Psalm 48 "You’re Home Now!"

Great is the Lord! (v. 1-2)

Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

Jerusalem Walls Photo: Joshua Mitchell 2011

Beautiful in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
    the city of the Great King.

God is in her citadels;
    he has shown himself to be her fortress. (NIV)

Great is the Lord! Psalm 48 begins and ends with its focus on the Lord. Every time we gather as the people of God, our focus...beginning, end, and middle needs to be on the nature and character of Jesus Christ! Not only is he great, but he also faithfully guides us and protects us in his steadfast love! And, “He will guide us forever”(v.14).

What the Zaphon Are You Talking About?

The Sons of Korah, as gatekeepers in the temple, often used temple/Jerusalem/Zion imagery in the nearly a dozen psalms attributed to them (see Psalm 84:5-10 “I’d Rather be a Gatekeeper!) but what is this “heights of Zaphon” thing we find here? In v. 2 there is a translation issue that needs clarification. Is the word “Zaphon” a proper noun in that it is the name of a place or is it to be understood as simply meaning “north”? Surprisingly the normally solid ESV opts for “north” and has “Mount Zion in the far north” which makes no sense geographically since Zion is not in the far north, not even the northern part of Jerusalem. The Expositors’ Bible Commentary’s technical footnotes on Psalm 48 explain it like this.

The name "Zaphon" elsewhere may be translated straightforwardly as "north." But in this context, it is best to retain it as a proper name. Zaphon was to the Canaanites what Mount Olympus was to the Greeks. The Canaanites (Phoenicians) believed that the chief God of the pantheon, El, dwelt on Mount Zaphon. The psalmist is borrowing the imagery and not the theology. Zion is the holy mountain of God. (EBC, Vo;. 5, 363)

Here... Heaven and Earth Meet

Photo: Greg K.Dueker

In the ancient Near Eastern world, there was a luminous idea of a place where a man could meet with God (Mt. Zaphon). It became more than a mythical hope at the authentic Mt. Zion (Jerusalem), as was pointed out by the late Peter Craigie, “The psalmist affirms in effect, that the aspirations of all people for a place on earth where God’s presence could be experienced were fulfilled in Mt. Zion, the true Zaphon.”[1] Yet, centuries later at the transfiguration of Jesus, God made it clear that the meeting place between God and man was no longer a place, but a person to whom we should listen — Jesus Christ! Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand this as seen in this dialogue between Thomas and Jesus.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”[2]

The desire of the entire world for that place where they could meet with God was fulfilled at Mt. Zion, (a symbol of the true Church today). What Jesus did on the cross was for all people. He is the fulfillment of the deepest longing of their souls.

Photo: Greg K.Dueker

The Hebrew idiom "It is beautiful in its loftiness" appears only once in the Bible (an hapax legomenon) … The theological significance of this has been well expressed by A.A. Anderson: "It is here that, in a sense, heaven and earth meet".  (EBC, Vol. 5, 363)

In the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God, heaven came down to earth and assumed all of our sins and sorrow so that we might come back to the Father—both now and forever! In Christ, we are home in a way that is more real and relational than we could ever have imagined.

They Came, They Saw, and They Freaked (v.4-5)

"For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together.

                  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

                        they were in panic; they took to flight."

When the kings of enemy nations came, what was the "it" at which they were looking? It seems it was Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord in its midst. The work of God in and through his people is still a fearful sight to wicked rulers wherever/whenever they dwell. Commentators such as Craigie note that while “the world’s kings (v. 4) came to Jerusalem and saw one astounding thing (v.5); the pilgrim worshipers also came to Jerusalem and saw another thing (v. 8), though in a literal sense it was the same sight that met their eyes.” (Craigie, Psalms, 353)

Pondering His Steadfast Love (v.9-10)

“We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.” 

Do we pause to consider the greatness of God’s love, his steadfast love, available to us because of his sacrifice on our behalf? If not, let's start today! His redemptive plan reaches the ends of the earth. His praise should flow from us as we consider all of who he is: loving, righteous, strong, eternal...

It is always good to think about his steadfast love and since his righteous, loving character reaches the ends of the earth his praise reaches there too. I have the feeling this passage is suggesting the future salvation of the nations. For God's mysterious love is not just for one people (it's too light a thing—Isaiah 49:6) but for all peoples of the world!

As we think about his steadfast love it should fill and overflow from our hearts. How is the overflow of this praise/worship/love visible to the people we encounter on the road, in stores, in the neighborhood, and in our homes?

The Lord’s steadfast love (Heb. hesed) is always a good thing to think about and we should praise him from wherever we are…not just in the places considered holy!

In my spiritual formation classes, I ask my students to take a micro-retreat of just an hour without technology and get outside and walk around and look for ways that they can see God at work around them. This is what the Sons of Korah were asking the people of God to do. They were not merely to sing God’s praises and think about his steadfast love in the Temple (v.9-10) but they were told to walk around the city and see the strength of the walls and towers as a sign of God’s active work of protection for his people (v. 12-14).

How do we engage our whole being in worship and contemplation of God? How might we allow the things that God has made or provided to us to turn our eyes and hearts back to the Lord?

He will Guide Us Forever (v.11-14) 

     Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

 Walk about Zion, go around her,

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

    number her towers,
 consider well her ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
     that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will guide us forever.

What a wonderful reminder of God’s goodness toward his people. May we seek this promised guidance, together as the people of God, both now and always! 

He is our true home and in him, we are home now!

Here are a few other Bible verses for further reading:

• Matthew 11:27-29
• Luke 14:23
• John 14:1-3 
• Isaiah 19:23-25
• Hebrews 12:1-2
• 1 Peter 2:4-5
• Revelation 22:17
• Hebrews 2:14-18

---

[1] Peter Craigie, Psalms Vol. 1 WBC, (Waco: TX, Word, 1983) 353.

[2] John 14:5-7 

Psalm 47 Celebrate by Singing Praises!

Photo by Taylor Rooney on Unsplash

I love the exuberance of this psalm! The whole psalm is like a spiritual endzone celebration
after a BCS bowl game win or after a walk-off home run in the World Series. 

Previously I have shared devotional thoughts on both the first strophe (v.1-4) and the third strophe (v.8-9). But until now I have not specifically targeted the second strophe (v.5-7), the very heart of this psalm. In this post, I will correct this omission as I briefly summarize my thoughts on each section(strophe) of this psalm and tie them all together devotionally with a contemporary application.

Psalm 47 is classified as an “enthronement psalm” celebrating the coronation of a righteous king and the beginning of his just reign. Such psalms look beyond the historical enthronement of any particular Israelite king to that of the coming Messiah, who will be the King of kings. We are quite good at celebrating inaugurations and opening ceremonies, touchdowns, goals, and home runs. If only we were so invested in the work of the Spirit!

I) The Shout of Victory (v.1-4)

"Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves."

Photo by Keith Luke on Unsplash

As I write this at the New Year, crowds of people are clapping and cheering for their favorite football teams in bowl games or playoff games. Basketball fans are clapping and cheering for their teams too. However, more importantly, there is so much to shout and applaud God for! Not the least of which is the things we have seen Him do in our lives. I am also amazed that "He chose our heritage for us." He placed us on this planet and in our families on purpose. But when was the last time we clapped and shouted to God with loud songs of joy? It doesn't take us very long to forget what awesome things he has done for us...but the more we rehearse what he has done the more we will remember his goodness and lovingkindness and be filled with abiding joy! The joy of the Lord cannot be taken away by another team’s touchdown or a referee’s missed pass interference call. This is a bigger-picture joy and celebration of the victory of the Lord God and his vindication of his people.

II) Responding in Chorus to the Assent of the King (v.5-7)

God ascends among shouts of joy,
the Lord, among the sound of trumpets.
Sing praise to God,        sing praise;
 sing praise to our King,  sing praise!
Sing a song of wisdom,
                  for God is King of all the earth.

Photo by Joshua Eckstein
on Unsplash

In verse 5 we see the king ascending to be enthroned with great shouts of joy. As a Christian, it is hard to read this without thinking of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of passion week. While the victory that set us free was unexpectedly won on the cross through the willing death of the Messiah rather than by a military or political victory, he rose from the dead on the third day, and on the 40^th day, he ascended into heaven! Oh, how we should celebrate his ascension! Christians throughout history have used Psalm 47 to celebrate Ascension Day in the church calendar. Yet this is more about living in light of his past victory and current enthronement than about celebrating one day in the year.

In verses 6-7 the psalmist uses a single Hebrew word (zāmar) five times which is translated as “sing praise!” The early Greek translation (LXX) of this verse uses the word psallo to interpret zāmar, this is no surprise since it also means to sing praises. However, the root of this word refers to the process of making music on a stringed instrument. How might such music be made? By plucking, strumming, twanging, bowing, etc. I would suggest that this call to sing praise is more than mere singing, but certainly not less.

Photo by Terren Hurst on Unsplash

So let me ask, how can we live our entire life in a way that what we do resounds with divine praise and celebration? What if all that we do strums the joyful chords of gratitude for a loving redemption, the healing notes of peace, mercy, and righteousness that flow from our being forgiven, the sustaining notes of faith and hope in the person of the Great King? Indeed, this speaks to the way we sing in our worship services and gatherings, but it also calls to us in our work situations, inviting and even urging us to work and live as an instrument of praise.

Perhaps, if you are like me, this will require some tuning and some practice!

III) The Reign of the King and

God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on His holy throne.
      The nobles of the peoples have assembled
                     with the people of the God of Abraham.
For the leaders [lit., shields] of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted. (CSV)

Nations where readers of this Psalms blog live... 

I am so glad that God is not subject to the whims of any individual nations, or even to groups of nations such as the UN; rather, he is sovereign over all nations and peoples. I look forward to the still-future day when we see v. 9 come to pass in all fullness, the day when the nobles of the peoples will gather as the people of the God of Abraham (i.e., by faith)! Certainly, this would make the world a better place!

Another aspect of this passage is that it reveals that God wants to include all nations in his kingdom. Will we come and encourage others to come with us?

Photo by Larisa Birta on Unsplash

This psalm urges us to respond to the victory of our God and King by living out a life that accurately declares who our God is and by our work we participate in his symphony of goodness.

In my last post, we saw the nations raging against God (46:6), but here we see them coming in peace as the people of the God of Abraham! Don't you long for the day when world leaders come to God by faith recognizing that he alone is our great king and defender? I do.

Several things jump out to me here: 1) God reigns over all the nations, not just one of them. 2) The rulers of multiple peoples will be gathered together under the banner of the Abrahamic covenant. 3) The defenses of the earth are ultimately in God's hands—not Captain America's for Yahweh is sovereign over the earth. 4) He is highly exalted whether we admit it or not.

This psalm focuses not on the nation per se, but on celebrating and living lives of worship before the victorious king. As a result, allow me to speak briefly about the troubling issue of nationalism. 

The following is not a politically partisan statement but a biblical call to align ourselves and our faith communities with the larger purposes of the Kingdom of God rather than worldly empires.

The Smallness of Nationalism, even Christian Nationalism

While I love my country and appreciate the great diversity of countries around the world, as people of God we have higher citizenship and greater loyalty than could ever be tied to an earthly nation. Though I am not an expert in this area of socio-political theory, I think there are a few things simple enough for me to point out.

While the common history, language, and cultural heritage of a nation can be a community strength and helps maintain unity and peace for its people, it is ultimately too weak, too small, and too temporary, to become the primary focus for followers of Christ. Here are several ways that nationalism is less than God’s best for us.

• 

  Photo by Filip Andrejevic on Unsplash

  It assumes entitlement and exceptionalism and seeks its own good over the good of
  others.
• It claims a primary loyalty from its people that should be given only to Christ.
• It assumes a right of ownership over land, language, wealth, and power of which we can only be stewards.
• It belittles the sovereignty of God by taking credit for both the building up and the pulling down of nations. This is pervasive in all political factions.
• It dims our views of the imago Dei in others for it magnifies differences between the members of the select in-group and all others (out-groups).
• It gives its adherents an ample excuse for not loving their enemies.

Having said these things, it may surprise you that while I am in favor of immigration reform I am not in favor of open borders, election tampering on any level, or a weak national defense. However, these national distinctives should be used in a way that benefits citizens and sojourners alike and humbly works for the good of all. Heaven, the Kingdom of God, no matter what your view is/will be made up of every tribe, tongue, and nation (e.g., Isa 66:18; Rev. 5:9-10; 7:9-10)—not just one, or a politically select few.

While contending for righteousness in society, the American church has often not thought as broadly as it should as “world Christians” and has narrowed its focus to making the most change for its "me and mine."

So much more could be said, so many more questions could be asked and attempted to answer, and so many objections could be entertained. Yet, this post is overlong already.

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

I will suggest the following "rapid test" to indicate whether our hearts have been exposed to and infected by earthly nationalism, which is highly contagious. If we took a nasal swab that somehow captured trace DNA of our recent speaking, sniffing, snorting, and even breathing out forcefully, what would such a test reveal? 

For which of the following 3-Rs would we test positive?

• Passion for demanding and/or defending our own rights?
• Fomenting rebellion against some perceived political power, moral standard, or people?
• Consistently rejoicing in the reign of the King who will not show partiality but will make all things right?

Such a 3-R test is not comfortable, but it is needed if we are to heed the call to “sing praises” to our God and King Jesus Christ. One day, Psalm 47 will be fulfilled and its strains incorporated into the heavenly song! As it is written,

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, 

                and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!
 Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev. 15:3-4)