Read: Psalm 47 (NIV)
1Clap your hands, all
you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great
King over all the earth. 3He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet. 4He chose our inheritance for
us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. 5God has
ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord
amid the sounding of trumpets. 6Sing praises to God,
sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7For
God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. 8God
reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9The
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.
Reflect:
Just
as the psalmist is encouraging the people of Israel to clap and sing cries of
joy for delivering them from slavery into the promised land, we too celebrate
at Christmas by singing carols and clapping with joy to our Father who loved us
enough to send Jesus to deliver us from Satan. A love so great that He was
willing to sacrifice Himself on a cross so that we might have an inheritance
beyond anything words can describe or we can imagine.
The
psalmist tells the people five times in verses six and seven to sing praises.
In Psalm 98 and 100 we are told to make a joyful noise to the Lord. This is a
call to action, to raise our voices in joyous celebration to the One who is
worthy to be called the King of kings. This is not a call to sit or stand
quietly while those around us are celebrating in song, but a call to sing
lovingly to the One who loves us enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.
During
this busy time of year, and with all the world turbulence, let us take a moment
to think about verse eight. “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his
holy throne.” This is not a past-tense verse and it’s just as true today as it
was during the lives of the Israelites. Let us celebrate Christmas with the
full knowledge that God is in control and let us lean into him for our rest and
peace.
In
verse nine we are told the kings of the earth belong to God. Nothing surprises
God, and He has appointed the early kings according to his perfect will. One
day we will understand, and all this craziness will make sense.
Act:
Therefore,
this Christmas let us sing, clap, and rejoice in the fact that Jesus is King
and is still on His throne. Let us be quick to tell anyone the reason for our
hope and celebrate our Savior’s birth with renewed enthusiasm, knowing that one
day the trumpets will sound and He will return!
Pray:
Father
God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for loving us so much, that by His sacrifice
we can one day stand before You and thank You in person and worship You for
your grace and mercy. Thank You, Jesus, for taking the nails for me and bearing
my sins so that one day I will be worthy of being reunited in heaven with You
and my other brothers and sisters in Christ. Holy Spirit, please open my eyes
to the people in my life who don’t know You, and give me the boldness to tell
them the reason for my joy.
In
Christ’s name, I pray, amen.
Phil Agee
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