This week in one of my classes, we are studying the enthronement psalms. The enthronement psalms make up only 7 of the 150 psalms contained in the Old Testament. Five of them, Psalms 95-99, are in order and seem to have a logical progression between them, starting with the beginning of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and ending with God sitting on the throne of the temple. They’re worth a read if you’re looking for a devotion to do today. They’re full of praises to God and declarations of His reign over all things.
There’s some context we should touch on. All but one of the enthronement psalms are contained in Book 4 of Psalms. You may not realize this, but Psalms is divided into five books which tell Israel's history. Book 4 takes place during the period of Israel’s history when they are in exile. The temple has been destroyed, and they’ve been taken off to another land, a land that worships many gods. God had promised that an ancestor of David would be on the throne forever, but now there was no throne. There was no ancestor of David ruling over them as they had no king for themselves. The enthronement psalms are a reminder that even though they had no earthly king, God was still on the celestial throne. His power and might and justice and mercy hadn't changed. Even though their circumstances had changed, He had not.
This is such a powerful thing. Regardless of the chaos happening all around us, we can be assured that God has not abandoned His throne. God never promised us easy times. He never promised us that following Him means we'll be without trouble - in fact, He often promised the opposite!
He is still worthy of all praise and glory and honor. In Psalm 99:5, the people are called to praise God and worship at His footstool. In other words, we are to bow at His feet in humility, honor, and reverence. What a beautiful picture. God is God and we are not. We must relinquish our ideas of control and our plans and purposes, and humble ourselves before Him. We must ask, what do You want, God? What do you want us to do? What do you want from us? Work in us, God. Work in me. Work through me.
Something unique to this psalm among the other enthronement psalms is it highlights the duality of God: He is both justice and mercy. Both punisher and forgiver. He’s a both/and God. We make a mistake when we focus on one aspect of Him and not the other. The people were in exile after all because they failed to follow Him. He gave them over to the consequence of their own actions. In Psalm 99, He reminds them of His law, that the people might experience His love and compassion if they live under His rulership.
What law are we called to follow? Jesus summed up all the law in two commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love. Seems so simple and yet is often so hard. (Or maybe we just make it hard.) We are to spread His love and be His light in the world.
Many people today seem to believe that we are called to build an earthly kingdom of Christiandom. Jesus never said that. The New Testament church never attempted to do that. At all. When the disciples asked Jesus when He was going to establish His earthly kingdom, He chastised them as still not understanding. That was never His purpose.
Rather, we are called to honor and recognize God as King - not any mortal human being, nor any country or flag. We are called to follow the higher law He has given us, and be an example for Him.
In many places in the world, Christianity is under attack by the governments in place. People are regularly persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and even killed for their faith. Christianity has been a religion of privilege in this country for a long time - but that is changing currently, with this present government. The current government seems to only support the twisted view of Christian nationalism, not the type of Christianity that offers love and compassion to the least of these. It concerns me we may be heading the direction of China, where there is an established and recognized "state church" (which the founders of our country rejected), which is empty and devoid of God, and an underground church movement where God's Spirit flows, but those in it are persecuted. I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like that's what we're heading towards.
Regardless of what happens in our country or around the world, God is still God, and He is still on His throne. He is still King. We are still citizens in His kingdom. I am under no illusion that He has promised us or appointed us as a "Christian nation" or promised land or city on a hill, or whatever else Christian Nationalism says. Christianity may fall in this country, and if it does, it'll be because we've killed it from within. But that won't change the fact that God is still and will forever be ... God.
I’m sure He is also upset about what is happening in our country right now and by the damage we’re doing in the world. I think He's likely even more upset at the Christians who are supporting the harm being done to the poor, oppressed, and marginalized.
We will keep fighting to make it right. But meanwhile, we can be comforted by the fact that God is still on His throne, ever present in times of need, and worthy of all praise. He extends His justice and His mercy to those who humble themselves at His feet.
And that should give us hope.
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