Aug-01-0481-God reigns over all the nations
481_God reigns over all the nations Psalm 47 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! It was a warm afternoon in 1945 when the Japanese Emperor Hirohito did something that shocked the world—he surrendered. For years, Japan had wrought war and devastation. Yet now his voice trembled as he delivered the “Jewel Voice Broadcast,” announcing Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces. For the first time, the people of Japan heard their emperor’s voice. For the first time, he admitted that he was not divine. His so-called godhood collapsed before the true sovereignty of a higher power. History is full of rulers who claimed to be supreme—pharaohs, emperors, kings, presidents. But time and truth have proven again and again that no human authority lasts. Kingdoms rise and fall. Empires grow and crumble. How different the throne of God - the only one that has never been shaken, the one King whose dominion never ends. Psalm 47 calls all the earth to see and rejoice before that throne: “God reigns over all the nations.” Psalm 47 begins: “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy!” The exuberant joy comes from the fact that this is not just Israel’s God. He is the Most High, the great King over all the earth. He is not bound by borders or limited by languages. He reigns over all the nations, every tribe and tongue, every palace and parliament. This truth is at the heart of God’s covenant with Abraham. God promised Abraham that his descendants would bless all the families of the earth. Only a sovereign God—one who holds all the nations in His hands—could declare such universal influence. Babylon was one of the greatest of the ancient superpowers. It's mighty king, Nebuchadnezzar, was regarded as “king of the earth” because his rule was vast and virtually unchallenged. Yet in Daniel chapter 4, God warned him of impending judgment through a vision. Daniel pleaded with him to heed the warning and humble himself by repentance, righteousness, and mercy. But the king continued in his pride. One day, he gloated over his marvelous city, boasting, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built by my mighty power for the glory of my majesty?” That was the tipping point. Immediately, God’s judgment fell. The once-proud