Psalm 47
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
Psalm 47 conjures memories of long ago rock concerts where throngs of jubilant young people roared their delight in music that reached for a new day of understanding, peace, and gentleness. Fond as those recollections may be, they are but a starting point for the celebration entered into in this psalm. This is a total declaration of praise. It is a dance of sparkling clarity that claims God's power over all other powers. Clapping hands, shouting voices, and blaring trumpets may move the blood and excite the passions, but they are nothing compared to the wonders of this God!
This God gave us the dirt under our feet! This God gave us the gift of our heritage; our connectedness through the generations! This God rules over the nations! The greatness of this creator king staggers our ability to describe or define. All that is left is the ecstasy of a holy noise. Stomp the feet, clap the hands, dance in celebration, and let trumpets blast the high note. It is an unrestrained improvisation of joy! Let the dance begin!
If such an outbreak of praise were to happen in a church today, what would it look like? What would it sound like? What would it feel like? And more to the point, where would it lead? If the declaration of praise and worship were so complete that there was not confusion, what might happen among God's people? What kinds of faithfulness might erupt from such a celebration?
If the church could claim the sovereignty of God with overwhelming power, what mighty things might happen? As the church looks into the clouds on this Ascension Day, what is it that God is calling for on the ground?
Stop for just a moment. Breathe deeply. Release the constraints of the so-called "real world." Look deep inside and find that new rhythm of praise. Bring the hands together. Tap the feet and give your body over to the music of God's transforming power. Our God reigns! There is nothing that cannot be done! The lame can walk! The deaf can hear! The oppressed shall be liberated, and the poor shall receive their due. This is God's time. This is God's world. And we, thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ, are God's people!
May the prayers from our hearts call us to faithfulness. And may this faithfulness lead us where God would have us go.
This God gave us the dirt under our feet! This God gave us the gift of our heritage; our connectedness through the generations! This God rules over the nations! The greatness of this creator king staggers our ability to describe or define. All that is left is the ecstasy of a holy noise. Stomp the feet, clap the hands, dance in celebration, and let trumpets blast the high note. It is an unrestrained improvisation of joy! Let the dance begin!
If such an outbreak of praise were to happen in a church today, what would it look like? What would it sound like? What would it feel like? And more to the point, where would it lead? If the declaration of praise and worship were so complete that there was not confusion, what might happen among God's people? What kinds of faithfulness might erupt from such a celebration?
If the church could claim the sovereignty of God with overwhelming power, what mighty things might happen? As the church looks into the clouds on this Ascension Day, what is it that God is calling for on the ground?
Stop for just a moment. Breathe deeply. Release the constraints of the so-called "real world." Look deep inside and find that new rhythm of praise. Bring the hands together. Tap the feet and give your body over to the music of God's transforming power. Our God reigns! There is nothing that cannot be done! The lame can walk! The deaf can hear! The oppressed shall be liberated, and the poor shall receive their due. This is God's time. This is God's world. And we, thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ, are God's people!
May the prayers from our hearts call us to faithfulness. And may this faithfulness lead us where God would have us go.
