By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #134 ~
You have been to celebrations, birthday parties, weddings and graduations. They are joyous and exciting events, giving recognition and honor to a particular person or two. But they cannot compare to the millennial kingdom, when Christ will be King over all the earth, and when you will be part of the greatest celebration ever. Psalm 47 describes this most important aspect of the coming age, the glorious praise that will be given to our great God and King, and the reasons why He will be receiving this praise.
Verse 1 starts off with a command given to the entire earth, “O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy.” The whole world, every single person, is to be greatly rejoicing, celebrating, giving wholehearted praise to God. Verse 2 tells us why, “For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.” It will be clearly evident that God is the Lord is the King, and in fact, the greatest King; and finally, He is on earth, ruling over the world, over every square inch, and over every living creature. In all the earth, He is the Most High, the One to be feared, respected, and given glory and praise. Not only is He God, but He is Jesus Christ, the One who was victorious over sin and Satan and, therefore, has the right to rule over the world. Revelation 5:1-9
Verses 3-4 give us another reason why Jesus Christ is to be honored and praised. It is that He, the great King, the Lord Most High “subdues people under us.” And who is “us”? It’s the Jewish believers living in Israel during this kingdom age. Because of God’s special love for Israel, God subdues peoples and nations, choosing them to be Israel’s inheritance, that is, the glory of Jacob. The privileged prominence and place of the Jewish people will be obvious during this kingdom age, for during this time, Israel, along with glorified believers, will be ruling over the world (Revelation 5:10). And like the Jews and the believers, these people and nations, are to praise the Lord. Psalm 117 also tells us this: “Praise the Lord, all nations; laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us.” Romans 15:10 repeats this truth: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
Psalm 47:5 continues with the exaltation of Christ, telling us, “God has ascended with a shout, the Lord, with the sound of the trumpet.” Christ the King will have ascended to His throne, most likely, at the beginning of this kingdom age. Psalm 48:1-2 gives us more details: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King.” You see, Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem and, as the King, has triumphantly gone up to His throne, for everyone in the world to see. There’s also the trumpet blast, the “shofar” having sounded forth for everyone in the world to hear.
Then what happens? Five times, I am telling you, five different times it says, “Sing praises.” “Sing praises to God… sing praises… sing praises to our King… sing praises… sing praises with a skillful Psalm” (verses 6-7). One of the themes of this Psalm is that we are to worship the King, to glorify Him, and here, the people are instructed to sing to Him. Can you imagine what this will be like? I don’t believe we know for sure who will be singing. But nevertheless, it will be an awesome experience, a most majestic and glorious time, as we sing to the King. It says with a skillful psalm, which means the music and words of this praise song will be wonderfully and perfectly suited for our King.
The main theme of this Psalm is stated again: “God is the King of all the earth.” Yes, God is presently the King of the whole universe (Daniel 4:34-35). But during this millennial kingdom age, Jesus Christ will be King in a direct, visible, powerful and more glorious way, and the whole world will know that He is the King. Christ will be sitting on His throne in Jerusalem and, with absolute authority, He will be reigning, making loving, righteous and wise decisions, sovereignly working through His people, which includes the Jewish believers, and us, and all the glorified believers. Psalm 47:7-8
Some of these people Christ is ruling with are described in verse 9. They are “princes,” the noble ones, the willing servants of God, gathered together in Jerusalem. They are “shields,” God’s royal guard, some of the King’s armed forces, and they are attending and assisting the King (perhaps these are the 144,000 Jews spoken of in Revelation 7:4-8). This Psalm fittingly concludes, “He is highly exalted.” Indeed, Christ will be exalted on His throne and exalted in people’s hearts, for He is the “great King over all the earth.”
Might this picture of our future, of this most exhilarating and Christ-exalting celebration, fire up your heart, and fill you with extreme joy and hope, knowing that you will be on the earth at this time, worshiping and serving our Savior, Lord, and King. And remember, it’s all about the King and His glory, and even now, during this age, He is “greatly to be praised.” “Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised.” Psalm 145:2-3
P.S. I just finished a two-part sermon series on how you are to love God: “Loving God” and “Loving God With All You’ve Got.” When you get time, I would strongly encourage you to listen to them, for it is the Great Commandment. And here’s a previous post that relates directly to this theme of Jesus Christ receiving all the praise and glory: “The Glory of God – The Most Important Thing of All.”