Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah. To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. (Psalm 68:32-33)
This psalm begins with the prayer, “Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered!” The enemies referred to are, by and large, the nations who opposed Him and His people. The psalm ends, however, with a challenge to the nations, if not a prophetic acknowledgement that the nations will indeed be compelled to sing praises to the Lord. When His voice goes out into the earth, it will shake the heavens and the earth causing kings and kingdoms, who for centuries failed to appreciate His greatness, to recognize the sovereignty of Israel’s God.
Previously, the kingdoms of this world attributed their power and prominence to the heavenly bodies and other such celestial signs. Rather than looking to the Creator, they planned their futures according to the whims of corrupt men and placed their confidence in created things. As Paul said, “They did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:21-22). Yet the day will come when the nations will realize that the strength they exercised in the world was not their own; it was only granted to them, temporarily, in order to fulfill the will of the One they failed to honor.
There is a recurring theme that winds its way throughout the whole of Scripture and that is, there is coming a day when all — God’s servants and enemies alike — will “know that I am the Lord.” Even the might of the cosmos will bow to the sovereignty of the One who created the heavens, causing the nations to bow “to Him who rides on the heaven of heavens.” When God arises, not only will His mortal enemies be scattered, but everything that mankind has placed their confidence in — everything that sought to share in His glory — will be exposed as temporal and powerless; it will all be overthrown and cast away. As it is written:
“The haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, when the Lord arises to shake the earth mightily.” (Isaiah 2:17-21).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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