This meditation on Psalm 148 and the horn of salvation is an example of how we are training children to read the Bible. We want their ears and hearts tuned to the many melody lines of Scripture!
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Psalm 148 is a glorious call to praise Yahweh from the highest heavens, to the lowest parts of the earth, and everything in between.
Towards the end, the Psalmist includes this wonderful verse about Yahweh lifting up a horn for His people.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Horns come up in the Bible time and again.
They first enter the scene in Genesis 22 with the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Gen. 22:13)
The horn comes up again in Exodus 27 with the description of the altar's construction, the same altar where they would make sacrifices for sin and uncleanness.
The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. (Ex. 27:1-2)
There’s more. When the priests were ordained, part of the blood of the bull was put on the horns of the altar, with the rest of the blood poured out at its base. (Exodus 29) The horns on the four corners of the altar were bloodied horns.
Next, we have Joshua and the battle of Jericho.
“Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him…(Joshua 6)
There is a rich history here, and these associations should flood into our hearts and minds as we sing Psalm 148, as it likely did for the ancient Israelites.
But the typology doesn’t end there, because now we have the full story.
The sacrificial ram was caught in thorns by his horns. The altar of sacrifice, the place for dealing with sin and uncleanness – had four bloody horns on its corners.
Consider now the cross of Jesus. The cross has four bloody corners when Jesus is hanging upon it. And on that cross – Jesus was caught by His Head in thorns as a substitute.
Christ on the cross is the lifted Horn of Salvation. And His death was the great trumpet blast that tore down the walls between God’s people and their inheritance – just like Joshua and the priests.
Praise the Lord – for He has raised up a Horn of Salvation for us (Luke 1:69).
Blessings!
Brian Moats
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Note: This post was originally posted at Theopolis Institute.