https://esv.literalword.com/?q=psalm+47
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 17 November 2024:
Psalm 47:5-9 — God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 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!
Shout for joy today! Sing Praises! He is risen! Tell the world!
If we don’t feel overwhelmed with a desire to praise God today, despite circumstances, it is because we have a wrong perspective of God and the reality of the situation at hand. Joy is an issue of perception, understanding, faith, and focus. So, will you shout for joy today?
If you don’t feel much like rejoicing right now, these verses are not intended to be a chastisement but rather an encouragement, reminding you of what you probably already know, but perhaps aren’t “feeling” right now. Good coaches don’t usually tell players what the players don’t know, they mostly remind them to practice what they do know and encourage them to grow in their abilities through that practice. Let the Holy Spirit coach you with these verses, reminding you that God is Sovereign and perfect in His provision, encouraging you to rejoice in His love and in your security in Him.
Sometimes, when we are overcome by events, we all need to stop, refocus on the truth of the Gospel, and “rejoice,” or ‘joy again.’ Sometimes, when we don’t feel like singing praises, we need to make ourselves sing praises even more and louder! Sometimes, when God feels distant, we need to get closer to Him through Bible study, prayer, and meditation, confidently waiting upon Him with great expectation. And sometimes, when we are having dark thoughts, we need to proactively replace those thoughts with positive contemplations. Of course, this isn’t always easy to do, which is why the Bible is so full of encouragement to just do it and to practice, practice, practice –
- Philippians 4:4-7 — Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 4:8-9 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
- Philippians 4:12-13, 19, 23 — I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me…. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus…. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
Often people will say something like, “Well, I can’t help I feel.” Well, that is simply not true. We can’t feel a certain way about something without thinking about it, and we can’t think about something without information about it and a pre-determined way of judging that information. Your feelings are a product of your thinking, which is shaped by the information you receive and your judgments about that information. So, you control your feelings by changing your thinking, or as the Bible teaches, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
- 2 Timothy 2:16, 17 — But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.
- Proverbs 13:20 — Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
- 1 Corinthians 15:33 — Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
- Ephesians 4:29 — Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
We all have grown up in a world that has taught us to think about everything apart from consideration of the reality of God, who He is, what He is doing, and what He intends for us in the process. Our schools have eliminated consideration of God, and, apart from perhaps theological organizations, there is no professional community that expects any knowledge of God to reach the highest levels of accreditation or qualification, despite the fact that God Himself says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Remove God from the equation, and you have all the reason in the world to be depressed, anxious, and hopeless; in fact, if you don’t feel that way, apart from God, you are simply in denial of damnation. However, include God in your mental calculus as His beloved child, and you can and should be thankful in all circumstances and rejoice, even in your sorrows, which are also to be expected from a person who loves righteousness and others in this broken world.
Remember from our readings in the New Testament, Jesus reacted completely differently to circumstances than His disciples. Why? Because in the middle of a situation, He never lost sight of the perfect, sovereignty, will, and provision of the Father, while the disciples did. A perfect example of this is found in Mark, chapter 4, when the disciples and Jesus are on a boat in a terrible storm which appears to be life threatening – the disciples are panicking while Jesus is sleeping — “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” They were all going through the same situation with the same “facts,” but the disciples were “blind” to, or couldn’t “see,” the fact that they remained in the perfect love, will, and protection of the Father while they travelled through chaos with the Son for His purposes – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) Jesus didn’t condemn them in their doubts by rather encouraged them to grow up in their faith — “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
Again, it is easy to become distracted by the worries of this world and lose visibility on the reality of who God is and who we are because of whose we are; so, the Bible encourages you to pray continually in gratitude, rejoice always, sing praises aloud all the time, surround yourself with encouraging Christians, stop listening to the messages and teachings of this world (you will need to turn that TV off and step away from non-Christian social media), study and meditate upon God’s word day and night, being very careful to obey every word of it (faith produces obedience which produces results which validate the faith – you can’t experience what you don’t put into practice), and proclaim the Gospel to others, which not only offers hope to others but also strengthens your faith in the process. The Bible says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence….” (2 Peter 1:3) The “knowledge of Him” is all you need, but you need to live (abide) by that knowledge to experience the love, joy, and peace produced by it.
Sing praises to God today for salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and for His continued provision. And share with others the truth of the Gospel, particularly with your children — “Tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” One of our greatest responsibilities is to pass our knowledge of God to the next generation. (Psalm 48:13, 14) Let your joy through all circumstances be your testimony for God’s glory.
- 2 Timothy 4:3-5 — For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
More thoughts form Ligonier Ministries:
“Where do we find instruction from the Lord that we are to go to the ends of the earth and call people to faith in Him? If asked this question, many Christians will undoubtedly point to texts such as Matthew 28:18–20, which calls the church to make disciples of all nations. They might also look to Acts 9:15, where Paul is identified as one who will proclaim the good news to the nations.
But the command to proclaim the truth of God to the nations did not begin in the new covenant era. In fact, the Old Testament is as much a missionary book as the New Testament. We see this particularly in the book of Psalms. Today’s passage, for example, calls the nations of the world to praise and worship the God of Israel (Ps. 47:1). These nations must hear of Israel’s God if they are going to be able to do that.
Psalm 47 makes universal claims. Ancient Near Eastern peoples often assumed that particular gods were exclusive to particular nations. In other words, Yahweh, the covenant Lord of Israel, would have been seen by many as the being whom the Israelites should worship but not the being whom the Syrians or the Babylonians should praise. Yet that is not the perspective of the Old Testament Scriptures. What set Israel’s religion apart from other ancient religions was its exclusivity—Yahweh was not one god among many who was bound only to Israel; rather, He was to be worshiped by all the surrounding nations as well. In addition to its exhortation for the peoples to praise the Lord, Psalm 47 also makes the claim that Yahweh is God over all the earth with its use of the title “great king” for the Lord (v. 2). This was a title that kings of larger nations or empires used for themselves when they entered into treaties with smaller states. Under the terms of these suzerain-vassal treaties, the great king of the larger and stronger empire (the suzerain) would pledge to protect the smaller state (the vassal) from other nations. In return, the vassal had to pledge absolute loyalty to the suzerain. By casting Yahweh as the ‘great king’ (the suzerain) of the whole earth, the psalmist is calling the world to serve the God of Israel and no other.
Israel had a special reason to worship Yahweh because of His acts of salvation. He brought Israel out of Egypt and subdued nations under her (vv. 3–4). This points finally to the church, where the people of Yahweh conquer the nations with the gospel, incorporating them into the true Israel of God—Jews and Gentiles who serve Christ Jesus (Rom. 11).
John Calvin comments on vv. 3–4 of today’s passage: ‘By these words he intimates that the kingdom of God would be much more magnificent and glorious at the coming of the Messiah, than it was under the shadowy dispensation of the Law, inasmuch as it would be extended to the utmost boundaries of the earth.’ God has conquered us with His Word, not destroying us, but bringing us into the company of His redeemed people.” (Ligonier Ministries)
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 17 November 2024: Truly celebrate the Gospel today in your heart and with loved ones. Shout for joy today! Sing Praises! He is risen! Tell yourself while you tell the world!
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 