One thing that is hard to understand about fully trusting God is praising Him even when things aren’t going well — when things look bleak — when life feels hopeless. Jesus told us, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT) We need to remember that whomever sits in a seat of power on earth, God rules over them. Jesus IS the KING of kings! Let’s dig in…
Psalm 47
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.
1 Come, everyone! Clap your hands!
Shout to God with joyful praise!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King of all the earth.
3 He subdues the nations before us,
putting our enemies beneath our feet.
4 He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance,
the proud possession of Jacob’s descendants, whom he loves. Interlude (pause & reflect on what you just read)5 God has ascended with a mighty shout.
Psalm 47 NLT
The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King over all the earth.
Praise him with a psalm.
8 God reigns above the nations,
sitting on his holy throne.
9 The rulers of the world have gathered together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
For all the kings of the earth belong to God.
He is highly honored everywhere.
How Do You Praise God?
Incidentally, this psalm is a continuation of Psalm 46. God speaks to us directly in verse 10…
“Be still, and know that I am God!
Psalm 46 NLT
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
Obviously, Psalm 47 is an affirmation of this. Right now, as we look around the world, it seems like it’s falling apart. We have to keep reminding ourselves that God IS in Control! The God who created the world out of chaos, will bring it all back from chaos!
Why do we Praise God?
Naturally, if you’ve been following all the Sunday Psalms blogs (Here are playlists for Psalms 1-31 and Psalms 32-45), you start to see a pattern in the psalms. Usually, the psalmist starts by stating his problem. At the end, after ranting to God, he praises God. Why? Because he knows that everything comes from God. Furthermore, he is assured that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, our protector, our provider, our healer, and savior, besides a lot of other things.
God also Keeps His Promises!
As always, I turn to the folks at Spoken Gospel for insight…
The promise that God made to Jacob and Abraham finally comes true and the world is blessed as God takes his rightful throne.
God has always planned that through a descendant of Abraham and Jacob, a King would reign over all the earth. That royal descendant is Jesus. He deserves to be praised as the true King because Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of Israel by virtue of the blood of Jacob and Abraham in his veins (Matthew 1:1-2). But Jesus also deserves to be crowned King because he is God’s presence in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). Just as the ark was celebrated as it took its place in Jerusalem, Jesus deserves even more fanfare because he is God himself (Hebrews 1:2). Jesus is the rightful King of both Israel and the world. All nations are called to bow to him.
Even Jesus’ enemies could not escape the inevitability of falling to Jesus, the King, in worship. His accusers call him the “Son of God” in order to indict him (Matthew 26:63-64). The kings of Rome vindicate him as innocent of all crimes (Luke 23:14). The soldiers of the nations give Jesus a crown, a scepter, and royal-colored robe as they bow to the true “King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:28-29). Finally he is lifted up, ascended to a throne that happens to be shaped like a cross, with his eternal title “King” inscribed above him (Matthew 27:37). And as proof of the inevitable worship the nations will offer the true King of Israel, a Roman guard is the one of the first citizens of Jesus’ new Kingdom (Mark 15:39). The Kingdom once reserved for the children of Jacob is freely opened to all who bow before him (Romans 10:13).
And through Jesus’ coronation, which happens to be a crucifixion, Jesus takes his seat on an eternal throne (Ephesians 1:19-20). And what was once meant as irony, becomes true. People from every tribe, nation, and tongue are right now and will forever sing the praises of the King who died to make all people his citizens (Revelation 7:9).
Spoken Gospel
Praise Him!
Finally, one of the easiest ways to praise God is to sing. Fortunately, we have a lot of free Christian praise songs on YouTube that you can watch and sing along. Here are some to get you going…
How to Get Joy, Peace, and Hope
Ultimately, you can only praise God wholeheartedly if you KNOW God wholeheartedly. Do YOU KNOW Jesus?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
