For the choir director.
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. (NASB95)
1 O clap your hands, all peoples;
Shout to God with the voice of joy.
2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared,
A great King over all the earth.
3 He subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us,
The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
5 God has ascended with a shout,
The LORD, with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with a skillful psalm.
8 God reigns over the nations,
God sits on His holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have assembled themselves
as the people of the God of Abraham,
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is highly exalted.
Notes on the way to understanding:
- A psalm about the praiseworthiness of God
- Overall impression: Praises filled with joy for the King.
Commands:
1-2. Worshipers are commanded to clap their hands and shout for joy in God. (vs. 1)
3. Their God is to be feared as the King over all the earth (vs. 2)
4. Sing praises over and over again for the King (vs. 6)
The Actions of God:
- He subdues peoples under Israel (vs. 3)
- He chooses Israel’s inheritance for her (vs. 4)
- He has ascended with a shout (v. 5) [the idea is that He has proclaimed His victory]
- He reigns over the nations (vs. 8)
- He sits on His holy throne. (vs. 8)
Character of God:
- He is a King (vs. 2, 7). He has royal position and power
- He is sovereign over all the nations. (vs. 8), [It is not just Israel he rules, but the nations as well.]
- He is the owner of all the earth. (vs. 9) [He has the right of ownership.]
- He is highly exalted. vs. 9)
A preliminary offering for the Psalms Project
Not a Psalm for the Nation
Not a psalm for a nation.
Not a psalm for Israel alone.
The sons of Korah have bigger plans.
This is a psalm for all peoples everywhere,
a psalm for black and brown, pale and swarthy,
a psalm for every language in every location.An undulating mass of people moving as one,
shouting people with joys overflowing,
a no-holding-back, unselfconscious eruption of awe
that rocks the air with a ringing cry echoing off the walls of the city—
that’s what the sons of Korah want.They want it to all to hang out,
a full-throated released and flow without restraint,
like the rejoicing of a wife receiving her husband back from war,
like a son finding his mother alive after a tornado sweeps her house away,
like a father seeing a son return to his first love.
A ringing, vibrating, escalating volume of pure ecstasy
escaping from a heart like a dam valve opening up
and flooding a parched land with life-giving waters.Why? What could produce such exuberance?
When and how would such a display be appropriate?
Where is the appropriate place to let such resounding joy loose?The sons of Korah know.
When you know who sits on the throne,
when you know who rules over the nations,
you want every voice to shout His name, His glory
from every house top in existence.
ChosenRebel's Blog 