Christ is risen! That’s the wonderful truth we celebrate during this season of the year. But if Jesus really did walk out of that tomb on the third day after His death, that means He is not only the Savior of the world. He is also the “great King over all the earth” (verse 2). It means He has total and absolute authority, not only over those who acknowledge His claims, but over all the peoples and nations of the world (verses 3 and 8).

So, how do you feel about that? How do you react to the idea that Jesus alone gets to decide what is right and wrong? Do you want to surrender your freedom to Him? Do you want to give up your claims to autonomy?

It depends on what you think of Jesus, doesn’t it? Maybe you’re happy to have Him be king, but only as long as He gives you what you want, and lets you do what you want. That was the attitude of the Jerusalem crowd – hailing Him as the Son of David one minute, and then screaming “Crucify Him!” once they realized He wouldn’t lead them in a rebellion against the Romans. Or maybe, like the disciples who ran out on Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, you’re more afraid of the powerful people in this world than you are impressed by Jesus’ invisible authority.

But the sons of Korah, who wrote this Psalm, would suggest otherwise. They encourage us to sing praises to our King (verse 6), to clap our hands and shout joyfully to Him (verse 1). And why? Not only because He reigns over all the nations of the world, but because His rule is holy (verse 8) – that means He never makes a mistake or acts out of an impure or selfish motive. Moreover, He has set His love on His people and has given us an inheritance (verse 4) – not only a perfectly restored world on the day that He comes again, but also the living presence of His Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who trust in Him today. And by His cross and the empty tomb He has given us the victory over the worst of our enemies (verse 3), sin and death itself.

So, why wouldn’t we want to surrender our lives to Someone Who loves us so much? Why shouldn’t we surrender all our anxieties to Someone Who is so powerful? Why wouldn’t we want to trust someone so holy and wise to determine what is right and wrong? Yes, why shouldn’t we rejoice that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to someone like Jesus?

Psalm 47 (NASB)

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
O Clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.
2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.
3 He subdues peoples under us, And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
5 God has ascended 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 skillful psalm.
8 God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham; For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.