Yahweh: Ruler of the World

Hello! Welcome to Psalms of the Saviour! I’m Joshua VanZandbeek, and today I’m excited to be diving into Psalm 47 together. Let start off by reading the text. I’ll be reading from the ESV, and you are welcome to follow along or just listen if you like.

Psalm 47 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 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. Selah God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 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!

You know, throughout world history, there have been copious amounts of rulers and leaders who have reigned over many different kingdoms and peoples. Pharaohs and emperors, kings, presidents, prime ministers; the list goes on. Often as well, the common person does not have much say in how that governing happens, but must simply do their best to abide by the law of the land. When there is a wise ruler, this can be accomplished. When the ruler acts foolishly, this can be much harder to follow. Either way, we are often left with a feeling of profound distrust for government, and certainly what comes out of our mouth for these human institutions is not very flattering.

Psalm 47 is about Yahweh, how He rules and reigns, and how He is worthy of all glory and power. Psalm 47 says that Yahweh subdues peoples and nations, how He reigns, and how all rulers bow to the Great King. Truly, Yahweh is worthy of all praise and glory! This is a priase Psalm for the conquering King.

Let’s focus for a moment on verse 5. It says:

Psalm 47:5 ESV

God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

This is a picture of Yahweh rising up with a shout of triumph for His people - the pride of Jacob whom he loves (verse 4). What is this triumph? And who are these people?

The triumph is the time at which Yahweh will bring forth - through His conquering King - the time of total dominion over the earth. It is the time when Christ will reign, bringing peace to the entire world, for He is the conquering King. His people are all of us. Not just those who of Israel, but all of us who are part of the family of God. So we are called to sing praises to Jesus Christ, God the Son, as the conquering King, who brings peace and submission of all authority under Him. We look forward to Christ’s rule and reign and as one that will usher in the Kingdom of God.

Yet even now, God reigns. Lest we think that Christ’s rule will only begin when He returns, we must realize that it is right now that Christ reigns. All authorities and rulers are under God’s providence and placed there by Him. Even Satan is under God’s control, and can only do as God allows Him. Remember the words of Mark 16:19:

Mark 16:19 ESV

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

When it seems like the world it getting completely out of control, we need to remember to look forward to the time when Christ will come back and usher in the Kingdom of God. Yet we equally must take heart in the knowledge that all authorities now are under God’s authority, and can only do as He allows. We can take comfort in this, knowing - as we saw in Psalm 41 - that Yahweh will raise His people up, and we see that Yahweh fights for His people. Moreover, He walks with us even now, in the midst of storms and trials. So we have every reason to please Him, because He is the Almighty Conquering King.

Why do we sometimes forget that God is the ruler over all things?

What are some instances where you see the hand of God at work in the world today?