"God has gone up with a shout!"

Psalm 47

Pastor Tom Johnson, June 1, 2014

Archeologists have found three standards from Ancient Israel. Two of these date back to the Bronze Age and one from the Iron Age. These standards are long poles with an image or symbol on them. Ancient Egypt had these standards with the head of Pharaohs and gods on them. Ancient Rome had the iconic eagle with the letters SPQR, an acronym for “The Senate and People of Rome.” When God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he instructed each tribe to gather beneath each standard with a symbol for each tribe (Num 1,2,10). When God’s people sinned, God provided a path of life and healing for them by raising up a standard with a bronze serpent—just looking at it healed and saved them. The Israelites raised up a heap of twelve stones when they crossed the River Jordan into the Promised Land. They raised up that monument with twelve large rocks each one representing a different tribe. It was a way of raising up a shout of thanksgiving and praise to God for fulfilling his promises. The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God’s presence among his people. The people carried the Ark into battle. In Jericho, they raised the Ark, they shouted, and they blew the ram’s horn. And the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

Today we typically use banners and flags. In the United States, we have the ceremony of raising our flag with the Pledge of Allegiance and the blowing of a bugle. It has become a symbol of pride, identity, and thanksgiving for the American people. Perhaps that is why the picture of the American soldiers raising of the flag on the hill in Iwo Jima has been such an inspiration. It is a symbol that unifies us as a people and calls us to serve something greater than our individual selves.

What makes Psalm 47 so remarkable is that the raising up and shouting is not about tribalism, nationalism, or victory in battle. And what is being raised up is not a standard, pole, ark, flag, or any other symbol. “God has gone up with a shout.” It is the Lord himself who is raised up high with a loud voice. It is the Creator of heaven and earth who ascends with the blowing of a ram’s horn. And he is raised up for all nations, tribes, tongues, and people. The Lord ascends for all creation. This thanksgiving and celebration is a universal call for everything that has breath to shout and make loud trumpet blasts. This Psalm challenges our collective pride as citizens of a particular nation. God calls us to think about our place as citizens of the world community. Rather than being a champion of those we only have the most in common with, this Psalm calls us to look beyond our borders, ethnic divides, and language barriers. This song calls us to reach out to the whole world and celebrate what God is doing in all creation! “Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a joyful sound!”

On Friday, I had a wedding rehearsal out in Palatine. It is just blocks away from Mathilda Harding, a 101 year old member of First Saint Paul’s. In the past three years, our former Deaconess Brenna Nunes and I visited her and brought her communion. I just visited Mathilda about two weeks before Easter Sunday. When I would ask her how I can pray for her, she would respond with the same prayer request: “That I would be faithful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that I would be faithful to the end.” When I got to her room on Friday, her name was not on the door. She was not in the room. And the nurses told me that she passed away. “Mathilda passed away on Easter Sunday,” the nurse told me. Her online obituary sure enough says April 20^th. I immediately called Brenna. She put into words what we were both feeling: “It would have been nice if we could have been there to celebrate her life. But in a way,” she quickly added, “we celebrated her life each time we visited.” As I thought about it, Brenna’s words express exactly what this Psalm is all about. We want Mathilda to go up with a shout—a shout of thanksgiving to God for her life and a shout of praise to Jesus for the assurance that she went home to be with him in heaven. In a way, God provided that shout without our help. She stepped into the presence of her Savior on Easter Sunday! She went up with a shout of resurrection! And today, the last Sunday in Easter, we give all thanks and glory to him who goes up in a shout for us.

When Jesus went up to Jerusalem, he entered with shouts of “Hosanna!” When he goes up upon the Cross of Calvary, he goes up with prayerful cry. With a loud voice he prays for us sinners, “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” and to us who are condemned, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise!” With a loud voice Jesus gives his spirit to God and cries, “It is finished!” Jesus goes up from the grave with an earthquake and the mighty voices of angels. Weeks later, he ascends into heaven with outstretched arms and a loud voice of blessing. He goes up with a shout for you and for me. He calls our voices to be joined with his as he is lifted up to proclaim forgiveness and eternal life to all nations beginning in Jerusalem. He is Lord of all creation. Heaven and earth are full of his glory. In his ascension, he goes up with a shout as King of the universe. He himself is the banner raised up for all nations to see, hear, and experience the hope of God for all people. He goes up with a shout for us so that we will go up with a shout as well.