The great God is the great King. “The Lord is great.” He is “the great King” (Psalm 48:1-2).
In Psalm 48, we catch a glimpse of the future.
* There will be conflict – “The kings gathered together and came to attack Mount Zion” (v. 4).
* There will be victory – “But when they saw it, they were amazed. They were afraid. They ran away … We have heard what done and now we have seen it” (vs. 5, 8).
* Beyond the conflict and the victory, there is the glory – “the city of our God, the Lord Almighty; He will keep the city safe for ever … This God is our God for ever and ever; He will lead us for all time to come” (vs. 8, 14).
These great words of Psalm 48 point us to the great future which is described for us in the book of Revelation
In the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, we find ourselves in an atmosphere of jubilant celebration: “After this I hears what sounded like the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven, saying, ‘Praise God! Salvation, glory and power belong to our God” (v.1).
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!
Four times, in Revelation 19, we read these great words.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
In verses 1, 3, 4, and 6, we have this great song of praise to the Lord our God.What a wonderful picture we have here of the great God. He is the great King.
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
* What is God saying to us as we read these great words?
He is calling us to praise Him: “Praise our God, all His servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for Him!” (v. 5).
* How are we to praise God?
We are to praise Him with joy and gladness: “Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise His greatness! (v.7).
* Why are we to praise God?
We praise Him because He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (v. 16).
- In the Old Testament, we read of conflict and victory. This is what we have in the story of David and Goliath.
- In the life of Jesus, there is conflict and victory. We see Jesus, put to death by His enemies. We see Jesus, raised from the dead by God the Father.
- In the book of Acts, we see conflict and victory. There is persecution. There is also blessing.
- Here, in the book of Revelation, we are taken on into the future. The conflict is over. The victory has been won.
This is the great message of encouragement which comes to us from the book of Revelation.
As we read the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, we hear the great invitation: “Come and gather together for God’s great feast” (v.17).
God’s great feast is the feast of His triumph over evil.
He is Lord! He is King! He has triumphed! He is victorious!
This is the great declaration which we hear as we gather together at God’s great feast.
We have come to this place. We have gathered together.
Why have we come to this place? Why have we gathered together?
We have gathered together to celebrate the Lord’s victory. We have come to look together at our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have gathered to remember that Jesus is our Saviour. We have gathered to remember that Jesus is our Lord. We have gathered to remember that Jesus is our King.
We do not think only of Jesus’ death on the Cross. We think also of His resurrection from the dead. We remember Him as the Lord of glory. He is in heaven now. He will return from heaven. he will come in great power and glory.
In our remembering Jesus, let us make sure that we also have the forward look. It is a good thing to look back, but we must not remain in the past. We remember. We also look forward.
As we remember Jesus Christ, crucified for us, let us affirm our faith in the words of the final verse of Psalm 48: “This God is our God for ever and ever; He will lead us for all time to come.”
