Psalms · psalm 47 of 150
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Psalm 47 is a hymn of the sons of Korah that calls all peoples to clap and sing to God, king over all the earth. God subdued peoples under Israel, went up with shouts and reigns over the nations from his holy throne. The psalm ends with the princes of the peoples gathered with the people of the God of Abraham.
The title dedicates it to the choirmaster and ascribes it to the sons of Korah. It is one of the so-called psalms of the Lord's reign, together with 93 and 96 to 99, which celebrate God as king. It is thought to have been used at a temple festival that proclaimed the kingship of the Lord. It contains an invitation to all peoples, which is rare in Israel's psalms.
The psalm opens with a command to all peoples: clap your hands, shout to God with loud songs of joy, for the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us and nations under our feet; he chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
Then the psalm describes God's going up: God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Four times the call to sing praises is repeated: sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. God is king of all the earth, and we are asked to sing a psalm of praise with understanding.
The psalm ends with a grand scene: God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
All peoples are called to clap their hands and shout to God with songs of joy. Israel's praise is opened here to all nations, looking ahead to universal worship.
God is king of all the earth, and so we are asked to sing with understanding. Praise is not only emotion: it is born of knowing who God is and why he deserves worship.
God reigns over the nations and sits on his holy throne. His rule is not limited to Israel but includes all peoples.
The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. The psalm anticipates the nations joining Abraham's family, to whom God promised to bless all the families of the earth.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To clap their hands and shout to God with loud songs of joy. — Psalm 47:1
Answer: The Lord, the Most High, awesome, a great king over all the earth. — Psalm 47:2
Answer: He subdued peoples and nations under them and chose their inheritance. — Psalm 47:3-4
Answer: With a shout, with the sound of a trumpet. — Psalm 47:5
Answer: With understanding. — Psalm 47:7
Answer: The princes of the peoples, with the people of the God of Abraham. — Psalm 47:9
Psalm 47 reminds us that Christian praise is global. In a small group you can pray for the worship of other peoples and for missionaries and translators who bring the gospel to nations that have not yet heard it. Singing with understanding also invites us to ask how much we grasp of the songs we sing in church.
The psalm also encourages clapping and shouting for joy. Biblical worship includes the body and the voice, not only the mind. Every community has its own style, but this psalm invites us to keep praise from becoming cold or routine.
Psalm 47 ends with the peoples gathered with the people of the God of Abraham. Psalm 48 sings of the city where that king has his throne: Zion, city of the great King.
The New Testament does not quote this psalm in connection with the ascension. Some Christians read it that way because of the phrase God has gone up with a shout, and that is a reasonable devotional reading, but the original sense is the proclamation of the Lord's kingship in the temple.
Because Israel believed their God was the God of all the earth. From the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, God said he would bless all the families of the earth. This psalm anticipates that blessing when the princes of the peoples join the people of the God of Abraham.
Shields were a symbol of protection and of the rulers' authority. Saying they belong to God means that the powers of this world depend on him and answer to him. That is why rulers too are called to worship him.