Psalms 47:1-9: a reflection

1Oh clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph! 2For the LORD Most High is awesome. He is a great King over all the earth. 3He subdues nations under us, and peoples under our feet. 4He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. 5God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6Sing praises to God! Sing praises! Sing praises to our King! Sing praises! 7For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding. 8God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. 9The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted!

This psalm summons all the nations to joyful praise, for one great reason: God reigns as King over all the earth. Oh clap your hands, all you nations, it cries; shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the LORD Most High is awesome. He is a great King over all the earth. God is not a local or limited king; he is King over all the earth, reigning over the nations, seated on his holy throne. And this reign is cause for joyful, exuberant praise, clapping and shouting and singing to the King who reigns over all. The nations are called to rejoice that God reigns, that the great King is on his throne, that he rules over all the earth. God's kingship over all is not a distant fact but a reason for joy; he reigns, and his reign calls forth exuberant praise. The King of all the earth is on his throne, and this is joy.

Notice the ground of the psalm's joy: God reigns as King over all the earth. The call is to clap and shout and sing, and the reason is that the LORD Most High is a great King over all the earth, that he reigns over the nations and sits on his holy throne. God's reign is not a grim or fearful fact but a joyful one; that the great King rules over all is cause for exuberant praise. The nations are summoned to rejoice, not to tremble, that God reigns. For those who are his, the kingship of God over all the earth is deeply good news: the world is not without a king, not left to chaos or to lesser powers; God reigns, the great King, over all. And his reign calls forth joy, praise sung with understanding to the King of all the earth. To know that God reigns is cause for joyful praise, for the King on the throne is good, and his reign is our security. The reign of God is a reason to rejoice.

That is worth taking to heart, for God reigns as King over all the earth, and this is cause for joyful praise. We can feel the world is without a king, given over to chaos or to lesser powers, with no one finally in charge; but the psalm declares that God reigns, the great King over all the earth, seated on his holy throne. This is not a fearful fact but a joyful one; the King on the throne is good, and his reign is our security. That God reigns over all is cause for exuberant praise. Do not despair as though the world were without a king; God reigns over all the earth, and his reign is cause for joyful praise. Rejoice and praise God, who reigns as King over all the earth, seated on his holy throne, as the psalm summons all nations to clap their hands and shout to God with the voice of triumph, for the LORD Most High is a great King over all the earth; for the world is not without a king or given over to chaos, but God reigns over all, and his kingship is not a fearful fact but a joyful one, our security and our reason for exuberant praise.

Lord, this psalm summons all the nations to joyful praise, for one great reason: you reign as King over all the earth. Oh clap your hands, all you nations, it cries; shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the LORD Most High is awesome; he is a great King over all the earth. You are not a local or limited king; you are King over all the earth, reigning over the nations, seated on your holy throne. And this reign is cause for joyful, exuberant praise, clapping and shouting and singing to you who reign over all. Show me the ground of the psalm's joy: you reign as King over all the earth. The call is to clap and shout and sing, and the reason is that you, the LORD Most High, are a great King over all the earth, that you reign over the nations and sit on your holy throne. Your reign is not a grim or fearful fact but a joyful one; that you, the great King, rule over all is cause for exuberant praise. For those who are yours, your kingship over all the earth is deeply good news: the world is not without a king, not left to chaos; you reign, over all. To know that you reign is cause for joyful praise, for you, the King on the throne, are good. Take that to my heart, for you reign as King over all the earth, and this is cause for joyful praise. I can feel the world is without a king, given over to chaos or to lesser powers, with no one finally in charge; but the psalm declares that you reign, the great King over all the earth. This is not a fearful fact but a joyful one; you, the King on the throne, are good, and your reign is my security. Keep me from despairing as though the world were without a king; help me rejoice and praise you, Lord, who reign as King over all the earth, seated on your holy throne.