the previous Psalm (Psalm 46) to be making such a claim. God is our refuge and our strength. Yet it ends: “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Today’s Psalm ends very similarly:
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
God’s kingdom supersedes our petty thoughts of being great nations. The imaginary lines we have drawn, whether they are based on language, ethnicity, or arbitrary lines from colonialism, the lines do not define God’s boundaries. God reigns in each and every place. Most of all, right here, in the heart of the church and the people of Christ’s church. We are gathered as the people of God. As Paul will later remind us in Galatians 3:
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Song – How Great is Our God
Prayer
We praise you, God almighty, for the power you have shown in creating the world. We thank you for your love in redeeming us from sin and in creating us anew in Christ. Grant us strength in this life to honor you, Lord God, both in worship and in witness, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.