Psalm 47 I’m the King of the World! In the film, Titanic, the Leonardo DiCaprio character shouts, “I’m the king of the world,” as he stands on the bow of the soon-to-be-sunk ocean liner. When the director, James Cameron, received his Oscar, he proudly shouted the same words from the stage. There is a great difference between expressing a joyous feeling and proclaiming an arrogant boast! This psalm sets the record straight. Yahweh is the true King of the World—and He has no credible rivals. The psalm continues the theme of the Messianic King—in His beauty (Psalm 45), in His city (Psalm 46) and now in His world. This psalm may challenge your worship style, for it describes a praise celebration that involves clapping, shouting, and loud singing. The cause of this excitement is the greatness of our Messianic King. We should get excited about these three things: His great victory (vv. 1–4). We do not know what military victory the psalmist was celebrating, but as believers today, we walk in Christ’s spiritual victory (2 Cor. 2:14). Like Joshua, we submit to our Captain and trust Him to win the battle (Josh. 5:13–15). That is something to shout about! His great throne (vv. 5–7). What a picture of the ascension of our Lord, returning to heaven and sitting at the right hand of God! Satan may be the god of this age, but Jesus is King of all the earth. That is something to shout about! His great reign (vv. 8–9). Now the real end in view comes into sight. The innumerable princes and peoples from all over the world are to become one people; and they will no longer be outsiders but within the covenant, which is implied in their being called the people of the God of Abraham. It is the abundant fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 12:3, and it anticipates what Paul expounds about the inclusion of the Gentiles as Abraham’s spiritual sons (Rom. 4:11; Gal. 3:7–9). His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom today, but in a future day, the Messianic King will reign on earth, and His people will also reign with Him (Rev. 1:5–6; 5:9–10; 11:15–18). Now that is something to shout about! In Christian use the psalm is especially appointed for Ascension Day, and there it enriches the understanding of Christ’s ascending to the Father” (Eaton).
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:24:26 +0000
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