“'God Reigns Over the Nations': Hope in God's Rule (Psalm 47)” | 11/1/2020
Psalm 47 | 11/1/20 | Will DuVal
I’ve had the honor this fall, of co-founding a regional chapter of the Gospel Coalition here in St. Louis. If you aren’t familiar with the Gospel Coalition’s ministry, I HIGHLY recommend you sign up to receive their weekly emails; their articles and podcasts are excellent. But this past month, the timely topic of our discussion, which I moderated, and which you can find as last week’s episode of OUR OWN West Hills’ podcast, was entitled “What is the role of Politics in the Pulpit?”.
Now, for some of you, you might think the answer to that question is rather simple: NONE! There is NO role for politics from the pulpit. But I might respond by ASKING those of you holding back a loud “AMEN!” right now: How do you define “politics”? According to the dictionary, it’s anything “of or related to governance”. By that definition, Jesus was one of the most political figures in all of history! Here’s a guy who said things like “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, to God what is God’s” (Mk 12:17), knowing full well that EVERYTHING belongs to God; God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. A guy who questioned paying the Temple tax, since the Temple was His Father’s house. A guy who summarized the very HEART of his message in just 5 Greek words: Ēngiken hē basileia tou Theou - “the KINGDOM of God is here”. Jesus claimed titles like “Lord” and “Son of God” - in direct opposition to the Roman Emperor’s claim to be the “Son of God” and to be worshipped as Lord. And when Jesus was asked point blank by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate - “Are you a King?”, Jesus replied, “MY kingdom is not of this world.” (Jn 18:36) In other words, “Yeah, I’m a king alright, but my kingdom isn’t like your pathetic excuse for a kingdom.” And so they crucified Jesus NOT for blasphemy, but on Roman charges of sedition and insurrection. In summary: Jesus was as political as they come - if you’re gonna stay away from politics in the pulpit, you better stay away from Jesus.
But at the opposite end of the spectrum, others of you, far from keeping politics out of the pulpit, wished that I would serve as a mouthpiece for the Republican party. On this final Sunday before the big Election Day, you are secretly hoping that I’ll be preaching a sermon on the gospel of Donald Trump. And Y’ALL are the reason those OTHER brothers and sisters here want to keep politics out of the church altogether!
While we were driving home from my sister’s wedding in Memphis last weekend, we passed a “church” (and I use that term loosely) that had the biggest “Biden-Harris” sign out front that I’ve ever seen, and I had half a mind to notify the local Republican headquarters that this “church” was in clear violation of the Johnson Amendment and that someone oughta go revoke their 501c3 status. And lest you think I SAY that AS a mouthpiece for Republicanism, I assure you I would have experienced the same disgust if it had been a “Trump-Pence” sign.
Because friends: it is absolutely ABHORRENT when the church cheapens, compromises, and EXCHANGES the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ for the counterfeit gospel of ANY sinful, fallible, human politician that this world has to offer.
ESPECIALLY the two sinners that we gotta choose from this year. Like, if there was EVER an election that should cause Christians to simultaneous WEEP, at the brokenness of this world, that THESE are the candidates you wanted, and yet at the same time, to WORSHIP when we realize that OUR hope and OUR ultimate CITIZENSHIP lies not in this world - Philippians 3:20 - “But our citizenship is in heaven” - this election ought to spark a whole lot of BOTH: weeping and worship, for us.
Brothers and sisters, we’ve got the best news in town! And yet, how quickly some of us will settle for… I’m not even gonna call either of these candidates SECOND best; that’s an insult to silver medalists everywhere. After that first presidential debate, I was ready to go out and buy one of those “Any Functioning Adult 2020” yard signs. Have you seen those? Like, if there was EVER a time for the church to evangelize, to capitalize on people’s rightful disappointment and disillusionment, with the rulers of THIS world - this is why the psalmist warns us: “Put not your trust in princes, in [human rulers], in whom there is no salvation” - Psalm 146:3.
And yet, we passed a 150-car caravan on the way DOWN to the wedding, all flying Trump flags, and I posted it to Facebook and commented: “Just imagine if Christians got this excited about JESUS.” That post didn’t get as many “likes” as it should have. Maybe the truth hurts; let me ask you this morning: who are YOU most excited about this November? Whose flag is in YOUR yard? Is it as clear to your neighbors and your Facebook friends that you love Jesus, as it is which candidate you support?
This morning, I intend to preach the most unapologetically POLITICAL sermon you’ve ever heard in your life, from Psalm ch.47, which centers around one unashamedly political theme, we might even consider it a “campaign slogan” of sorts, and here it is:
“Yahweh is KING!”. Yahweh is KING.
That’s the most political message you’ll find... in the Bible, it’s straight out of Psalm 47, v2; it’s as political as ANY campaign ad you’ve seen on TV this fall... that is a POLITICAL statement, friends, “of or related to governance”: “God reigns over the nations… God is the King over all the earth… Yahweh is KING!”
This is NOT a stand-alone sermon; we are continuing our “Psalms of Hope” series. So as we unpack the psalmist’s 3 main points here, he’s gonna point us to THREE REALMS, or DOMAINS, over which Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is King - to say someone is “King” is to say they have a king-DOM, a domain or realm, a place and a people, over which they RULE and REIGN… remember Jesus’ words to Pilate - “My Kingdom is not of this world”; It suggests that He DOES have a kingdom, Yahweh IS King, and we’re gonna examine three dimensions of God’s kingship here in Psalm 47. But as we work our way through each, in keeping with our “Psalms of Hope” series, I want to highlight why you and I should derive such HOPE from this beautiful truth that God is King.
And ultimately, and practically, MY hope, for you, is that in the midst of a week when EVERYONE who profits off of your viewership would love to have you losing sleep because you’re GLUED to the screen in fearful anxiety that the WRONG person is gonna get elected - whether you watch Fox News or CNN, use Facebook or Instagram, you need to realize their goal is ALL the same: to keep you glued to the screen; cuz they are selling YOU to their corporate sponsors and advertisers. And you know what sells best of all? FEAR. Worry. If they can keep you AFRAID, they can keep you watching. But my hope, and more importantly, GOD’S hope - the same God who commands you “Do not be afraid” 103x in His word; the God who invites you not to be anxious about ANYTHING, Philippians 4:6 - THAT God’s hope for you this morning, is that you would get you a beautiful, peaceful, restful, full-night’s sleep every night this week, because if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you’re gonna leave here today being really reassured of where your hope truly lies. Amen?
Would you stand with me as you’re able, and turn in your Bibles... Psalm 47
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
5 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![a]
8 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!
This is the word of the Lord... (LET’S PRAY…)
-
Let’s start with some context. You may recall in September we covered Psalms 42 and 43, and last month we studied Psalm 46, and we noted that Psalms 42-49 are all listed as “psalms of the Sons of Korah”. The sons of Korah were Israel’s worship leaders during the reign of King David, 1,000 years before Christ. So these psalms were written as HYMNS for them to sing, in leading the people in worship. We’re not sure who actually authored them; David himself is as good a guess as any. But regardless, I want to point out that the opening call to worship we find here in Psalm 47 - “clap your hands and shout to God with loud songs of joy!” - those words come RIGHT on the heel of Psalm 46, which ended with that famous, wonderful invitation, to
“Be still, and know that I am God.
[But then remember, God IMMEDIATELY followed that invitation up with the DECLARATION that...]
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Do you see the connection between the two? Between our ability to BE STILL, to have PEACE, to experience REST… and our EXALTATION of Yahweh as God, as King of all the earth? The message of Psalm 46 was essentially that our PEACE is directly tied to our PRAISE; the more we praise and hope and trust in God, the more peace and rest and joy you can expect to experience.
Enter Psalm 47. So Psalm 47 is essentially just a giant PEP RALLY then! The psalmist has just concluded that WE are most content, not to mention, more importantly, that God is most glorified, when we exalt him with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength, and so Psalm 47 just provides us with a vehicle for DOING just that; “Alright - let’s get down to business and PRAISE the Lord, then!”
And specifically, we’re gonna praise Him, as KING. Yahweh is KING...
#1 - over ALL THINGS. (vv1-2)
Vv1-2 say: “The LORD - YAHWEH; whenever you see the word “LORD” in all caps like that, your Bible is translating God’s Hebrew personal, proper name, Yahweh, revealed to Moses in the burning bush - that God, is “to be FEARED”.
Now wait a minute, Pastor; I thought you just TOLD us that God commands us NOT to fear in the Bible? And that’s true - God commands you not to fear... stuff that isn’t worth fearing. Which is: everything BUT Him. Don’t fear Biden getting elected, don’t fear Trump getting re-elected, don’t fear COVID… heck, Jesus says, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” That’s GOD, friends; only GOD has the authority to send someone to Hell. You can fear Him. You SHOULD, fear Him. That’s actually a command as well. Fear God. In fact, the Proverbs call the fear of the Lord the “beginning of wisdom” (Pr 9:10).
Okay, so Yahweh is to be FEARED, v2; Why?
Because He’s “a great king over all the earth.” The psalmist repeats that again in v7: “God is the King of all the earth”
God rules over ALL things. As Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not one square inch in all the universe over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not say, ‘Mine.’” I rule it. I am supreme over it.’”
Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”
He’s certainly Sovereign over the measly rulers of THIS world: Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”
Psalm 103:19 “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”
1 Chronicles 29:11-12 “All that is in the heavens and the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all… You rule over all.”
And let me tell you why that’s such good news, friends: 2 reasons -
#1) Because if God is King over ALL things, that means that CHAOS isn’t. In a god-LESS universe, Chaos is King. It reigns supreme. Why cancer? Why COVID? According to atheism, as summarized so poignantly by renowned atheist Bertrand Russell, good and evil alike, love and cancer are BOTH “ but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms”. As Richard Dawkins says, “the universe is bleak, cold and empty.” Get used to it.
But our God assures us that there ARE no accidents. He MAKES no mistakes. No, He “works all things according to the counsel of his will” - Ephesians 1:11, and better yet, He promises to “work all things together for good,[a] for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28. And that’s the SECOND reason God’s Kingship over all things is such good news, because...
#2) He’s such a GOOD king!
That’s why the psalmist can exclaim in v1: “Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
Listen: not a lot of Christians gonna be partying this Tuesday night, regardless of which way this thing goes; any way you spin it, this is clearly a “lesser of two evils” situation. And we’re called in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to “Abstain from every form of evil”; so go ahead, hold your nose and do your civic duty and go vote if you want, but you can save the streamers and poppers. You can bring those with you next Sunday, here, to church instead. Because GOD? Yeah, HE’S worth celebrating! HE’S a ruler you can get EXCITED about. You can “Clap and shout for JOY” about.
Psalm 145:9 declares “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
Psalm 34:8 invites us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Friends: have YOU tasted and seen the Lord’s goodness? Have you experienced His good and merciful rule, over your own life? He will not disappoint you. Trust in King JESUS today.
#2 - Yahweh is King... over US. (vv3-6)
The psalmist narrows his focus now, in vv3-6, from celebrating God’s sovereignty over ALL things, ALL the earth, and zooms in on His rule specifically over ISRAEL. That is the immediate, historical context of the “US” here in Psalm 47. It’s a call to remember and celebrate God’s past faithfulness in the life of the nation and people of ISRAEL. 3 things, in particular...
#1 - v3: “He subdued peoples under us and nations under our feet.” That’s a reference to God’s leading Israel into the Promised land, Canaan, and helping them overthrow the nations that formerly occupied it; you can read all about that in the Book of Joshua, chs 6-12.
#2 - v4: “He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.” That’s a reference to God’s subsequent gifting of the land to His people as their inheritance, each of the 12 tribes got their portion; you can read all about that in Joshua chs 13-21.
And #3 - v5: “God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.” That’s actually a reference, almost verbatim, to David’s defeating the Jebusites to reclaim Jerusalem for the Israelites, and then parading the ark of the covenant into town with shouting and trumpets and shameless naked dancing; you can read all about that in 2 Samuel chs 5 & 6.
But the point of all of this is that God isn’t just “A” king; He’s OUR king.
And the psalmist, writing 1,000 years before Christ pointed to these historical events as evidence of God’s good, Sovereign governance over Israel; but if you and I were re-writing this psalm today, 2,000 years AFTER Jesus, we might say something like:
“God hasn’t just subdued peoples under us; Jesus has now subdued DEATH! O death, where is your sting?!”
“We don’t just trample over nations; Ephesians 1:22 says God has put ALL things under Christ’s feet; Jesus trampled over the power of SIN and HELL: “all rule and authority and power and dominion, not only in this age but in the age to come.” And if Christ is now IN us, He says, “We are MORE than conquerors through Him who loves us” (Rom 8:37).
“The church is the NEW Israel; the apostle Paul calls us - Jew and Gentile alike - “the offspring of Abraham”, or as Psalm 47 says, the “pride of Jacob whom He loves”; but the “heritage” God chose for us wasn’t just a plot of land somewhere in the Middle East; no, 1 Peter 1:4 calls OUR inheritance “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” because OUR inheritance is now “in heaven”, with Jesus!
THAT’S what your king, JESUS, did for you, brothers and sisters; let me just ask you: What’s President TRUMP done for you lately? Cut your taxes?
What did President Obama do for ya? Give you healthcare?
Okay, go ahead and vote for them. This is another “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s” deal - Sure, pay your taxes. Earthly politicians can have your money. They can have your vote.
But there is only ONE candidate who gave up his LIFE for you.
Who traded all the splendors of heaven for a crown of thorns and the nails of the CROSS for you.
Who died the death you deserved so that you could inherit ETERNAL life with God the Father that only HE deserved.
His name is JESUS and he’s not interested in your VOTE, he wants your HEART. He wants your entire LIFE. He demands it: He says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Friends: have you died to yourself to find new life in Christ this morning?
If you haven’t, then don’t be surprised when you continue to get let down by politician after politician, every 4 years. Don’t be surprised when you continue to get let down, by your spouse, your significant other, your kids, your boss, whoever it is in YOUR life, that you keep trying to elect to the position of functional messiah, your personal Savior, who you’re looking to for the affirmation, and the identity, and the fulfillment, and the LOVE that you were designed by God to find ONLY in Jesus.
Hear the good news this morning, friends: Jesus is THE King - the One, true king - and what’s even better: He wants to be YOUR King! He is willing to be YOUR King, if you will let Him.
But so often, we’re like the Israelites in Samuel’s day. 1 Samuel ch8: what do God’s people do, on almost literally the next page, after He leads them into the Promised Land, vanquishes all their enemies, bestows upon them this amazing inheritance? v4: “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel and said to him… ‘Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel… And he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “...They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” (vv4-7)
And 3,000 years later, we STILL haven’t learned our lesson, have we? The Risen Son of God is offering to be our king this morning, but we’ll settle for a narcissistic bully instead. Or an amnesiac puppet. Take your pick.
Friends: the reason it’s such good news that Yahweh is King, is it means my hope doesn’t have to be bound up in ANY candidate on the ballot this Tuesday. And listen: I get it. I really do. I already know the emails you’re gonna send me tomorrow. About the crossroads we’re at, and how concerned you are for the future of our country, how scared you are of the America your grandkids are gonna grow up in. But friends: do you realize that if your grandkids hope is in AMERICA, then you should be scared already! Because the gospel ISN’T that “God so loved the world that He gave it AMERICA, that whosoever trusts in her…”
NO! God so loved the world that He gave His only SON! That whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
So I don’t know about you, but my hope’s not on the ballot this Tuesday.
I don’t know about you, but REGARDLESS of the outcome of the election, I’m gonna sing praises, v6: to GOD. “Sing praises to OUR KING”. The psalmist repeats it FOUR TIMES. Remember: it’s a pep rally. Imagine v6 as the CHANT of God’s people on HIS election night, Yahweh’s coronation:
“Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!”
So while the world chants “Four more years! Four more years!” or “Not my president! Not my president!”, West Hills: THIS is OUR chant - “Sing praises to God, sing praises!”
“Yahweh is King! Yahweh is King!”
And then as we transition to point #3, and vv7-9, the language shifts once again from “God is OUR King” back to “God is THE King”... over ALL the earth. Because the psalmist is about to really drive the point home here at the end, that...
#3 - Yahweh is King… over ALL PEOPLE. (vv7-9)
V8: “God reigns over the nations.”
What is the scope of God’s kingdom? The extent of His rule? The psalm is pretty clear, REDUNDANTLY clear:
V1: “all peoples”
V2: “all the earth”
V3: “the peoples”
V3: “the nations”
V7: “all the earth”
V8: “the nations”
V9: “the peoples”
V9: “the whole earth”
It’s UNIVERSAL! We’re talking worldwide domination.
Remember Psalm 33? “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
[But] The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.” (vv10-11)
Or Isaiah 40:23 “[God] brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”
But Psalm 99:1-2 “The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
...He is exalted over all the peoples.”
And Psalm 47 leaves us with a vivid PICTURE of that, here in v9:
“The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.”
Now, the big interpretive question we’re left with is: “What does THAT gathering look like?” This is a recurring picture that Scripture paints - Micah 4, Jeremiah 16, Isaiah 19, 42, 43; Daniel 7:14 - of “all the nations” being gathered to Yahweh on the Last Day. And at TIMES, it ALMOST sounds like universalism, this idea that all people from all nations will be SAVED, will one day be reconciled to God. You’ve got passages like…
Psalm 72:8-11 “May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!”
But you’ll notice there was one key line I skipped over there, in v9: “May his enemies lick the dust!”. And if we look more carefully, we’ll find that in EACH of these otherwise wonderful, hopeful prophetic depictions of God’s calling to Himself on that final day “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””, that’s how John describes that glorious day in Revelation 7:9-10, but even there, look closer and you realize that not EVERYONE is included in the “great multitude”. That “all tribes and peoples”, plural, means all people GROUPS, but not all persons. Not everyone. There are still gonna be people by Revelation ch.20, by the END of the tribulation, God’s pouring out in full measure his WRATH against humanity’s sin for 12 chapters, there are STILL those who worship the Beast instead. Who refuse to repent and turn to Yahweh as King.
Commentator J.M. Boice points us back to Psalm ch.2 as yet more evidence of this. He explains (399): “[There is a] very different picture of the nations drawn for us in Psalm 2. In that psalm, the kings of the earth are opposing the Lord and his Christ. They are saying, ‘Let us break their chains… and throw off their fetters” (v3). In that psalm God is laughing at such impotent folly. He scoffs at it and rebukes the people, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill” (v6). He admonishes, “Be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth… Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way” (vv10, 12). Psalm 2 reminds us that there are two kinds of compliance with the just reign of God and Jesus Christ. There is a willing, joyful compliance on the one hand, but there is also an unwilling, forced compliance on the other.”
So in light of that, when I interpret Psalm 47 here, and “The princes of the peoples gathering as the people of the God of Abraham,” I read the word “AS” not in the sense of “exactly like”; because it’s clear elsewhere in Scripture that on that day, there will be princes and people who STILL oppose Christ’s rule; no, “AS” here must just mean “in a similar fashion”. In OTHER words, the picture the psalmist paints here is actually of TWO lines. Those lined up behind the princes of THIS world, and those in the line of the people of the God of Abraham. The goats and the sheep. And God will say to those in the ONE line: “Depart from me; I never KNEW you”, and to those in the OTHER: “Well done, good and faithful servants.”
And the most important question on earth, for you and me this morning, for every person who has ever walked this planet, is: Which line will you be in on that day, friend?
The line waiting to “kiss the Son”? Or those who will “lick the dust”?
Jesus promised in John 12:32 “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” But he’ll draw SOME with His love, and OTHERS with His justice.
Make no mistake: Every knee WILL bow and every tongue WILL confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, but you can surrender your life willingly, JOYFULLY, trusting in the GOOD news that God is a merciful and loving King, that Jesus generously OFFERS to be King in your place, because He knows that carrying the weight of the world, or even just the stresses of your individual LIFE, is a burden you were never meant to bear…
See, that’s the best part of all, friends, about God’s being your King: It means you don’t have to be. Some of you have been trying to be the dictator of your own life for far too long. And it’s past time you admit you’re not very good at it, that God intentionally designed the seat on the throne of your heart to be FAR too big for you to fill, and it’s time you stepped down off the throne and cast your crown down at His feet and let Him take a turn being in charge instead.
He will NEVER disappoint you.