Psalm 103:19-22 - October 9, 2009

Ps 103:19-22 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion." NIV

Psalm 103:19-22 provides an insightful glimpse into the invisible realms of the kingdom of God. Almost certainly this passage was a well known and central understanding that helped to shape the thinking of both Christ and the Israelites at the time of the gospels and the book of Acts. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray “your kingdom come your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” this passage would have been one of the backdrop verses that they reflected upon. Verse 19 introduces the context of the words of Christ that He speaks at the end of His earthly ministry by stating “the LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” This passage affirms with great certainty that there is nothing in heaven or on earth that is not under the dominion of God’s kingdom. In Matt 28:18 Jesus places Himself in that same context and declares that the Father has established Him at the head of this kingdom: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” NIV He spoke this forth with such confident clarity that it most certainly was a means of identifying Himself with the kingdom of God in the Old Testament and the God of that Kingdom.
In many ways all of Psalm 103 points us towards this climax of praise for the king and the glory of His kingdom. We are reminded of the benefits of belonging to this kingdom; healing, forgiveness, justice and wise judgment, mercy and compassion, and a Father’s love in the first 18 verses and then the psalmist leads us to the primary theme of his thoughts: the kingdom of God. By this the psalmist clearly provides a context for these benefits as if to say “God can provide these benefits because He is Lord of all!” And in this context there is the implied challenge, “What other God could provide these things for you?”
After declaring the glory of God and the benefits of His eternal kingdom the psalmist moves into a unique dimension of prophetic exhortation. The first 19 verses are in essence directed at his earthly audience but then there is a dramatic shift. David now is overcome by a spirit of prophecy and begins to speak forth into the heavenly realms by faith. This is such a powerful image of prophetic prayer as David speaks into the world of spirit and addresses angels and heavenly beings. In verse 20-22 he cries “20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.” David exhorts the angels to praise, all of the heavenly hosts and all of God’s created works to lift up praise. This is such a faith declaration where he doesn’t enter into presumption as to the realms of his authority and right to command angels but it is a challenge. “All creation consider the majesty of God and praise Him!”
There is an additional contribution made by this passage in regard to our understanding of the makeup of the eternal realms. David’s exhortation also helps create definition for us of the function of the beings that surround God’s throne. He addresses the angels as mighty ones who do God’s bidding and obey His word. He addresses heavenly hosts as well in verse 21. This passage seems to enlarge the sphere of David’s exhortation beyond the limitation of the angelic to a wider sphere of heavenly hosts that includes but isn’t limited to the angels. His defines these hosts as “his servants who do his will.” His final call to praise is enlarged even further to now include all of creation and the psalmist enlists everything under the dominion of God to join in this song of praise. This glimpse into the heavenly realms only creates a partial insight into that dimension of God’s creation but it is fuel for our meditations as we obey the command of He. 4:16 and “come boldly before the throne of grace.”