Weekly Devotion no 56
10 September 2021
Bible reading – Psalm 47[1]
Clap your hands, all you nations.
Shout to God with cries of joy.
2 Do this because the Lord Most High is
wonderful.
He is the great King over the whole earth.
3 He brought nations under our control.
He made them fall under us.
4 He chose our land for us.
The people of Jacob are proud of their land,
and God loves them.
5 God went up to his throne while his
people were shouting with joy.
The Lord went up while trumpets were playing.
6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.
7 God is the King of the whole earth.
Sing a psalm of praise to him.
8 God rules over the nations.
He is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations come together.
They are now part of the people of the God of Abraham.
The kings of the earth belong to God.
He is greatly honoured.
Reflection
There is such joy in
this psalm! It is exultant and jubilant! Reading it makes you want to clap your
hands, to rejoice, to join in!
In this time of challenge and potential despair, in looking to God, we can still find hope and joy. This is because this psalm, like a familiar passage in Philippians, looks forward to the day when ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’[1] This is a day when God’s promise to Abraham is fulfilled, that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. This is a day of celebration.
And because of Jesus,
this is actually possible. The Lord most High is sovereign and he keeps his
covenant promises with his people, ultimately fulfilled in his Son, Jesus. And Jesus
loves his people and so it is through his people that the nations will come to
know him and to recognise him as Lord.
Let us join in the applause for Jesus our great King over all the earth, for as we trust in him, we need not despair, and as we praise him, we are reminded of his love.
Hymn
Praise
God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Prayer
We
praise you, O God,
we
acclaim you as Lord;
all
creation worships you,
the
Father everlasting.
To
you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
the
cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy,
holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven
and earth are full of your glory.
The
glorious company of apostles praise you.
The
noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The
white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout
the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father,
of majesty unbounded,
your
true and only Son, worthy of all praise,
and
the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You,
Lord Christ, are the king of glory,
the
eternal Son of the Father.
When
you took our flesh to set us free
you
humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.
You
overcame the sting of death
and
opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You
are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We
believe that you will come to be our judge.
Come
then, Lord, and help your people,
bought
with the price of your own blood,
and
bring us with your saints
to
glory everlasting. Amen.
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