Our God is reigning unrestricted today!
Psalm 47:1-4,
1 Clap your hands, all
peoples!
Shout to God with loud
songs of joy!
2 For the Lord,
the Most High, is to be feared,
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. Selah
The invitation is clear to
the children of Israel
Our God is king over all the
earth. All was created at His command, and all is sustained by His word. Every
person, every nation, and every ruler is under His meticulous sovereignty. His
purposes are eternal and righteous. How do we dare question them and arrogantly
think that things should be different, believing that what we think is better?
Those men and women who do
not praise are, in fact, presuming, in their disdain, that God is not wise,
that what is happening does not have a good purpose, or that God really is not
in control, in other words, that the world is running free without restraint.
Psalm 47:5-7
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!
The Psalmist continues to
command to praise God, reminding us that He is our King! Not only does God
deserve our praise, but if He is indeed our King, He can and does demand our
praise.
It is not a surprise that
the world does not praise God. They don’t recognize Him as their master. They
have rebelled and have set themselves and their own thinking as the leader of
their lives. It is important to remember that all those who do not believe
exclusively and completely in the God of the Bible are worshiping another god.
The god of the Mormons, the Muslims, and of every religion on the earth is an
invention of man. We are not calling the same God with different names; we are
not worshiping the same God at all. There is only one true God and it is the
One Who has revealed himself through Scripture. He is a jealous God, Who will
not share His glory with man or any other invented deity.
Why do we not praise our
God as we should? We have certainly allowed other things to distract our
attention, seeds of distrust and displeasure have crept into our hearts and we
find ourselves rebelling towards our God.
Our attitudes or thoughts
do not change the eternal truth that God is reigning, He is in total control.
Psalm 47:8-9
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 hosts of heaven
worship Him continuously. They see His perfection and holiness; they marvel at
His sovereignty and are in awe of His tender care of His own. They are aware of
His grace and love. They rejoice when a new believer comes to understand the
grace of God.
I trust that you and I are
not going through a season of rebellion, but that our lack of praise is only the
result of distraction. We should stop now and rehearse the many reasons we have
to be grateful. His care is meticulous and particular. In other words, His
protection and attention to our lives is so careful that nothing escapes Him
and His work in us and around us is perfectly controlled for our benefit. His
care for the world does not leave us with second best, but God is completely
capable of working perfectly in every life at all times and simultaneously. That
thought alone should leave us stunned and amazed!
At times, we praise God
because our situation is not as bad as it could be. We look around and see
people who are worse off than us and think that this fact should encourage us
to worship God. I would like to invite you to embrace the fact that your praise
for God should be the result of understanding and believing that your situation
is exactly what God intends and desires for you and that ultimately it is the
best for you.
Our God is reigning
unrestricted today. His work is meticulous, driven by His perfections. He is
holy, righteous, perfect, wise, loving… Our praise should be continuous. Our gratitude
should be unstoppable.
What should you be
praising God for right now? May those around you be attracted to your God, may
the Lord use your praise to bring glory to Himself!
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