Many of the Psalms are designed for the nation of Israel at worship. Not so with Psalm 47. The first line announces that this psalm is commanded for “all peoples.” Then, as now, many nations do not bow their knees in worship to Yahweh. But this psalm invites the nations to praise God because He is . . .
- “fearsome” (vs. 2),
- because He is a great King ruling over all the earth (vs. 2b, 6-7),
- who subdues people and chooses our inheritance (vs. 3-4)
- He has ascended with a loud shout and a blaring trumpet (vs. 5)
[the idea is that God is celebrating His own victory] - and He sits on a holy throne of judgment and authority (vs. 8)
Let’s put it all together. God announces in this psalm to the nations of the world . . .
“The God you don’t believe in, the God you have not bowed to, the God you have disrespected by holding on to your petty man-made gods, is a great King, who rules from a holy throne over all people and every place on earth. He is fearsome in power and has ascended to His throne of judgment. He is holy. Only He can sit on His holy throne. He has given the command to announce His victory with loud and joyful shouts and a resounding trumpet. Remember, He is fearsome and bow your knees before Him.”
That’s what Psalm 47 is all about. He, the great King, will be exalted.
An offering for The Poetry 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.A human mass of shouting people with joy 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 all to hang out, to be 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,
like a mother receiving a daughter back after terrorists had taken her,
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 presence of a holy King and creator of the cosmos come to judge the earth,
the display of his awesome power and imperial might,
the awareness of His sovereign choices and bounty of His promised gifts
the assembly of His chosen people, Abraham’s seed, bowing in worship,
vindicated by His victory announced with trumpets and throats.When, where?
Everywhere.
It’s coming! It’s coming!The Day is coming.
He is coming.
It is closer every day.
He is closer every day!
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