the wisdom of praise

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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the wisdom of praise

Psalm 47:6-7 (JDV)

Psalm 47:6 Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our King, sing praise!
Psalm 47:7 Sing a song of wisdom, because God is King of the whole land.

the wisdom of praise

The reason praise to God is wise is that he is king of the whole land. There are rival kings and thought systems and worldviews — even beings who pretend to be rival gods. But wisdom chooses the king who will be king after the last battle is fought.

Lots of thoughts go through our minds as we struggle through life. It is difficult to maintain a steady walk and witness. But there is a habit which will always identify us with the God who is king of the whole land. That habit is praise. To sing praises to God is to declare our allegiance to him. That is wise, considering what is going to happen to those who choose the wrong king.

Lord, make us wise singers of praise to you.

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the king’s victory

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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the king’s victory

Psalm 47:5 (JDV)

Psalm 47:5 God goes up amid shouts of joy, Yahveh, with the sound of trumpets.

the king’s victory

The picture before us is of a king advancing to take over territory won in battle. But the king is God himself, accompanied by the joyful shouts of his followers who share his victory, and the trumpets which announce it.

No matter what you are facing today, that picture is a prophecy of your future. Because of this future reality, a present challenge can be bearable. Because we are destined to inherit eternal life, we can confidently face setbacks, difficulties— even our own deaths.

We have seen the future, and God wins, therefore we win.

Lord, thank you for your all encompassing victory.

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a shared reign

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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a shared reign

Psalm 47:3-4 (JDV)

Psalm 47:3 He subdues peoples under us and nations under our feet.
Psalm 47:4 He chooses for us our inheritance – the pride of Jacob, whom he loves. Selah

a shared reign

This psalm introduced God as the great king, and these verses accentuate the fact that the great king is Israel’s king. The nations he subjects under his feet are put under Israel’s feet.

Our king Jesus will do the same for those in his kingdom as well. 1 Corinthians 15 speaks of Jesus returning to reign and subjecting all his enemies to his authority. This will be done in one of two ways. Either he will reconcile the rebels to his authority, or he will eliminate them. Those are the only two options.

Also, just as the nation of Israel participated in God’s reign over the nations, when Christ reigns, his people will also reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 20:6).

Lord, thank you for promise of a shared reign.

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new politic

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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new politic

Psalm 47:2 (JDV)

Psalm 47:2 you see, Yahveh, the Most High, is awe-inspiring, a great king over the whole land.

new politic

Our lowly Jesus, meek and mild, is also a great king who rules over the land all around us. He comes in peace, but he will not allow his enemies to continue ruling in his stead. If you cannot worship God as king, you are not worshiping the biblical God. Our faith is rooted in a promise of a future in which all God’s enemies will be subdued under his feet, either reconciled to him or destroyed forever.

He reigns today, and is calling his kingdom’s citizens to himself through the gospel. His return to the land around us will be glorious. It will also be dreadful for his enemies, and both of these facts are plainly described in scripture.

How do we worship God as king? We must acknowledge his authority to reign over us — today and tomorrow. We must respect his right to reign. God’s kingdom is not a democracy. As we enter the sanctuary, we need to leave our present forms of government and politics at the door. There is a new politic here.

How do we worship God as king? We see him emerge from the empty tomb and bow at his feet. He is victorious, and we celebrate his victory and participate in it, because we have placed ourselves firmly in his camp. We submit to his will, no matter how unpleasant it might prove for us today, because we see his victory ever before us.

Our great king, we worship you!

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make some noise

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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make some noise

Psalm 47:1 (JDV)

Psalm 47:17 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a ringing cry.

make some noise

Noise is not always appreciated, but it always gets your attention.

I had to have a little talk with one of my grandchildren once. He had gotten into the habit of running around the house screaming as if he were in a life or death struggle. I told him if he kept doing that, one day he might actually be hurt or in trouble, and people would not notice.

I’m thinking about how our society tends to make a lot of useless noise about so many things, but many of our churches are as quiet as a morgue.

The psalmist would have a problem with that. Worship and testimony about God should stop people in their tracks and be noticed. Clap and shout, blow trumpets and sing, and throw in an electric guitar and drums. Worship is about waking a sleeping world to God’s existence, and who he is.

Lord, may we never be afraid to make some noise as we acknowledge you.

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with us strugglers

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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with us strugglers

Psalm 46:11 (JDV)

Psalm 46:11 Yahveh of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our high spot. Selah

with us strugglers

Having God with us does not mean we will be free from struggle. Remember, he is the God of Jacob. Jacob struggled many times, and long periods of time in his life. He even struggled in the uterus of his mother! He even struggled with God himself.

This psalm is about God being our refuge in times of struggle and conflict and warfare. We will have conflict — both internally and externally. But we also have a God who is with us — a God we can rely on to give us peace in the midst of that conflict.

Thank you, God — for being with us strugglers!

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look over their heads

Posted on February 27, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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look over their heads

Psalm 46:10 (JDV)

Psalm 46:10 “Stop your fighting, and realize that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the land.”

look over their heads

Fear causes us to turn on each other, and before long that fighting escalates and it it hard to see anything else. This psalm — the inspiration of Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” — was written in that context.

We need that message today. We need to learn to look over the heads of those with whom we have conflict, to see God’s smiling face. If we can hang on to the reality that our God is higher than our conflicts, bigger than our fears, then we can get the strength to forgive, to cooperate, and to enjoy our differences instead of attacking one another.

Lord, give us the wisdom to look over the heads of our enemies, and see your smiling face — drinking in your peace.

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the wars he is ending

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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the wars he is ending

Psalm 46:8-9 (JDV)

Psalm 46:8 Come, really see the actions of Yahveh, who is “bringing devastation on the land.”
Psalm 46:9 He makes wars cease throughout the land. He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; he sets wagons ablaze.

he wars he is ending

As I write this, I have been reading every day from an interesting book called Factfulness, by Hans Rosling. Rosling makes the case that the world is actually getting better in a number of ways, but even intelligent people all over the world fail to see it, for a number of reasons. We are pre-programmed to expect things to only get worse, and that is what we see, regardless of the facts.

The psalmist was speaking to a world much like ours. They were used to thinking of God as the one who is orchestrating the world’s chaos. He encouraged them to look at the wars that God is ending. The sovereign God is at work.

Lord, thank you for shattering the bow, and cutting the spears to pieces.

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our high spot

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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our high spot

Psalm 46:7 (JDV)

Psalm 46:7 Yahveh of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our high spot. Selah.

our high spot

Just in case we didn’t catch the imagery of verse five, where the psalmist talks about God being within the city, he says the same thing here. He is the God of Armies, but he is also the source of our peace. He is down among us, but he is also our high spot — the place to go when we need a refuge in times of trouble.

Thank you Lord, for everything you are to us.

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his ever-flowing presence

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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his ever-flowing presence

Psalm 46:4-6 (JDV)

Psalm 46:4 There is a river – its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High.
Psalm 46:5 God is within her; she will not be shaken. God will help her when the morning dawns.
Psalm 46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms shake; the land melts when he raises his voice.

his ever-flowing presence

As I write this, there is a river outside my window. Every morning when I wake, it is there. All day long its water flows, like a never-ending promise of provision and peace from God.

If you have ever visited Jerusalem, you would have seen glory and grandeur, majestic buildings and wonderful sacred sites. But you would have not seen this river that the psalmist describes. The streams of no river are delighting the city of God — yet.

Consequently, many read this psalm as if it is looking forward to the great city of God in the future.

I don’t think so. Verse four is the symbol, verse five describes the reality. The river whose streams delight God’s city is God himself. His presence is the source of our provision and peace, even when the world falls apart all around us.

Lord, thank you for your ever-flowing presence.

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