Psalm 47 | December 6, 2020 | Advent 2

Peace Comes at a Cost

• ·       God Subdues the Nations
• ·       Only Two Sides Exist

Psalm 47: O Clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. 2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth. 3 He subdues peoples under us, And nations under our feet. 4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah. 5 God has ascended with a shout, The LORD, with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; Sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm. 8 God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne. 9 The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham; For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.

When you think about themes around Christmas time, peace is right at the top of the list. But even something as simple sounding as peace can be spoken of differently depending on the person. What do we mean by peace at Christmas time?

I think it’s safe to assume that most people mean world peace – that being peace among peoples and nations on earth. Peace in this sense would mean the absence of conflict, war, and anger. This kind of peace may be a noble goal but it’s hardly close to a reality. The more educated and sophisticated humanity becomes, the more that insight it put into finding new ways to get what is wanted and to hurt others if necessary. More lives have been taken in conflicts since the dawn of the 20^th century than at any other point in history. Yet, we are regularly conditioned to accept that the more progressive and enlightened society becomes, the closer we come to achieving peace.

Others who speak of peace at Christmas time mean something more generic than world peace. Some take the concept of peace and make it more abstract, more of an idea in your mind that settles your heart, without attaching any specific thing or action to it. But what good is peace if it’s just an idea? Doesn’t there have to be a certain amount of reality behind the peace that we desire?

These cheaper imitations of the true peace of Christmas are popular because part of the challenge that we face is a lack of desire to truly understand what it takes to have real peace. This could apply to world peace, but we’re looking past this world into the things of God. To have divine peace, harmony with one’s Creator, is really what the peace of Christmas is about. We connect this peace with Christmas because it was for this peace that Jesus came and was born into this world. Jesus clearly did not bring an end to earthly conflict among peoples’ and nations when He was born. Jesus also intended something much more real and meaningful than a different mental outlook on life. Jesus came to destroy sin and death – not just as an idea, but as a tangible threat to our eternal futures. Sin destroys and fractions wherever it exists. This is reality. There are direct consequences. We have to live, everyday, with the tragic results of sin’s existence in this world. Sin is what makes world peace in an earthly sense impossible.

So, why wouldn’t the entire world beat the doors down to get this peace from Jesus? Because we who are in the world are part of the problem. And when you’re part of the problem, you naturally do not want to be honest about what it takes to achieve a solution to the problem. That’s why people aren’t lining the streets today reciting Psalm 47. In these words, God describes the cost of true peace through Jesus Christ. And it’s not the typical Christmas message we’re used to hearing around this time of year. It’s a message of power. A battle cry in the midst of conflict. A declaration of God as almighty and Lord of heaven and earth.    

What makes this psalm the atypical message of peace is because it portrays how peace is achieved. Peace came at a cost. We see that first come out in this psalm as God speaks of reigning over the nations. It’s hard to imagine a word more different from peace than “subdue.” Subduing brings to mind holding others back. It’s a word that heightens the power differential between two individuals or groups. Peace makes us think of equality. Subdue makes us think of inequality. But for peace to exist through Jesus, the nations of the earth needed to be subdued under God’s power.

What’s interesting about this word for “subdue” is that the basic meaning in Hebrew is “to speak.” The passage is literally saying that God “speaks” the nations down under the power of His people. In the Old Testament, God’s people were obviously the Israelites. We see how the words of this Psalm applied in a literal sense to the conquest of Canaan, when God allowed His people to subdue the foreign nations. But that was not allowed by God because of some worldly nationalistic pride, or because Israel proved to be a better nation than the others. God’s allowance of this power difference was solely to provide an avenue for the Anointed One, the Messiah, to be born of the nation of Israel.

Truly, if you track the nation of Israel’s history throughout the Bible, you’ll find that they were often the ones who were subdued. But despite the ups and downs, God remained faithful in His promise, first to Adam and Eve, and second to Abraham, and then to all humanity, that a Savior would be born of the nation of Israel. Spiritually speaking, for peace to come from Jesus, the evil and wickedness of the heathen nations needed to be put in check. This battle continues to this day. It’s not about the nation of Israel anymore, they served their purpose in God’s plan. Now, it’s about the real estate of a person’s heart – of you and God. Peace by faith cannot exist if sin still has dominion over a person. Only Christ can subdue that enemy.

When we understand the spiritual side of this Psalm, we see not only where we fit into the picture, but also why we have a unique and powerful peace from Jesus. The battle that was portrayed in a literal sense through Israel’s conquest as a nation, is now carried on by believers and continues to be blessed by the same almighty and eternal God in a spiritual sense. Biblical imagery in the Old Testament often follows this pattern. There was an intended meaning for the original audience in the Old Testament, but also a future meaning for believers of all time. This is the Holy Spirit’s handiwork upon the text. The sons of Korah themselves could only speak to their generation. The Holy Spirit alone is able to impart truth to all of God’s people – the universal Church.

So, the Spirit-intended meaning as it concerns our lives is about the battle that continues until time on this earth ends. We praise the LORD with shouts of joy because He reigns over this battle. We strive and we fight, but the peace that Jesus brought to earth extends over the entire story. This is the battle that the Apostle Paul referenced in our Scripture reading, Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1Ti 6:11 NKJ). 

Peace also comes at a cost because there are only two sides to this struggle. There are those who follow God by faith and those who do not. We know that when it comes to life with God there is only one way – as Jesus Himself taught and confessed that He was “the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).” But, for those without God, many and vast are the beliefs and teachings that are confessed. There is no one standard way of unbelief. So, while we live in a world of many different faiths, the simple truth that there are really only two outcomes helps clarify reality. For all people, a side must be chosen. And whichever path veers away from God’s truth of salvation in Christ is also subdued by God in His love and power.

And so this peace that comes at a cost is the only thing that can protect our souls from eternal damnation. The danger we face around Christmas time is that peace becomes meaningless – empty of Christ - worldly or generic. Both senses lose the true hope and foundation of Jesus Christ.

It will forever be true that the value of your peace is determined by what it cost to achieve. Cheap fluffy peace, the kind in many Christmas songs or plastered on the media today, comes at a very small cost. That type of peace is often spoken of in such vague terms that one is left at a loss as to what exactly necessitates peace. Why do we need it if we don’t have any problems with our beliefs, our attitudes, or our behaviors? What value does peace have if we are free to choose what is best for our lives and no one can say that one way is better or more moral than another?

We wind up in a similar place with earthly peace alone. How can one argue against advocating for worldly peace? It sounds inhumane. We certainly should desire earthly peace with fellow humans, but not as a substitute to eternal peace in Jesus. This is especially striking during a season when we get gifts for others. Which of us, when considering a gift, would prefer something artificial to something real? If you bought a diamond necklace, and had an equal choice – wouldn’t you choose real diamonds over fake? If you gifted a wooden hutch, wouldn’t you prefer oak over particle board? If you are going the gift card route, isn’t it better to have a gift card with actual money attached to it, rather than a fancy looking card with no value?

These images impress upon us the stark difference between world peace and peace by faith in Christ. Both are admirable goals, but one is clearly more realistic and more important than the other. And God testifies repeatedly in His Word that the new heavens and new earth of Christ’s reign will usher in a time of world peace. It’s simply a matter of which one must come before the other. God does want world peace, as do we, but the battle reminds us it can only come through Jesus.

Why? Because the cost He paid. You can estimate the value of peace by the cost it takes. Jesus paid the ultimate cost by laying down His own holy life for underserving sinners. He did what no one else could or would. And it started, at least from a physical standpoint, when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary into this world. From that moment, the warrior that would win the battle for peace entered the arena. The lines between faith and unbelief have always been set, just as they are today. But Jesus struck the first blow toward the serpent’s head as He lay on the manger in Bethlehem.

This was how God achieved peace, and the battle language of Psalm 47 is a continual reminder of this cost. We shouldn’t stray from peace as we read these words, rather we should learn more about it and be left treasuring such a gift even more. Peace will undoubtedly be spoken about this Christmas season and all others. Let us make sure our words mean something – in Jesus Christ. Amen.