“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” – Psalms 47:1
The 47th Chapter of Psalm contains are hymns of praise are thought to be written about the event when the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 18:13-19:37). King Hezekiah of Judah was a King who had a personal and powerful prayer life and a growing relationship with God. He trusted the Lord, remained faithful and obeyed all the commands God gave to Moses. However, King Hezekiah lacked wisdom in planning for the future and protecting the spiritual heritage that he enjoyed. As a Reformer, he destroyed altars, idols and pagan temples and reinstituted Passover as a national holiday. Although he responded to his present-day problems, he lacked foresight which caused Judah to be placed on Babylon’s “Nations to Conquer” list by unwisely displaying Judah’s wealth to Babylon. Upon realizing his mistake, he prayed and God answered his prayer and delivered Judah from surrendering to Assyria. The lesson here is that prayer should be our first response in times of trouble (even if we cause it) and we shouldn’t wait until things seem hopeless. We need to establish a daily prayer life and ask for God’s wisdom to guide our everyday decisions.
Today, with the fears created by tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural and man-made disasters that cause destruction, the Bible is clear that God is our only and our eternal refuge; and that only He can provide us strength and victory in every circumstance we face. War and destruction are evitable but so is God’s final victory. We should take time each day to be still – praise, honorably and reverently worship Him for His power, majesty and glory. God is the Almighty. He is awesome beyond words. That should not keep us from attempting to describe Him and His wonderful works to others. Though we can’t describe Him completely, we can tell others what He has done for us and what we know about him. This is the command of the Great Commission Jesus gave to us in Matthew 28:18-20 when He said, “. . . All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
