Skip to main content

The 46th...and The 47th, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By
The 46th…and The 47th
By Pastor Charlie Handren

For the sixteenth-century Reformers, Psalm 46 was one of the most important Psalms. In our day, we tend to think of the Reformation as a theological movement but for them it was as much a political revolution as a battle over the Bible. The nations were indeed raging specifically because some courageous men and women took a stand for biblical truth and would not back down, even at the cost of their lives. Their families. Their countries.
It was, therefore, a great comfort for them to hear the blessed words of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” This verse, and this Psalm, in fact became an anchor for their souls and for their movement, so much so that they came to refer to it as “The 46th.”
Each day I read a Psalm, and as the Lord would have it, I read The 46th early this week. The next day I read Psalm 47 and immediately wondered how I had never noticed the connection between it and The 46th, especially verse 10. Psalm 47 is fairly short, so let me quote it in its entirety.
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!
So whereas Psalm 46:10 assures God’s people that he will be exalted among the nations—future tense—Psalm 47 provides a prophetic vision in which God’s exalted state is a reality. And although this prophecy has yet to be completely fulfilled, it did indeed come to pass in Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high where he reigns as the King of all kings and serves as our merciful High Priest.
There is a sense in which the Christian soul cries out to God, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” And there is a sense in which the Christian soul rests in his ultimate reign over all persons and things as though the fullness of it has already come to pass. This is how faith works: no matter what our circumstances, we so trust in our Father’s promises that we receive his vision of the future as a present reality, and we receive the rest and joy that go along with it. May the Lord give us his rest and joy as we meditate on The 46th…and The 47th! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more