Psalms 47

Psalms 47:1-9

“The peoples of the God of Abraham.” To the chief musician: a psalm of the sons of Korah. “The peoples of the God of Abraham” give us; I believe; the character of the forty-seventh psalm, which is a suited fifth psalm thus; as showing the peoples in connection with God. These are; of course, more than simply the nation of Israel; who naturally occupy the foreground of the picture. Their pre-eminence is strongly insisted on in the first part; but the second shows the praise that their praise awakens in the hearts of the people around made ready by divine grace. The promise is thus made good to Abraham; and he by his faith becomes the “father of many nations.” It is not; as in the last psalm, simply that power humbles and subdues; so that men are forced to submit. While that will be true as to many; here is another and a sweeter compulsion. Divine love works and has its way; and God sits upon a throne in this way for which Christ has wrought, and which is the fruit of His work.

1. These “peoples;” then; are exhorted at the beginning (in an anticipative way, characteristic of the beginnings of psalms, as we have seen) to clap their hands and shout unto God with a voice of triumph: for Jehovah, now manifestly the Supreme; is to be feared -with no slavish fear, as the words preceding show: He is a great King over all the earth. Israel it is whose voice is heard here; and in Israel it is that He has manifested His power, -yea, His grace and truth: for He has come in in fulfillment of many promises, and had mercy upon those of old His people. “He subdueth the peoples under us; and the nations under our feet. He chooseth [also] our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob, whom He loved.” Jacob is the suited name all through here; failing, crippled Jacob, saved then not for his own “excellency”, though his inheritance be excellent or exalted -better than any other upon earth. It is accomplished; the work is done: He who came down to the visitation of the earth, has gone up again to His throne over all: He “is gone up with a shout: Jehovah with trumpet-sound.” It is the sound of recall from the battlefield, because the victory is won. The first part of the psalm is therefore here complete.
2. But this only leaves room for a new movement which now begins. The newly-restored nation bursts out with exultant praises, to which one excites another: “Psalm unto God, psalm! psalm to our King, psalm! For God is King of all the earth: psalm ye an instruction.” The last word is one that we were considering in the thirty-second psalm -“a maskil” and we have seen that there are a number of these maskil psalms, but for instruction, it would appear, in Israel itself, before the time of their deliverance is reached. The psalm now urged would seem, on the other hand, in accordance with the character of what is here, an instruction of the nations. It is not a strange thought in Scripture: “teaching and admonishing one another,” says the apostle; “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

Joy in the Lord out of one’s own heart is in fact a most effectual teaching and admonition of others; and this Israel delivered and restored to God will find. The wave of blessing and praise will flow outward from its centre in Zion, winning hearts on every side to join in it; while holiness manifest in His dealings as to sin, will be the theme; no less than grace -but nothing is holier than grace, -and make the joy deep and serious. “God reigneth over the nations: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness.” Now we see the response: “the willing-hearted of the peoples are gathered together” -grace is gathering them, as is plain; faith has taken effect in their hearts; they are unitedly thus “the (one) people of the God of Abraham.” The closing words of the psalm (“the shields of the earth belong unto God”) -though there is difficulty in them -look like an allusion to that assurance to Abraham; given just before the promise: “Fear not, Abraham; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Now the shield has grown into many shields, -the protective screens from danger which, whatever may be their nature, all are to be ascribed to Him. Thus the earth rests: God is known in His power; known in His truth, in His holiness, in His goodness to man. Men look up joyfully, reverently, with worship in their hearts to Him: “HE is greatly exalted.” Amen.