October 24, 2018 (Wednesday)
The word, “sovereign,” is familiar to those who follow stories of royal families. The word itself is defined as, “one possessing or held to possess supreme power.” When the word describes God, it is speaking of absolute power, limited only by His self-restraint. There are three stanzas of three verses each, and at the end of each stanza, this psalm declares that God is holy. It is sometimes referred to, therefore, as the “holy, holy, holy psalm.” It is a call to everyone in the world to worship our holy God. It is an echo of Isaiah 6:3, “And they (angelic beings) were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” In Heaven God is recognized as absolutely perfect. The three stanzas celebrate our sovereign God: Who He will be, Who He is, and Who He was.
New International Version (NIV)
I. Let All the Earth Worship the King of Zion (1-3)
1 The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name–
he is holy.
II. The LORD’S Kingdom is Righteous (4-5)
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice–
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
III. The Holiness of the LORD (6-9)
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Compare three translations side by side. Click here.
aka The Missionary Hymn
Reginald Heber
1819
1 From Greenland’s icy mountains,
From India’s coral strand,
Where Africa’s bright fountains
Roll down their golden sand,
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error’s chain.
2 What though the fragrant breezes
Blow soft o’er distant isles,
Though ev’ry vista pleases,
Yet sin the land defiles.
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strown;
The heathen in their blindness
Bow down to wood and stone.
3 Can we whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Can we to those benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! Oh, salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim
Till each remotest nation
Has learned Messiah’s name.
4 Waft, waft, ye winds, His story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till o’er our ransomed nature
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.
Other appropriate hymns (Click to see and hear):
O Worship the King
Holy, Holy, Holy