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Psalm Forty-seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 47
To the chief Musician
A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Thus psalm is
thought by some to be written on occasion of the ark being brought from the
house of Obededom to the city of David
to the place he had prepared for it;
which was attended with singing and dancing
with shouting
and the sound of a
trumpet
2 Samuel 6:12; but
it rather seems to be penned on account of the ascension of Christ to heaven
prophetically spoken of in this psalm; and of the spread of the Gospel
and the
conquests it made in the Gentile world upon Christ's ascension; as the whole
psalm shows: and even Aben Ezra and Kimchi apply it to the times of the
Messiah; and so do some of their most ancient writers
who particularly
interpret Psalm 47:5 of him
as may be seen in the note upon it.
Psalm 47:1 Oh
clap your hands
all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
YLT
1To the Overseer. -- By sons
of Korah. A Psalm. All ye peoples
clap the hand
Shout to God with a voice of
singing
O clap your hands
all ye people
Meaning the Gentiles
more especially; see Psalm 117:1
compared with Romans 15:9; who
had reason to rejoice and be glad
since the ascended Lord and King here spoken
of was given to be their Saviour
was the propitiation for their sins
and had
given himself a ransom price for them; and now the Gospel was preached among
them
by an order from him after his resurrection; and upon his ascension gifts
were bestowed on his apostles
qualifying them for it; when many of them were
converted by it
and were made partakers of the same grace and privileges with
the Jews that believed in Christ
and were formed into Gospel churches.
Wherefore they are called upon to declare their joy and gladness by
"clapping their hands"; which is a gesture expressive of exultation
and joy; see Psalm 98:8
Nahum 3:19. It was
used at the unction and coronation of a king
2 Kings 11:12; and
so very proper to be used on occasion of the Messiah being made or declared
Lord and Christ
as he was at his ascension
Acts 2:36;
shout unto God with the voice of triumph; as when
triumphs are made on account of victories obtained
which was now the case;
Christ having conquered sin
Satan
and the world
by his sufferings and death
and having spoiled principalities and powers
made a show of them
openly
triumphing over them
when he ascended on high
and led captivity captive; and
he having sent his apostles into the Gentile world with his Gospel
they were
caused to triumph in him wherever they came. And now these external actions of
clapping hands
and shouting with the voice
are expressive of inward spiritual
joy; which those among the people who were conquered by the grace of God
and
had a sight of their ascended Lord and Saviour
were filled with: and who are
exhorted to express it in this manner
unto God: not to angels
nor to men
no
not to ministers
who brought the joyful tidings to them; but to God
either to
God the Father
for all their temporal and spiritual blessings; especially for
the unspeakable gift of his Son
to suffer and die for them: or to the Son of
God
God manifest in the flesh; God that was gone up with a shout
Psalm 47:5; and was
now at the right hand of God
crowned with glory and honour; who
by the
sufferings of death
had obtained eternal redemption for them.
Psalm 47:2 2 For the Lord Most High is
awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.
YLT
2For Jehovah Most High [is]
fearful
A great king over all the earth.
For the Lord most high is terrible
.... Christ is
not only the Son of the Highest
but he himself is the most high God
God over
all
blessed for ever. He is higher than the highest
than the angels in
heaven
or any of the sons of men on earth. He is the high and lofty One
that
dwells in the high and lofty place. And even this character agrees with him as
the ascended Lord and King in his human nature; he is ascended on high
is set
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. He is highly exalted to be a
Prince and a Saviour; he is made higher than the heavens
and than the kings of
the earth are; angels
authorities
and powers
are subject to him. And this is
a reason exciting all the people to joy and gladness. And he is
"terrible" to his enemies
being the Lion of the tribe of Judah; who
will rule the nations with a rod of iron
and break them in pieces as a
potter's vessel: and so he will be when he shall come in the clouds of heaven
land descend from thence
in flaming fire
to take vengeance on those who have
despised and rejected him; and at the same time will be glorious to and admired
by them that believe in him. His appearance
which will be terrible to others
will be matter of joy to them. Though the word used may be rendered as it is in
Psalm 111:9;
"reverend" or "to be feared"F2נורא "reverendus"
Junius & Tremellius;
"timendus est"
Coccius; "venerandus"
Michaelis.
as he
is; see Isaiah 8:13; both
on account of his goodness
as the Redeemer and Saviour of his people
Hosea 3:5; and of
his greatness
being equal with God
and King of saints. As it follows;
he is a great King
over all the earth; as he must needs be
since he is the great God and our Saviour;
and is King of kings
and Lord of lords. He is now King of Zion
and head over
all things to the church; and before long the kingdoms of this world will
become his
and he will take to himself his great power and reign
and shall be
King over all the earth openly and visibly; he shall be one
and his name One
Zechariah 14:9;
which is another reason for joy and gladness among the people.
Psalm 47:3 3 He will subdue the peoples
under us
And the nations under our feet.
YLT
3He leadeth peoples under
us
and nations under our feet.
He shall subdue the people under us
and the nations under our
feet. As Joshua
his type
subdued the Canaanites; and as David
another type of subdued the Syrians
Moabites
and others: the Jews from these
words expect
that
in the times of the Messiah they look for
the Gentiles in
a literal sense will be subdued by him
and become subject to them; but these
and all other expressions of the like kind
are to be understood in a spiritual
sense; such as Isaiah 49:23; and
which will have their accomplishment in the latter day
in the subjection of
the Gentiles to the word and ordinances of the Gospel administered in his
churches: though the passage here refers to the times following the ascension
of Christ to heaven
when he went forth in the ministry of his apostles
conquering and to conquer; and which he made use of to cause the people to fall
under him
and to be willing to be saved by him; to submit to his
righteousness
and to his ordinances
the sceptre of his kingdom; and which was
causing them to triumph
and subduing the people under them
who through the
Gospel preached by them became obedient by word and deed; and which was an
occasion of joy even to the conquered ones.
Psalm 47:4 4 He will choose our
inheritance for us
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
YLT
4He doth choose for us our
inheritance
The excellency of Jacob that He loves. Selah.
He shall choose our inheritance for us
.... Either a
portion in this life; God knows what is best for his people
and therefore they
should leave it with him
who can make a better choice for them than for
themselves: an HeathenF3Socrates apud Valer. Maxim. l. 7. c. 2.
extern. 1. once gave this advice
"give
thyself wholly to the will and disposal of the celestial ones; for they who are
used to give good things easily can also choose the fittest.'
Or
the heavenly inheritance
so called in allusion to the land of Canaan
subdued
and possessed by the Israelites
in which Christ is greatly concerned; his
people are predestinated to the adoption of children
that is
to the
inheritance they are adopted to by him
in whom they obtain it; through his
death they receive the promise of eternal inheritance
he being the testator of
that will of their heavenly Father which bequeaths it to them; it is his
righteousness which gives them a title to it
and through his grace they have a
meetness for it
and he will at last introduce them into it; all which is a
reason for joy and gladness in them. The Arabic version renders it
"he hath
chosen us an inheritance for himself"; so the Lord's people are
Deuteronomy 32:9.
Christ asked them of his father
and he gave them for his inheritance
he
having chosen them as such
and greatly delighted he is with them
Psalm 2:8;
the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. The saints
who are
in his esteem
the excellent in the earth
and who will be in the
latter day an eternal excellency
Psalm 16:3; even
the whole church
consisting of Jews and Gentiles
the spiritual Jacob or
Israel of God
whom Christ has loved with an everlasting love
and therefore
has chosen them for his portion and peculiar treasure; as Jacob in person was
loved when Esau was hated.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 47:5 5 God has gone up with a
shout
The Lord
with the sound of a trumpet.
YLT
5God hath gone up with a
shout
Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet.
God is gone up with a shout
.... That is
the Son of
God
who is truly and properly God
equal to the Father
having the same
perfections; God manifest in the flesh
the Word that was made flesh
and dwelt
among men on earth; who in the next clause is called "Lord" or "Jehovah"
being the everlasting "I AM"
which is
and was
and is to come; he
having done his work on earth he came about
went up from earth to heaven in
human nature
really
locally
and visibly
in the sight of his apostles
attended by angels
and with their shouts and acclamations
which are here
meant;
the Lord with the sound of the trumpet; which
circumstance
though not related in the account of Christ's ascension in the
New Testament
yet inasmuch as the angels say he shall descend in like manner
as he ascended
and that it is certain he will descend with a shout
with the
voice of the archangel
and the trump of God; so that if his ascent was as his
descent will be
it must be then with a shout
and the sound of a trumpet
Acts 1:10. This
text is applied to the Messiah by the ancient Jewish writersF4Bemidbar
Rabba
s. 15. fol. 218. 1. .
Psalm 47:6 6 Sing praises to God
sing
praises! Sing praises to our King
sing praises!
YLT
6Praise God -- praise --
give praise to our king
praise.
Sing praises to God
.... That is gone up with
a shout
Christ Jesus
our ascended Lord and King
as the apostles did at the
time of his ascension
Luke 24:52;
sing praises; sing praises unto our King
sing praises: who was then
made Lord and Christ
declared King of saints
and crowned with glory and
honour; the repetition of the phrase sing praises denotes frequency
constancy
fervency
and great devotion in the performance of this service; and that the
ascension of Christ
the occasion of it
is of the greatest moment and
importance
and requires it to be performed in such a manner.
Psalm 47:7 7 For God is the King
of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
YLT
7For king of all the earth
[is] God
Give praise
O understanding one.
For God is the King of all the earth
.... Or
"the king of all the earth is God"F5So Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Michaelis. ; the same that is ascended into
heaven
and is King of saints
even Christ Jesus; and so he will appear to be
especially in the latter day; See Gill on Psalm 47:2;
sing ye praises with understanding; or
as De Dieu renders
it
to him that understandeth
that is
to God the only wise
whose
understanding is infinite; even to Christ
who
as God
knows all things; and
as man and Mediator
is of quick understanding
and has all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge in him; so R. Obadiah
"sing of him who
understands"; or
"sing ye praises
O everyone that
understandeth"F6זמרו משכיל "canite
intelligens"
Montanus; i.e.
"unusquisque"
Vatablus. ; that is
how to sing
as everyone does
not; this is the sense of Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or "with
understanding"
as we render it; with understanding of what is sung. The
Apostle Paul seems to refer to this passage in 1 Corinthians 14:15.
The Targum renders it
"with a good understanding".
Psalm 47:8 8 God reigns over the
nations; God sits on His holy throne.
YLT
8God hath reigned over nations
God hath sat on His holy throne
God reigneth over the Heathen
.... He reigned over
Israel under the former dispensation
and now he reigns over the Gentiles under
the Gospel dispensation; as appears by the numerous instances of conversion
among them in the first ages of Christianity; and by the many churches that
were planted by the means of the apostles; and by the destruction of the Roman
Pagan empire under the sixth seal
Revelation 6:12;
and which will still more appear by the destruction of Rome Papal
when all the
Heathens shall perish out of the land; and by the fulness and forces of the
Gentiles being brought into a submission to him; all which are reasons to sing
praises to him;
God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness; or his holy
throne
which is heaven; on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the
heavens; on his Father's throne; having done his work on earth he is received
up into heaven
and is set down on a throne at the right hand of God
an honour
which none of the angels have: he has ceased from his work and entered into his
rest
and sits and sees of the travail of his soul; all which is matter of joy
to his people
and a reason why they should sing praises; and the rather
since
they are set down with him in heavenly places: or this may be understood of his
sitting on the throne of judgment to judge the world in righteousness at the
last day
it following upon his reign over the Gentiles; though the other sense
best agrees with his immediate ascension to heaven.
Psalm 47:9 9 The princes of the people
have gathered together
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
YLT
9Nobles of peoples have been
gathered
[With] the people of the God of Abraham
For to God [are] the shields
of earth
Greatly hath He been exalted!
The princes of the people are gathered together
.... Not
against Christ
as at his first coming
but to him
and to his church and
people; even the great men of the earth
the kings and princes of it
as they
will in the latter day; see Isaiah 49:23; or
this may mean the saints in general
who are all of them the princes of people
and are set among princes
yea
are kings priests unto God; some render it
"the willing" or "voluntary ones of his people"F7נדיבי עמים "voluntarii
populorum"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius. ; the same word
is here used as in Psalm 110:3; where
it is rendered "willing"
and designs such who are made willing to be
saved by Christ
submit to his righteousness
and be subject to his word and
ordinances;
even the people of
the God of Abraham; whom the God of Abraham has chosen for his people
taken into
covenant
given to his Son
and who are redeemed by his blood
and effectually
called by his grace; and who
though Gentiles
belong to the same covenant and
the same covenant God as Abraham did
and have the blessing of Abraham upon
them; and are indeed his spiritual seed
being Christ's. The Targum is
"the people that believe in the God of Abraham". The words may be
rendered in connection with the former clause
"gathered together unto the
people of the God of Abraham"F8So Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus
Gejerus. ; and so denote the association of the Gentiles converted with the
believing Jews
as was at the first times of the Gospel
and will be at the
latter day
1 Corinthians 12:13;
for the shields of the earth belong unto God; that is
the
rulers of the earth
as the word is rendered in Hosea 4:18; who are
as a shield and a protection to their subjects; these are set up and put down
by the Lord at his pleasure; and their hearts are in his hands
and he can
convert them when he pleases
and gather them to his Son
and into his
churches; or
as Jarchi interprets it
"he
has power in his hands to protect as with a shield all that trust in him;'
safety
is of the Lord; the protection of the world and of the church is from him who
is King over all the earth;
he is greatly exalted; that is
Christ
who has
all power in heaven and in earth; he is highly exalted at the right hand of
God
angels
authorities
and powers
being subject to him.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》