June 2, 2023 — Psalm 47 

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 

For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. God has ascended amid shouts of joy,  the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth  belong to God; he is greatly exalted.” Psalm 47 

I read this Psalm and I am reminded of the hymn “The Strife is O’re”, written by an unknown author in 1695: 

 Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

The strife is o’er, the battle done; 

the victory of life is won; 

the song of triumph has begun. 

Alleluia! 

The powers of death have done their worst, 

but Christ their legions has dispersed. 

Let shouts of holy joy outburst. 

Alleluia! 

The three sad days are quickly sped;
He rises glorious from the dead;
All glory to our risen Head:
Alleluia!

He closed the yawning gates of hell;
The bars from heav’n’s high portals fell;
Let hymns of praise His triumphs tell:
Alleluia!

Lord, by the stripes which wounded You,
In us You’ve won the vict’ry too,
That we may live, and sing to You:
Alleluia!

We should often turn to songs of praise when worshipping our G-d. The rich hymnody tradition of the Lutheran Church gives us many songs and hymns to choose from. Not only are they songs of praise, but they can also serve as words of prayer. 

And if you think we should not clap in church, well when the words of scripture and songs of praise bring us together in the joy of the Holy Spirit, well clapping can unite us in recognizing the power of the Spirit in many new and powerful ways. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, the dominion of the universe is yours, for you have ascended on high and are seated on the throne prepared for you by the Father. Gather all peoples into your Church and make them a holy nation, a royal priesthood, your own chosen heritage, to praise and adore your divine majesty now and forever. 

Amen. 

June 3, 2023 — Psalm 48 

Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. 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. When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together, they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror. Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor. You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind. As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, 

in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever. Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. 

Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48 

Has it ever occurred to you that G-d describes heaven as a city? And not just the city of G-d, but a Heaven that is filled with rooms and mansions. So if you want to spend eternity in heaven, you’d better get used to city living — so to speak. I know then, if this is how Heaven will be, that we will have lots of neighbors as well — for there will be a multitude of people praising G-d. 

In the Bible, cities usually the desirable place to live — after all we read stories like the “Good Samaritan” and hear how dangerous it was to travel outside the city. To be away from the city opened up the possibility of being attacked by bandits, invading enemies, and predatory wild animals. The biblical mindset, we could say is this: “Why in the world would anyone want to move out of the city into the wilderness?” 

In America, there is also a cultural tendency towards individualism. We prize the rugged individualist. When we relate to one another, we tend to compete rather than to cooperate. As American Christians, we often hear people speak of having a personal relationship with Christ, but that neglects the reality that the Christian life is more than just you and Christ — the Christian becomes a member of the “body of Christ” which includes the body of believers. You become a fellow citizen with the saints, a member of God’s household, a member of the Christian community. Or, to put it another way, you become a citizen of God’s city. It is in community where we enjoy the togetherness of ministry and support, right now, as participants in the Kingdom of G-d.

Prayer

Father, the body of your risen Son is the temple not made by human hands and the bulwark of the new Jerusalem. Make this holy city, built of living stones, so shine with spiritual radiance that it may show your greatness in the sight of all nations; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.