May 17: Psalm 47

The Ascension of Christ

Ascension Day

Common meter double 86.86 D             Azmon (O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing), p. 49
Forest Green (I Sing the mighty Power of God), p. 70                                                                                                   Ellacombe (Hosanna, Loud Hosanna), p. 130

All peoples, clap your hands for joy, to God in triumph shout;

For awesome is the Lord Most High, Great King the earth throughout.

He brought the peoples under us in mastery complete;

And He it is Who nations all subdued beneath our feet.

The land of our inheritance He chooses out for us,

And He to us the glory gives of Jacob whom He loves.

God is ascended with a shout, the Lord with trumpeting.

Sing praises unto God! Sing praise! Sing praises to our King!

For God is King of all the earth; sing praise with skillfulness.

God rules the nations; God sits on His throne of holiness.

The nations have assembled as the people of the Lord;

The shields of earth belong to God, exalted and adored.

The Ascension of Christ is not an afterthought, a sort of postlude to salvation. It is an integral part of the triumph itself; the crowning moment of the Lord’s priestly offering. The Ascension of Christ into glory is the object of biblical prophecy, especially in several places in the Book of Psalms (one of which is yesterday’s Psalm 24). One of the more notable places is Psalm 47: “God has ascended with jubilation, the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. O, sing to our God, sing praises! Sing to our King, sing praises!” This is an invitation to us on earth, a summons to join our voices in jubilation with the angels on high. The Ascension of Christ is the event where heaven and earth are joined forever. Our Psalm of the Ascension sends forth its invitation to all the peoples of the earth. By reason of His glorification, all of history and all of culture belong to Christ. All nations are summoned before His throne, to share His exaltation: “The princes of the peoples are gathered together as the people of the God of Abraham; for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.” The place on earth where heaven and earth meet is called the Church, which finds her very identity in the exaltation of Christ. The mystery of the Ascension leads immediately to the mystery of the Church, God’s chosen people. In glorifying Christ, God also “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). (Reardon, p. 91-92)

May 16: Psalm 24

The King of Glory enters the gates

11.11.11.11             Foundation (How Firm a Foundation)
St. Denio (Immortal, Invisible)

The earth and the riches with which it is stored,

The world and its dwellers, belong to the Lord.

For He on the seas its foundation has laid,

And firm on the waters its pillars has stayed.

O who shall the mount of Jehovah ascend?

Or who in the place of His holiness stand?

The man of pure heart and of hand without stain,

Who has not sworn falsely nor loved what is vain.

He shall from Jehovah a blessing receive;

The God of salvation shall righteousness give.

Thus looking to Him is a whole bless-ed race,

All those who, like Jacob, are seeking Your face.

O gates, lift your head! Ageless doors, lift them high!

The great King of glory to enter draws nigh!

O who is the king that in glory draws near?

The Lord, mighty Lord of the battle is here!

O gates, lift your heads! Ageless doors, lift them high!

The great King of glory to enter draws nigh!

This great King of glory, O Who can He be?

Jehovah of hosts, King of glory is He!

Psalm 24 is a celebration of the Lord’s entrance into that heavenly sanctuary and royal court of heaven. But “who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” This “blessing from the Lord and righteousness” is the eternal redemption won for us by the sacrifice of Jesus. This King of Glory comes to the entrance of heaven with the blood of the conflict still fresh upon Him and a kind of dialogue takes place as the angels call for the opening of the portcullis at the approach of the returning Warrior: “Lift up your heads, O you gates!  And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.” By virtue of the redemption, all of creation belongs to this Jesus, King and Priest. Thus, the psalm begins: “The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Reardon, p. 45-46)

May 15: Psalm 40

God helps His servant

Common meter 86.86             New Britain (Amazing Grace), p. 29

I waited for the Lord my God, I waited patiently;

And He in mercy heard my cry, inclined His ear to me.

He brought me up out of the pit, out from the miry clay;

He set my feet upon a rock, there firm to stand and stay.

He put a new song in my mouth, God’s praise for all to hear;

And many now will trust the Lord, who see and learn to fear.

How blest the one who trusts the Lord, trusts not the false nor proud;

Who sees the wonders God has done, and sings His praise aloud.

For many are Thy thoughts toward us, with You none can compare;

Far more than I could ever count, more than I could declare.

An off’ring You have not required, but rather pierced my ears;

Burnt off’ring You have not desired, but rather, one who hears.

And so I said, “Behold, I come; it is prescribed for me;

Within Your scroll to do Your will, Your law my heart receives.”

I have proclaimed deliverance, glad news for all to hear;

You know I’ve not restrained my lips from speaking far and near.

I have not hidden righteousness alone within my heart;

But spoken of Your faithfulness; Your truth I did impart.

I’ve not concealed your steadfast love, Your faithfulness of old;

To all the congregation here I’ve your salvation told.

For You don’t hide Your mercy, Lord, or keep it far from me;

Your steadfast love and faithfulness keep me continually.

For evils have surrounded me, iniquities flood me,

More than the hairs upon my head; my heart fails within me.

O Lord, my God, deliver me, be pleased to be my aid;

Make haste, for many seek my life; let them now be dismayed.

Let those be turned back, put to shame, who in my harm delight;

Leave them appalled and desolate, who would destroy my light.

Let those who taunt me be appalled; Let them be brought to shame

who say to me, “Aha, aha!” and harm my life and name.

Let those who seek You now rejoice, all who in You abide;

Let those You save, say with one voice, “The Lord be magnified!”

Since I’m in need, afflicted, Lord, remember me this day;

You are my help, my Savior sure; O God, do not delay.

The correct “voice” for Psalm 40 is not in doubt. We know from Hebrews 10 that these are words springing from the heart of Christ our Lord and have reference to the sacrificial obedience of His Passion and death. We begin, then, by examining that interpretive context in Hebrews. The prescriptions of the Mosaic Law, says Hebrews, possessed only “a shadow of the good things to come.” The sacrifices of the old covenant did not really take away sins, and their effectiveness depended entirely on the sacrifice of the cross, of which they were only a foreshadowing. Indeed, “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Heb.10: 4). In support of this thesis, the author of Hebrews quotes our psalm: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire…In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.” Christ’s own obedience to God’s will is the key to our psalm, and Hebrews goes on to quote the pertinent verses, referring them explicitly to the Incarnation and Sacrifice of Jesus the Lord (Psalm 40:6-8). The body “prepared” for Christ in the Incarnation became the instrument of His obedience to that “will” of God by which we are redeemed and rendered holy (Heb. 10: 10,14). The various sacrifices of the Old Testament, which are spoken of from time to time throughout the Book of Psalms, have now found their perfection in the one self-offering of Jesus the Lord. (Reardon, p. 77-78)

May 14: Psalm 54

The God who saves

87.87 D                     Beach Spring, p. 170
Restoration/Pleading Savior (both tunes for Come, ye Sinners)
Beecher (Love Divine, All Loves Excelling), p. 149

By Your name, O God, now save me; grant me justice by Your might.

To these words of mine give answer; hear my prayers, O God of light.

Strangers have come up against me, violent men against me fight

And they seek my life’s destruction; God is not within their sight.

See how God has been my helper, how my Lord sustains my soul:

To my foes He pays back evil—in Your truth destroy them all!

I will sacrifice with gladness; and Your name, O Lord, will praise.

He has saved me from all trouble; o’er my foes my eyes has raised.

We Christians, of course, know that the historical David was himself a prefiguration, a living prophecy, of the true King yet to come, and we believe that the divine promises made with respect to David’s messianic throne are fulfilled in the Kingdom of Jesus, at once David’s descendant and his Lord. Following the lead of Jesus Himself (Luke 24:44), we interpret the psalms in the light – the theological light – of this fulfillment of biblical prophecy. We come to the psalms completely with what Paul called “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Our interest in the psalms, or indeed in any part of the Bible, is a Christian interest. As we pray in the church liturgy, “You are our God, and we know no other than You.” Psalm 54 may serve to illustrate this interpretive principle. The title or inscription at the head of this psalm describes it with reference to an incident in the life of David, which sends us to 1 Samuel 23:14-20 for the context. This is a psalm about betrayal. The assiduous reader of the Gospel, therefore, should have no great trouble recognizing the correct interpretive setting of this psalm, or discerning the “voice” that prays it. This is a psalm properly understood from within “the mind of Christ,” for it describes both His anguish at the betrayal that sent Him to suffering and death, and His full assurance of final vindication in the paschal glory. (Reardon, p. 105-106)