How Israel’s Hymns Prove Postmillennialism
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This is part 3 of a Biblical case for Postmillennialism. For more on this topic, check out Part 1 and Part 2
INTRODUCTION
If you want to learn what a culture values, and if you're going to understand the worldview that underpins a nation, then you must look no further than their songs. No matter what the whompyjawed ideologues say behind fake smiles and teleprompters, and no matter what manufactured narratives are peddled by the bobbleheaded pundits in the fake news media, the hopes and dreams of a people will be found most clearly stated in their anthems, ballads, and refrains. If you want to know what a society believes in, where their hopes lie, what they think about the purpose of life, and why we are all here, then pay attention to the lyrics and hymns they produce. It will be telling.
For instance, let's say that I have been living under a rock for a few decades, and somehow, I end up washing up on the shores of this strange land called the USA. If I wanted to figure out who these people are and what things they value, I might look up their ten most popular songs for that year. If I did that, I would find out that these people believe our purpose in life is to engage in womanizing, emasculation, promiscuous and filthy sex, getting drunk, doing drugs, and being a thoroughgoing moral degenerate. But it's all good, as long as we have a good time, right? That is the attitude our songs are celebrating. While I wish I could say that I am being hyperbolic, I read through the lyrics of the ten most popular songs right now, and if anything, I am being excessively modest. That is the discordant melody and the seedy song we are singing about who we are. And based on our cultural anthems, we are not only a very sick and disgusting people, but we are unashamedly proud of it.
However, this was not the case in ancient Israel, whose hymn book tells a much different story about who they were and what they valued as a society. Amid the hundred and fifty songs that we have preserved in our canon, we can see themes of trust, praise, and worship of Yahweh, lament, and suffering in times of struggle, repentance and confession, thanksgiving, His love, and covenantal faithfulness to His people, as well as His sovereignty and Kingship over all things. In fact, one of the most prominent themes in the book of Psalms is how God is going to take a sin-laden world that was handed down to us in Adam and, through His Son, establish a Kingdom that fills the world with worshippers, which ties in perfectly with the themes that we have been talking about so far.
If you are new to the party, we are in a series called a practical postmillennialism, where we have been talking about what postmillennialism is. We have been arguing that postmillennialism is the story of how God will fill the world with worshippers before the curtains close on this old world. This is the promise He made to Adam in the garden before He sinned (Genesis 1:28). This is the promise God repeated to Noah after sin (Genesis 9:1). It is the hope that Abraham's line will bless every family on earth (Genesis 12:3) and every nation on earth (Genesis 18:18). And it is the promise that humans will never be able to do this on their own, because we are all like Adam, so a messianic Shiloh will come and bring obedience and worship to all the nations (Genesis 49:10), filling them with worshippers. We have seen that Jesus will take the promises given to all those men in Genesis and accomplish them as the true and better Adam.
Last week, we saw how those world-filling promises are not only contained within the book of Genesis but spill out into the pages of the Exodus, or in the law found in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, or in the conquests narratives of Joshua, and in the lead up to and all throughout the era of the kings from Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. We saw that these cosmic promises that were given by God would be fulfilled. God would not abandon His plan. And before the last grain of sand falls through the hourglass of time, God will have filled the world with worshippers through His one and only Son, Jesus. These are His promises, and He is going to fulfill them.
Now today, we will see how the book of Psalms takes these glorious themes and sings them back to us, even shouting them at us like a metal concert with loud crashing symbols going off in the background so that we would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to miss the throbbing chorus. Today, as we move out of the history of Israel's kings and move into the poetry and songs of Israel, we will see how the hymnbook of God's people echoes the promise of a better King, a ferocious King, who will put all of His enemies underneath His feet so that He can fill the world with worshippers as God has promised.
A SONG OF CRUSHING ENEMIES
As men have become increasingly emasculated in our culture and radical feminism has run through our societal veins like rat poison, the widespread view of Jesus has shifted away from the warrior priest-king to the humble, loveable wuss. If that stings, it is because it is true. In art and movies, we shamefully depict Him with long flowing hair, soft, supple skin, and longing eyes, looking like a woman with a well-manicured beard. In popular evanjellyfish music, Jesus has become the emotional boyfriend in the sky, to whom we belt out all our emotive mantric babblings, so He will wrap us up in warm worshipful hugs. This is ironic because the songs we see concerning Him in Scripture are masculine and ferocious, and they focus not only on His affections but also His wrath against the wicked.
No matter how sappily evangelicalism has painted the Lion of Judah, and no matter how loud they roar that we lose down here, the softening of this King and the defeat of His people does not work in the Psalms. He is not a mere savior of souls working for a Kingdom filled with harp-playing, toga-wearing cloud riders. This prevailing notion suggests that the church's role is essentially to crash and burn in this lifetime, to retreat from the world like cowards in anticipation of a heavenly reward, sidelining the Kingdom's advancement on earth. Many argue that Jesus is not actively building His Kingdom on this earth because He is focused entirely on spiritual things. However, this image starkly contrasts with the robust, authoritative Messiah depicted in the Psalms.
In these God-breathed hymns, Jesus is not depicted as a distant, passive figure; instead, He emerges as a mighty warrior, a king not only concerned with the afterlife but vigorously involved in the here and now, establishing His rule, authority, and dominion across the globe. And there will be setbacks. There will be enemies who rise up and pop off at the mouth. The Scriptures are not silent about those moments. But, they are also not quiet about the Messiah standing as the indomitable General leading the charge against the hordes of hell until every single enemy of God has been crushed under King Jesus' feet. In that sense, the Psalms aren't just songs; they are war cries, declarations of victory by a King who will bring utter devastation and ruin upon His enemies.
Take Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 for example. These aren't gentle whispers of a far-off distant hope; they are booming thunderclaps of God's immutable promise.
Psalm 2:7-12 says:
"I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall shatter them like earthenware.' Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that he not become angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him!" - Psalm 2:7-12
Although David wrote this song, He is not talking about himself. He is an outsider to this scene. He is nothing more than a privileged spectator who returns and reports all He heard and beheld within the Godhead. He is writing a song about a conversation God the Father and God the Son are having with one another. A song where the Father will bring His Son to this earth as His only begotten Son. A song where the Father will give His Son all of the rebel nations on earth as the inheritance for His obedience. And, after assuming His global dominion (alluded to in Matthew 28:18), He will begin the process of overthrowing all of the sedition on earth, breaking into pieces all of those who are in ongoing insurrection against God.
Because of Jesus' incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, He will rule over the nations of this earth with a rod of iron and shatter all of His Father's rebels like pottery shards. This is why the world's kings are told to be wise and take this warning very seriously. They are not told to repent in terror because Jesus is building a Kingdom that loses down here and has no impact down here. No! They should be terrified because if they do not turn from their evil in order to worship the Messiah King on this earth and pay homage to Him in His rule on this planet, then He will overthrow them here, displace them here, and bury them here in His righteous wrath.
God the Father is promising that Jesus will win down here, rule down here, and crush everyone who opposes Him down here. That is a far different tune than what we are used to hearing in modern Christianity. But, alas, there it is in the text. We see that this Messiah doesn't come as a passive observer of world history but as the relentless conqueror of it. He is the one who claims every inch of this earth as His rightful domain because He won it as His inheritance on the cross. Psalm 2 lays the groundwork for us to see the Kingdom of God as a tangible possession given to Christ, who will do something with it here and now. This isn't symbolism; it's raw, physical reality. God isn't making empty threats; He's laying down the law of the land, forecasting a future where His Anointed Son will rule all the nations on earth with an iron royal scepter.
Take, for instance, Psalm 110:1. There you will not see a quiet moment in heaven, but instead a battlefield where the Messiah has piled up the bodies of all who oppose Him. The Psalm says:
"The Lord says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' The Lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion, saying, 'Rule in the midst of your enemies.' Your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, your youth are to you as the dew. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings in the day of his wrath. He will judge among the nations, he will fill them with corpses, he will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore he will lift up his head." - Psalm 110
Again, David does not communicate His experience. He is standing at a distance, watching the communication between the Father and the Son. David says, "The Lord" spoke to My Lord. That means God (the LORD) spoke to David's Lord (Jesus), saying that Jesus will sit down at God's right hand to rule until every one of the Father's enemies has been put under Jesus' feet. And since Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to rule during His ascension, His reign on earth will not be finished until all opposition is put down and He has multiplied His people to the very corners of this God-fashioned blue marble.
The Messiah is positioned at the right hand of Power itself, not waiting for a future time to reign, but reigning now, subduing His enemies, which He has been doing for the last 2000 years. This imagery of Jesus certainly isn't for "Jesus meek and mild"-only crowd. But it is for those who want to understand the Bible correctly and are willing to see Jesus portrayed as the Father Himself who desires His rugged, manly Son to be portrayed.
The Psalms extend this narrative beyond individual verses, sketching a portrait of a world irrevocably altered by the Messiah's reign. Take Psalm 72—this isn't just a prayer for prosperity; it's a prophetic glimpse into a future where the King's enemies are totally crushed, where His dominion stretches from desert to sea, and where his adversaries are left with nothing but licking up the dust to their own shame. This Psalm isn't forecasting a temporary peace (a momentary millennial ceasefire); it's heralding an ever-increasing era of righteous dominion, where His justice flows down like rivers and peace like an unending stream.
This is what the Psalms sing about. Not a hair-feathered Messiah who refuses to get involved in the affairs of men. But a Messiah who wields power with grace, love, and grit; a ruler who is as comfortable in the courts of heaven as He is in the trenches of earthly conflict. He brings this earthly conflict because filling the world with worshippers is a two-part work. It is a building up of the people of God and a tearing down of the enemies of God. He will do both these works simultaneously, increasing His Church as He has done for the last 2000 years and tearing apart the rebel world until there is no rebellion left and all the world is filled with worshippers. That is the song the Psalms call us to sing.
A SONG OF GLOBAL RULE
When Isaac Watts, the prolific hymn writer and ardent postmillennialist, wrote the famous words:
"He rules the world with truth and grace
And lets the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love" - Isaac Watts, 1719
He was not talking about a future reign of Christ that would eventually come about after a seven-year tribulation, antichrist, and Armageddon. He was claiming that this is what Jesus is doing now! "Joy to the world," Watts reminds us because the King has come to earth and established His rule of blessings here and now. And while we are not living in the era when that Kingdom has come in full, when all of the enemies have been put away, and when the fullest expression of God's blessings will be poured out upon the nations, we can see that those things are coming more and more throughout the centuries. He is bringing His rule on earth as He already has in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
According to the Psalms, Jesus not only crushes His enemies, but He will eventually rule over every single nation on earth through increasing expressions of His dominion, power, glory, and blessings (Psalm 72:11). This will continue until all the good things of God have filled the world so full there is no more room left for things like sin, misery, and rebellion. For instance, God promises that He will sit as judge over the world, bringing His perfect justice and righteousness to all the peoples with equity and truth (Psalm 9:8). Like a cosmic King, His Kingdom will fill the earth with His dominion (Psalm 22:28). And because His reign will become so ubiquitous, leaving no rebel stone unturned, all the nations will sing in intelligent merry-making about this great and awesome God (Psalm 47:7-8). They will revel in His rule wherever feet strike the ground and heads rest on pillows (Psalm 96:2-3, 10). These are not spiritual promises that only come true in heaven. These things will happen on earth, here on the ground, under the reign of God's Son.
A SONG OF GLOBAL WORSHIP
The Psalmists also promise that God will make His glory known among the nations (Psalm 102:15-16). He will make known His saving power in all the nations so that the whole world will eventually be filled with the praises of God (Psalm 67:1-4). This means He will not stop until saving faith has come to every tribe, tongue, and people group, causing the globe's diverse assortment of peoples to break out in the harmonious praises of God (Psalm 98:2-4). This, again, is nothing short of a messianic King, doing what Adam could not do by filling the world full of worshippers to the glory of God.
The Psalms command us to sing God's praises among all the peoples (Psalm 9:11), to fill the earth with glad tidings celebrating His blessings (Psalm 96:1-3), to give thanks to Him among the peoples (Psalm 18:49), to declare His glory among the peoples (Psalm 57:5), in every time zone, latitude, and longitude (Psalm 113:3), so that all the nations on earth will remember and turn to the Lord and join the growing chorus (Psalm 22:27). The Psalms command Egypt and Ethiopia to come and join this chorus (Psalm 68:31-32), men and women from every nation are to join this chorus (Psalm 86:9) kings and dignitaries are to join this chorus (Psalm 138:4-5) so that the entire world will be filled with worshippers uniting to bless His name forever (Psalm 72:19) shouting joyfully to our God forever (Psalm 66:1-4). None of the passages I am citing have to do with heaven, the spiritual Kingdom, or life in the eternal state. These are expectations, commands, promises, and statements from God in the form of Israel's song, celebrating that God will do this before the cosmic orb ends.
Dear one, I know it is easy to believe the lie that the world is getting ever worse, the church is getting ever weaker, and everything will soon collapse into ruin. But that is simply not what the Scriptures teach. Are we living in a downward period in our nation's history? Yes, we are like an airliner that hit a momentary pocket of turbulence en route to its final destination. We are not crashing. We are not failing. Because the one who has promised these things sent His Son to accomplish these things and has made us His bride, His helper, to help our bridegroom achieve these things so that there cannot be any room for failure. To ignore these truths or to say they will not and cannot occur is to doubt the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who have so clearly promised all these things will come on this earth before the end.
As we draw to a close in our very brief survey of the Psalms, it is important to recognize that Israel's hymnbook supports our thesis that God created the world to be full of worshippers. That is the end for which God created the world, and He will not stop until those ends are accomplished.
This is why David says in Psalm 67:2
“That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations."
Again, in Psalm 72:17
"May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun shines; And let men bless themselves by him; Let all nations call him blessed."
Yet again, in Psalm 98:2-3
"The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God."
And yet again, in Psalm 96:10-13 -
"Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.' Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness."
At this point, at least from my perspective, the matter has been settled. God is preparing the world, under the reign of His Son, to be filled with worshippers. That will require Him crushing all His enemies, raising up all whom the Father calls to faith, and filling the world with the songs of Yahweh's praise through His Spirit. As Psalm 96 tells us, the heavens are glad about the coming of the Son, the dirt is rejoicing about it, the seas sing a roaring worshipful shanty concerning it, the trees and forests clap their limbs in rhythmic praise because of Him, and now that He has come, He will make the most rebellious critter in His cosmos, join with the birds, rocks, skies, and trees, in hallowing the Father from every plot and place on earth. In the Psalms, we are preparing for a King to come and crush His enemies and fill this world with worshippers whose song wafts up to the heavens. Praise the Lord almighty. This King has come; He has been enacting that plan for the last 2000 years and will not stop until He is finished.
CONCLUSION
David Chilton once said:
"There is a very important connection between the church's worldview and the church's hymns. If your heart and mouth are filled with songs of victory, you will tend to have an eschatology of dominion; if, instead, your songs are fearful, expressing a longing for escape-or if they are weak, childish ditties-your worldview and expectations will be escapist and childish. Historically, the basic hymnbook for the church has been the Book of Psalms. The largest book of the Bible is the Book of Psalms, and God providentially placed it right in the middle of the Bible, so that we couldn't miss it! Yet, how many churches use the Psalms in musical worship? It is noteworthy that the church's abandonment of dominion eschatology coincided with the church's abandonment of the Psalms." - David Chilton, Paradise Lose
Brothers and sisters, as we conclude today's journey through the theological depths of the Psalms, I'm compelled to call us back to our forefathers' rugged, unapologetic faith. This isn't about tickling ears or spouting platitudes that make us comfortable in our pews. It's about reclaiming the robust, meaty truths that the Psalms hurl at us like a divine hammer shattering our modern illusions.
In our introduction, we contrasted the emasculated anthems of our decaying culture with the war cries of ancient Israel. Brothers, this wasn't just an academic exercise. It was a clarion call to wake up and smell the brimstone. Our society's songs are anthems of despair and degeneracy, a far cry from the Psalms, which resonate with strength, sovereignty, and sacred duty.
We've walked through the valleys and scaled the heights of the Psalms to discover not a meek and mild shepherd boy's poetic musings but the battle hymns of the King of kings. These aren't the soft, soothing lullabies of a bygone era; they are the thundering, soul-stirring marches of a warrior God who calls us to His side in the cosmic battle for His creation.
Let's get something straight: This isn't about promoting a brutish or belligerent form of Christianity, far from it. It's about understanding that our faith is not a retreat from the world but a conquest of it in the name of Christ. The Messiah depicted in the Psalms isn't sitting in the heavens twiddling His thumbs, waiting for us to scrape by until He returns. No, He is the reigning King, the victorious Lord, actively crushing His enemies beneath His feet and expanding His Kingdom through us, His church.
Brethren, our engagement with the Psalms demands a response. It's not enough to nod in agreement and carry on as before. If your heart and hymnbook are full of defeat and despair, it's high time for a reformation. We need to ditch the weak-kneed theology that has infiltrated our ranks and put on the whole armor of God, ready to fight the good fight with the confidence of those already on the winning side.
Remember, the Psalms don't call us to a passive, defeated life, waiting for the end times. They call us to action, dominion, to take up the mantle of our King and push forward His Kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven. This isn't about a future hope alone but a present reality. Christ reigns now, and He is accomplishing His will through His church.
So, as we wrap up, I challenge you, men of God, to live out the truths of the Psalms. Let them not just be words on a page but the battle cry of your heart. Engage in the culture war with the confidence of those who know the end of the story. We are not called to be spiritual wallflowers; we are called to be warriors in the spiritual battle that rages around us.
Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Do everything in love, but do it with the strength and resolve that comes from knowing that the God of the Psalms, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is with us.
Let's move out of the shadow of defeatism and into the light of victorious postmillennialism. Let's make our churches bastions of hope, truth, and unyielding faith. Let's fill our hearts, hearths, and homes with songs of victory, for the King has come, He is here, and He is victorious. And one day, every corner of this world will reflect the glory of His reign.
Brethren, let's march forward under the banner of Christ, the Lion of Judah, the King of kings. May our lives sing the Psalms of victory, dominion, and hope. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Amen."
VERSES CITED:
Genesis 1:28 - "God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"
Genesis 9:1 - "And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.'"
Genesis 12:3 - "And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Genesis 18:18 - "since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?"
Genesis 49:10 - "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."
Psalm 2:1-6 - "Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?..."
Psalm 2:7-12 - "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son..."
Psalm 9:8 - "And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity."
Psalm 21:8-12 - "Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you..."
Psalm 22:27 - "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before You."
Psalm 22:28 - "For the kingdom is the Lord's And He rules over the nations."
Psalm 47:7-8 - "For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm..."
Psalm 67:1-4 - "God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah..."
Psalm 68:31-32 - "Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God..."
Psalm 72:19 - "And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen."
Psalm 86:9 - "All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name."
Psalm 96:2-3, 10 - "Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day..."
Psalm 96:10-13 - "Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established..."
Psalm 98:2-4 - "The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations..."
Psalm 102:15-16 - "So the nations will fear the name of the Lord And all the kings of the earth Your glory..."
Psalm 110:1 - "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.'"
Psalm 110:2 - "The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, 'Rule in the midst of Your enemies.'"
Psalm 110:3 - "Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew."
Psalm 110:4 - "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, 'You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.'"
Psalm 113:3 - "From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the Lord is to be praised."
Psalm 138:4-5 - "All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord, When they have heard the words of Your mouth..."
Psalm 145:10-13 - "All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You..."
Psalm 149:6-9 - "May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands..."
