Commentary - Psalm 47:1-4

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 47 is an enthronement psalm, and it is a missionary psalm. It is a loud, boisterous, and triumphant celebration of the universal kingship of Yahweh. While rooted in the history of Israel, its vision is global, calling on "all peoples" to acknowledge the God of Abraham as the great King over all the earth. This is not a polite suggestion for quiet contemplation; it is a command for explosive joy. The psalm prophetically anticipates the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, having completed His work on the cross, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. The subjugation of the nations mentioned here is therefore not a call for ethnic Israel's military conquest, but a prophecy of the triumphant advance of the gospel. The Great Commission is the battle plan, and this psalm is the victory song sung in the midst of the campaign.

The structure is straightforward. It begins with a universal call to worship (v. 1), provides the reason for that worship in God's awesome, global reign (v. 2), describes the effect of that reign in the subjugation of the nations and the securing of our inheritance (vv. 3-4), and then, in the verses that follow, describes the ascension itself with a great shout. This is a psalm for a victorious church, a church that knows her King is on the throne and that His purposes cannot be thwarted.

Outline

Context In Psalms

This psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah, who were a guild of temple musicians and singers. This places it squarely in the context of Israel's corporate worship. It is one of the "enthronement psalms" (along with Psalms 93, 96-99), which celebrate Yahweh as King. While some scholars have tried to tie these to a hypothetical annual enthronement festival, it is far more fruitful to see them as theological declarations of God's constant sovereign rule, with a prophetic eye toward the future reign of the Messiah. Psalm 47, with its explicit mention of God "going up," is uniquely and powerfully fulfilled in the ascension of Jesus. It follows Psalm 46, which celebrates God as our refuge and strength in the midst of earthly chaos, and it precedes Psalm 48, which celebrates the beauty and security of Zion, the city of the great King. Together, they form a triptych of confidence in God's rule: He is our fortress (46), He is the universal King (47), and He is present with His people (48).

Key Issues

The Noise of Victorious Faith

Christian worship, as envisioned by the Bible, is not a dreary affair. It is not quiet, timid, or reserved. This psalm opens with a double-barreled command for loud, physical, and exuberant joy. We are commanded to clap our hands and to shout. This is the kind of noise that is made at a coronation, or when a conquering general returns from a victorious campaign. It is the spontaneous eruption of joy from a people who know that their king has won the decisive victory. This psalm sets the emotional and spiritual tone for the New Covenant church. Our King has ascended. He has been given a name that is above every name. He is ruling right now, putting all His enemies under His feet. Our worship should reflect this reality. A defeated eschatology will necessarily produce a muted and melancholy worship. But a robust, biblical, postmillennial faith, which believes that Christ is currently reigning and will continue to do so until all nations are discipled, cannot help but clap its hands and shout for joy.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 O clap your hands, all peoples; Make a loud shout to God with the sound of a shout of joy.

The summons is issued, and it is universal. This is not just for the sons of Jacob; it is for all peoples. The imperative is clear and twofold. First, clap your hands. This is not the polite applause of a golf tournament; it is the explosive, rhythmic celebration of a great triumph. It is worship that involves the body. Second, make a loud shout. The Hebrew here indicates a ringing cry, a joyful noise. This is the sound of a people who are genuinely thrilled with their God. The gospel is not a secret to be whispered in a corner. It is a public proclamation of a new King, and the appropriate response is a public and noisy acclamation. From the very beginning, God's intention was to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham, and this psalm is a call for those families to begin the celebration.

2 For Yahweh Most High is fearsome, A great King over all the earth.

Here is the reason for the commanded joy. Our worship is not based on our feelings, but on objective truth. The reason we shout is because of who God is. He is Yahweh Most High. He is both the covenant-keeping God of Israel (Yahweh) and the transcendent sovereign over all creation (Most High, El Elyon). And He is fearsome. This does not mean we are to be terrified of Him in a slavish way, but rather that He is awesome, worthy of profound reverence and respect. He is not a tame God. He is the great King, and His domain is not limited to a small strip of land in the Middle East. His reign is over all the earth. This is the foundational truth of the Christian mission. We do not go to the nations to try to expand a regional deity's influence. We go to announce to the nations that their rightful King has taken His throne.

3 He subdues peoples under us And nations under our feet.

This verse is a great stumbling block for those with a sentimental or defeated view of the faith, but it is a great encouragement to those who take the Great Commission seriously. Who is the "us" here? In the Old Covenant context, it was Israel. But in the New Covenant, the "us" is the Church, the Israel of God. And how does God subdue nations under our feet? Not through military conquest, but through the power of the gospel. When we preach Christ crucified and risen, the Holy Spirit works to bring rebellious hearts into submission to the King. Every conversion is a conquest. Every church planted is a new outpost of the kingdom. The history of the church is the history of Christ subduing the nations, bringing them out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His marvelous light. We are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from victory. The nations are being placed under the feet of Christ and His body, the church.

4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The pride of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

The fruit of God's loving reign is not just conquest, but inheritance. And what is this inheritance? In the Old Testament, it was the land of Canaan. But the New Testament expands this vision dramatically. Abraham was promised that he would be the heir of the world (Rom 4:13), and Jesus promises that the meek will inherit the earth (Matt 5:5). Our inheritance is nothing less than the entire renewed creation. God Himself selects this for us. We do not earn it or seize it. It is a gift, chosen for us by our loving Father. This inheritance is also called "the pride of Jacob whom He loves." Jacob here stands for the people of God. Our true glory, our pride, is not in ourselves, but in the inheritance that God has given us in His beloved Son. Christ is the true Jacob, the beloved Son, and all who are in Him share in His inheritance and His glory. The word Selah invites us to pause and meditate on this staggering truth. Stop. Think about what was just said. The sovereign King of the universe loves you, has conquered your enemies, and has hand-picked a glorious, global inheritance for you. If that does not make you want to clap and shout, you need to check your pulse.

Application

First, this psalm must reform our worship. If our corporate worship is consistently dull, lifeless, and quiet, it is a sign that we have a low view of our King. We serve a fearsome, great King who has conquered sin and death. Our singing, our prayers, and our praise should reflect this glorious reality. This is a summons to robust, masculine, joyful, and loud praise. We should not be embarrassed to clap our hands or raise our voices in praise of the King of all the earth.

Second, this psalm must fuel our evangelism. Christ is subduing the peoples under our feet through the proclamation of the gospel. This is not a theoretical exercise; it is the central task of the church. We should be filled with an unshakeable confidence that as we preach the gospel, Christ is extending His kingdom. We are on the winning side of history. This should banish all fear and pessimism from our missionary endeavors. Our King reigns, and He will be victorious.

Finally, this psalm must ground our identity. Our true pride is not in our accomplishments, our ethnicity, or our personal righteousness. Our pride is in our inheritance, chosen for us by God because He loves us in His Son. We are the "pride of Jacob." We are loved, we are chosen, and we have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. To know this is to be liberated from the need for the world's approval. We have the approval of the King, and that is more than enough. Selah.