Sing to the King!

Psalm 47:1-9 English Standard Version

Psalm 47:title

1. To the choirmaster.

2. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

a. The Korahite psalms (Psalms 42–49; 84–85; 87–88) show relatively little variation in the Superscription. [1]

Sing to the King:

1. Call to Worship (Part One) (Psalm 47:1)

a. Psalm 47:1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

i. The final acclamation of 46:10 (before the refrain), “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations [gôyîm], I am exalted in the earth,” is echoed in Psalm 47: “all you peoples” (ʿammîm, in place of gôyîm, which occurs in v. 8) and “all the earth” (vv. 1–2)[2]

2. Cause to Worship (Part One) (Psalm 47:2-4)

a. Psalm 47:2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

i. Feared - to be awesome v. — to be inspiring awe or reverence or fear.

b. Psalm 47:3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

c. Psalm 47:4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

3. Call to Worship (Part Two) (Psalm 47:6)

a. Psalm 47:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

4. Cause to Worship (Part Two) (Psalm 47:7-9)

a. Psalm 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

i. Psalm - maskil, i.e., a kind of musical term or kind of song (Ps 32:1; 42:1; 44:1; 45:1; 47:8; 52:1; 53:1; 54:1; 55:1; 74:1; 78:1; 88:1; 89:1; 142:1+), note: the etymology suggests relating the meaning to “insight” or “contemplation.”[3]

1. av, rv ‘with understanding’. The last of these contributes most to the sentence, and is the interpretation given by lxx, which Paul seems to have had in mind in 1 Corinthians 14:15, ‘I will sing with the mind also.’[4]

b. Psalm 47:8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

c. Psalm 47:9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

i. Psalm 89:18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

5. The Center of Worship (Psalm 47:5)

a. Psalm 47:5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

i. Possible origin of this psalm (2 Samuel 6:15).

1. 2 Samuel 6:15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lordwith shouting and with the sound of the horn.

ii. In later Jewish usage Psalm 47 was utilized as part of the New Year’s service.

1. v. 5 with the sound of a shofar, the trumpetblown repeatedly at the New Year’s festival.

iii. Christian Year:Psalm 47 is the psalm for Ascension Day in the Christian church year. Ascension Day is the fortieth day of Easter and is a holiday that commemorates Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven. It is one of the earliest Christian festivals, dating back to the first century. It marks the end of the Easter season and occurs ten days before Pentecost. Thus Psalm 47, with its call to the worship and exaltation of the Lord, along with its reminder that the gospel is to go to the very ends of the earth, is a perfect selection for this Christian festival. [5]

iv. Psalm 47 is considered an enthronement psalm.

1. It is an anomaly in the Psalter, since it is the only enthronement psalm that occurs outside of Book Four (Psalms 90–106).[6]

a. The other enthronement psalms are Pss. 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99.[7]

2. Psalm 47:8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

a. to reign as king v. — to rule as a king or supreme ruler over a nation, or to become ruler or supreme ruler over a nation.

b. The perfect of mlk means “to be/become king” (v. 9a; see the old enthronement shout in 2 Sam 15:10; 2 Kgs 9:13; [8]

i. But the form of the verb in the psalm is exactly the one used when a human king begins his reign (e.g., 2 Sam. 15:10; 1 Kings 1:11).[9]

ii. Significantly, clapping and shouting also belong at a coronation (1 Sam. 10:24; 2 Kings 11:12–13).[10]

iii. Like shouting, blowing a horn is also part of crowning a king (e.g., 1 Kings 1:39). [11]

v. Although He has always been king, Jesus became king over all through His death, burial, and resurrection.

1. Psalm 93:2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.

2. John 12:32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

3. John 12:33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

4. Psalm 2:7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

a. Acts 13:33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

vi. Jesus’ death and resurrection made a way for all people to become the people of God.

1. Psalm 47:9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

2. Galatians 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

3. Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”

4. Galatians 3:9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

vii. One day soon, Jesus’ reign will be realized throughout the earth.

1. Revelation 11:17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

viii. When we worship, God reigns in our situation.

1. Psalm 47:8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

a. to reign as king v. — to rule as a king or supreme ruler over a nation, or to become ruler or supreme ruler over a nation.

b. The perfect of mlk means “to be/become king” (v. 9a; see the old enthronement shout in 2 Sam 15:10; 2 Kgs 9:13; [12]

2. Psalm 22:3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

[1]Gerstenberger, E. (1988). Psalms Part 1: With an Introduction to Cultic Poetry (Vol. 14, p. 196). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [2]Schaefer, K. (2001). Psalms. (D. W. Cotter, J. T. Walsh, & C. Franke, Eds.) (p. 118). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press. + I have cited every reference in regard to this lexeme discussed under this definition. [3]Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament)(electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc. avEnglish Authorized Version (King James), 1611. rvEnglish Revised Version, 1881. lxx The Septuagint (pre-Christian Greek version of the Old Testament). [4]Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, p. 195). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [5] Bullock, C. H. (2015). Psalms 1–72. (M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.) (Vol. 1, pp. 356–357). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. [6] deClaissé-Walford, N., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72. In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 427). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [7] deClaissé-Walford, N., Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. L. (2014). The Book of Psalms. (E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr., Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [8]Gerstenberger, E. (1988). Psalms Part 1: With an Introduction to Cultic Poetry (Vol. 14, p. 197). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [9]Goldingay, J. (2006). Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89. (T. Longman III, Ed.) (Vol. 2, p. 80). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. [10]Goldingay, J. (2006). Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89. (T. Longman III, Ed.) (Vol. 2, p. 77). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. [11]Goldingay, J. (2006). Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89. (T. Longman III, Ed.) (Vol. 2, p. 79). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. [12]Gerstenberger, E. (1988). Psalms Part 1: With an Introduction to Cultic Poetry (Vol. 14, p. 197). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.