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Psalms 47

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Call to Universal Worship 1–4

1
Oh clap your hands, all ye peoples; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. ​
2
For Jehovah Most High is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth. ​
3
He subdueth peoples under us, And nations under our feet. ​
4
He chooseth our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom he loved. [Selah ​

God's Triumphal Ascent 5–7

5
God is gone up with a shout, Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet. ​
6
Sing praises to God, sing praises: Sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7
For God is the King of all the earth: Sing ye praises with understanding. ​

The LORD Reigns Over All Nations 8–9

8
God reigneth over the nations: God sitteth upon his holy throne. ​
9
The princes of the peoples are gathered together To bethe people of the God of Abraham; For the shields of the earth belong unto God: He is greatly exalted. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 47

Verse 1

clap your hands — Taqa' is to strike, here the palms (kaph) together. 'All ye people' is plural, the nations, as in Ps 98:4, 'all the earth'. To 'shout' is rua, to raise a cry, and the 'voice of triumph' is rinnah, a ringing cry of joy. The king they greet is named in v.2.

Verse 2

the LORD most high is terrible — 'Terrible' is yare, to be feared, in the sense of awe, and 'most high' is Elyon. The 'great King' is the title of Ps 95:3, 'a great King above all gods', and Jesus calls Jerusalem 'the city of the great King' (Matt 5:35). His rule is 'over all the earth', and reaches beyond Israel.

Verse 3

He shall subdue the people under us — Dabar, which the KJV renders 'subdue' only here and in Ps 18:47, is ordinarily 'to speak'. The nations 'under our feet' are the picture Paul uses for Christ's reign: 'he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet' (1 Cor 15:25).

Verse 4

the excellency of Jacob whom he loved — Bachar, to choose, and nachalah, a possession received as an inheritance. 'Excellency' is ga'on, majesty, the word of Nah 2:2, 'the excellency of Jacob'. God's choosing rests on love, as the LORD says of the patriarch, 'yet I loved Jacob' (Mal 1:2). Selah is a pause.

Verse 5

God is gone up with a shout — 'Gone up' is alah, the verb of ascent, 'with a shout' (teruah, a cry of acclaim) and 'the sound of a trumpet' (shophar, the ram's horn). Christian writers have read the verse of the Ascension, when Christ 'was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight' (Acts 1:9).

Verse 7

sing ye praises with understanding — 'Sing praises' is zamar, to make music, and 'with understanding' is maskil, from sakal, the root of 'Maschil' in the titles of Ps 44 and 45. The reason given is 'God is the King of all the earth', as in Zech 14:9: 'the LORD shall be king over all the earth'.

Verse 8

God reigneth over the heathen — Malak is to reign, the verb of the cry 'The LORD reigneth' (1 Chr 16:31), spoken 'among the nations'. His throne is 'the throne of his holiness' (qodesh, holy). John hears the same cry from the great multitude: 'Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth' (Rev 19:6).

Verse 9

the God of Abraham — The 'princes' (nadiv, noble or willing ones) of the peoples 'are gathered together' with 'the people of the God of Abraham', as God told Abraham, 'thou shalt be a father of many nations' (Gen 17:4). 'The shields of the earth' (magen) belong to God, and he 'is greatly exalted', from the verb of v.5, alah.