Sermon(Ps 47): Jehovah, the King of all nations

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025287010

 

 

Scripture reading: Ps 47

 

>> 1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the Lord, the Most High, is terrible, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. 5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 9 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! <<

 

The gospel of the Old Testament speaks of peoples of the world who have to go to Israel for their salvation. God chose Abraham and gave his descendants the land of Canaan. God progressed his work of salvation, making the descendants of Abraham and the land of Canaan the center of his salvation-work. “He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. (v. 4)” The salvation of the Old Testament requires that one be a member of the congregation of Israel. That is, those who are to be saved must become Israelites. The salvation of the Old Testament has a strong character of collective salvation. The salvation is given to the group that is elected by God. If a man commits a grave sin, he'll be expelled from the community of Israel and lose the salvation. Especially those who committed bad sex crimes were removed from Israel. “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people; he has uncovered his sister's nakedness, he shall bear his iniquity. If a man lies with a woman having her sickness, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood; both of them shall be cut off from among their people. (Lev 20:17-18)” However, God opened the way for the Gentiles to become Israelites, to be elected and to be saved. “No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none belonging to them shall enter the assembly of the Lord for ever. .... You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. The children of the third generation that are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord. (Deut 23:3-8)” Being a full member of the assembly of the Lord means being recognized as a complete Israelite, which means that he is saved as a member of the chosen people based on the promises of God and Abraham.

 

So a Gentile must be naturalized as an Israelite in order to be saved in the Old Testament. Of course, before Abraham, there was no nation called Israel, so there was not a region- or tribe-centered salvation ministry then. Those who were saved should walk with God. And the temple was not in the gentile lands but only in Israel. There were no priests of God in the gentile lands but only in Israel, where Levites were God's priests. God's holy law was not in the gentile nations but only in Israel. Therefore if an Israelite leaves Israel where God dwells to live in a foreign country, he will be cut off from the salvation. And if Gentiles wanted to be saved, they should leave their fatherland that worshiped idols and come to Israel and become Israelites. It is natural.

 

The salvation of the New Testament has no regional nation as the center of its activity area. In the New Testament, the gospel of salvation spreads from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The salvation of the New Testament is not confined to a specific area but spreads all over the world and spreads fairly to all peoples, not limited to a specific people. In the New Testament, the person to be saved does not have to be an Israeli living in Israel. God's salvation is provided even to him who lives as a Korean in Korea. The important part of the religious life of the Old Testament was to offer sacrifices to God while that of the New Testament is to serve God by grateful public worship where believers confess their faith in the salvation accomplished by the self-sacrifice of Jesus.

 

Today's text Ps 47 shows the view on God of the people of the Old Testament. Somewhat contrary to common sense, however, the psalmist says that God is not a national God of Israel, but the great King of all the earth. “The Lord, the Most High, is terrible, a great king over all the earth. (v. 2)” In other words, the psalmist, who is an Israelite, makes it clear that God is not a national God of Israel. And this God of all nations who chose Israel sets his high throne in Israel, sits on it, and gathers the princes of the peoples to himself (v. 4, 9). “The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. (v. 9)” So the psalmist says that those who are to be saved by God must come to Israel and become the people of God of Abraham. God was not a national God of Israel, however he was not being worshiped outside Israel. God who is sitting on the throne in Israel rules over all nations (v. 8). But he rules the nations through Israel. “He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. (v. 3)”

 

We learn the proper duty of human beings from today's text. First, we, all humans, must make the God our King. This is a natural reaction. He is the Creator God who created all things and humans. We all belong to him. Many people want to live freely without interference from others. We even hate to have God as our master. Every human being wants to be a king himself. Everyone wants to dominate others. Everyone dislikes giving in to others. Humans have received all good things from God and are living well, but do not want to acknowledge him. People do not want to serve him close. People don't want to accept his rule and live in obedience to it. But this is one aspect of the corrupt character of arrogant, irresponsible and lazy humanity. If you live with such a corrupt character, you will lose happiness and live in misery. If a dog tries to leave its owner and doesn't respect him, can it get delicious food from him? Our true happiness is possible when we receive the God as our King and we become his loyal people.

 

We must celebrate God's accession to the royal throne with joy. “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! (v. 1)” When a man is enthroned, many people clap their hands with joy and shout, "Long live the king!" This psalm is a poem that celebrates the enthronement of God as the King of all nations. The first verse says that all peoples should rejoice that God has become the King. Those who hate God as King do not deserve to breathe and live. Those who do not want God to be their King do not deserve to eat good things of the earth. Above all, those who hate God as King do not deserve to be people of the eternal kingdom. Those who are pleased with the Lord's kingship are put under his full protection. “The shields of the earth belong to God. (v. 9)” A good king loves his people. God loves his people dearly. A mighty king makes his people live with peace and without fear. “The Lord, the Most High, is terrible, a great king over all the earth. (v. 2)” >The Most High< means that he is the highest one; >terrible< means that he is the King who has the power everyone fears; >a great king over all the earth< means that no other kings can oppose him. Many people want to live safely, nevertheless they do not want to live with God as their King. But that's a stupid thing to do. To live safely, we must acknowledge the strong God as our King. In order for us to have the good things of the world, we must have the good, merciful and gracious King who is our God. And we should really rejoice from the bottom of our heart that God is the King of all the earth and our King. God makes him, who rejoices in God's kingship like this, the head among people, and allows him a high position in which he reigns over people. “He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. (v. 3)” This means that there are human rulers and human subjects in the nation ruled by God and that those who really rejoice in God's kingship are entrusted with the sovereignty of God and rule over those who reject God's kingship. The holy God's side is an honorable place, but the farther from the God, the lower the place is. Those who hate to regard God as their King are pushed away to a far place and live as servants of men there. No, those who do not want to take the king as a king can not escape death. Isn't it indeed high treason? on the contrary, the most prominent contributors who played a major role in enthroning the king enjoy wealth, honor and prosperity near the king, and rule over others with the king. That is the law of the world, and the same is true of the one who is pleased with God as King and the one who is not. If we want to live in peace and happiness in a blessed paradise, we must accept him, the owner of the paradise, as our King and must truly rejoice that he is our King.

 

And we must also praise the Lord God, the King of all nations. “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! (v. 6)” Vassals can repay their master's grace with gifts in heartfelt gratitude. People offer gold, silver, gems, and priceless medicinal herbs and materials to the king in return for his grace. However, all the world, including all mankind, is God's possession, and with what can man repay the grace of God? First, we should be truly grateful to God. First, we should be truly grateful to God. And you have to express that thanks in words. That is praise. Praise with true gratitude pleases God's heart. In fact, you may know not, but God does so many things for us humans. Everyone wants to be a king or a president, but at last when he has become that kind of man, he says, 'Did I strive so hard to take this kind of position and suffer these hardships?' So we can a little estimate how much the Lord God, the King of the world, takes pains. God's efforts for human happiness are great. Of course he does not feel exhausted because he is omnipotent, but we must not judge lightly all his efforts and care. We must give thanks and praises to him for all his good works for us. I praise the aseity (the self-existence) of God who exists from eternity. I praise the mysterious existence of God who exists as the Trinity. I praise the creative ability of God who created the life. I praise the goodness of God who destroys evil and fulfills good. I praise the artistic sense of God who created this beautiful world. I praise the grace and wisdom of God for giving man the status of the lord of all creatures. I praise God who humbled himself to be a man and to become a friend of human beings. I praise God who forgives us sinners and makes us his children, and who gives us the eternal life. Hallelujah! O Lord, God of peoples, glory and thanksgiving, praise and honor be with you only, for ever and ever! Brethren, let us give thanks and praise to God our King. It is natural.

 

My brethren, wisdom, power, and authority are the possession of God who is the King. Sometimes, when living in the world, especially while doing God's work, we feel painfully our limit and inability. Do your best to do God's work, but do not be discouraged when you can not finish something or have no good results of your efforts. Brethren, the completion and finishing of a work belongs to God the King. God does not do his work through one person, but through many people, sometimes he fulfills his will through many ages (many generations). We are neither the king of a nation nor the king of the whole world nor the king of the eternal kingdom. The only King is the God. He completes all. He removes the wicked, completes the good, and fulfills his will in history. Living in a generation, we are to be loyal to the work assigned by God as his servant and his tool. That's the best.

 

May God's protection and abundant grace be with all of you who are delighted in God's kingship.

 

Chong Tack Kim

 

                                   - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -