January 16, 2016
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
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!
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!
I worry a lot. I want to know the outcome of decisions I make and things I say. I falsely try and control the circumstances and end up disappointed and out of control. I also want to control how people respond to truth or control how much “evil” happens. I’m pretty sure I am not alone in this. I think it’s just part of the human condition and our felt need to control things. This need for knowledge and control is what ultimately caused Adam and Eve to partake in the fruit. They were tempted with “the knowledge of good and evil” so they would “be like God” (Genesis 3:5).
This Psalm brings such freedom! Anytime I want to start to control things or start to worry about the outcome of situations, I can sing and clap and shout praises to God. I do these things not out of obligation or as a ritual. I do them as an outward expression of what my heart believes and is expressed in this passage. That he chose my heritage. That God is King of all the earth. That He reigns over nations and sits on His holy throne. And that the shields of the earth belong to God. It’s a great reminder that I am not God, so I should stop acting like it. By singing these praises, I am ultimately giving my circumstances, my need for control and other people’s responses over the one and only, King of Kings.