The Day of Pentecost (Ps) May 27th

Psalm 47:1-9

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! (ESV)

"God has gone up with a shout," and Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven. He has sent his people the Counselor, his Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ has given his people a reason to sing praises to God. They will be able to shout concerning their heritage as people of Israel.

There are always reasons to sing and shout to the Lord with thanksgiving.  Some people will do this because they have woken up in the morning.  Others will do this because they have received some other blessing from God.  Some even shout and sing in time of mourning reminding themselves that God has done great things for them.

All of us need to sing and shout for another reason.  Ezekiel was supposed to blow the trumpet and shout so people would remember to fear the Lord.  St Peter and the disciples were praising God and pointing people to Christ their Savior.  We sing to help people remember what Christ has done for us.  We shout so that people can hear us over the business of the world and their cell phones.  We play instruments so that people will be tricked into listening to a truthful message like entertainment.  We write and make videos so people around the world can know the truth of Jesus Christ.

This is the truth.  God has come to bring wrath upon the people of the earth.  He comes with plagues, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, lightning, thunder, and trumpets.  (Trumpets should probably be thought of as modern sirens.)  But God has also come to bring hope to his people.  He has come to share his Love through Jesus Christ, his son, our Lord.

God gives us reason to be happy, since he has sacrificed his only son for the forgiveness of your sins.  He has died so we may have life.  This is the truth.