Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
“Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.”
“Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.” This psalm is a little gem, easily understood and readily used to praise God. The title includes the information that this psalm was written by the Sons of Korah and dedicated to the Chief Musician. Is the Chief Musician mentioned here human or are they referring to God, Who is the Author of all music? I like to think it is both.
Who were the “sons of Korah?” Wikipedia gives us this answer: “The Sons of Korah were the sons of Moses‘ cousin Korah. The story of Korah is found in Numbers 16. Korah led a revolt against Moses; he died, along with all his co-conspirators, when God caused “the earth to open her mouth and swallow him and all that appertained to them” (Numbers 16:31–33). Immediately after this event, the Lord’s anger burned and a plague struck killing another 14,700 Israelites. However, “the children of Korah died not” (Numbers 26:11). Several psalms are described in their opening verses as being by the Sons of Korah: numbers 42, 44–49, 84, 85, 87 and 88.[1]
Some of the Korahites were also “porters” of the temple (1 Chronicles 9:17–19); one of them was over “things that were made in the pans” (v31), i.e. the baking in pans for the meat-offering (Leviticus 2:5). According to the genealogies in 1 Chronicles, the prophet Samuel was descended from Korah.[2]”
Putting it bluntly, Korah and his followers messed up big time and paid the ultimate price in a gruesome fashion with the earth opening up and swallowing them. Given such a family heritage, Korah’s descendants might have felt too ashamed to be of any use in ministry; yet, God graciously preserved the Kohathites who were not involved in the rebellion and gave them special tasks in the temple, including serving as temple singers.
“He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah” Sometimes we might feel as if our lives are going nowhere with no positive goal; yet, if we will trust God, He will guide us into the right paths.
“God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.” It was customary that when the king entered the temple, worshipers should shout and blow trumpets to indicate the presence of the king. If these acts were done to honor an earthly king, how much more should they be done to honor the King of Kings?
But why admonish to “sing praises with understanding?” Many people can spew out verbiage without meaning any of it. Here the Sons of Krah are encouraging us to think as we praise so that our praises become more meaningful and less mechanical.
“God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.” In ancient times, victorious armies captured their enemies’ shields, rendering those enemies defenseless. Sometimes the shields could even be golden, as was the case of one group King David conquered. These verses assure us that God truly is on the throne and that He is victorious over all the earth.
APPLICATION: Every family has a few skeletons in their closets-family members who have tarnished the family name in some manner. Sometimes the sins of these forebears are so terrible that subsequent generations are ashamed to admit a relationship. But God is gracious and merciful. Even at the time that some of the Korahites were dying in a gruesome fashion, God was still preserving others whose descendants would occupy places of honor in the temple in Jerusalem. Some of the Korahites became singers and musicians while others helped prepare the ritual foods-both positions of extreme trust. While there are such things as spirits that plague successive generations in families, we don’t have to fall prey to these spirits. We can ask God to release us from generational bondage and He will do so.
Perhaps you know that your parents had shortcomings. Obsessive behaviors such alcoholism, drug abuse, overeating, excessive shopping, workaholism, gossiping, and gambling all are part of a spectrum. Unless you are healed from the root cause, you might abandon one abuse, only to substitute another. While some obsessive behaviors are more socially acceptable than others, they can still destroy relationships and marriages. But praise God, we don’t have to be stuck this way! We can beg God to choose our heritage for us and He will graciously do so.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many of us feel trapped by the sins of our families. Our obsessive behaviors may be killing us or killing our marriages and our relationships with others. Lord, deliver us from these things that bind us! Help us to leave them behind completely and never return to them. Choose our heritage for us, for when You do so, we know that heritage will be glorious. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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