At its height, it was said of the British Empire that it was an empire on which the sun never set. It’s gone now. A king who ruled over vast parts of the world is now entirely a figurehead while once powerful Prime Ministers now battle cabbages to see who can last longer in power. But thankfully, there is a better king who reigns.
Psalm 47 celebrates the universal kingship of God. The psalm offers praise to the king who has conquered, and invites all the nations of the earth to join in the celebration. Secondly, Psalm 47 offers praise to the king who has begun to reign. These verses find their fuller completion in the reign of Jesus who even now reigns on high, until all his enemies are laid low before him.
We do not know the occasion which provoked the writing of this psalm. Perhaps it was a great victory over enemies of God’s People. But this psalm invites us to reflect on God as the king who has conquered.
The psalm begins by telling us to “clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” (v.1). It is not just the Jewish nation who were called to join in these celebrations, but people from every nation.
The reason this is extended to all is because God, “the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth” (v.2). God is not just one king among many, or the deity over a certain patch of real estate. God is the Covenant King, the great Suzerain over everything and everyone. All must answer and respond to his reign.
God is a conquering warrior, who “subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet”
(v.3). Throughout history, God has won victories for his people. While events like the Red Sea spring to mind for us, the writers likely had in mind the conquest of Canaan in Joshua’s day, when time and again God defeated the peoples which God was driving out of the land for their sinfulness.
God’s victory and his handing out the spoils according to his grace and generosity is spoken of in the next verse, which speaks of God choosing “our heritage for us” (v.4), a reference to the lands they received as an inheritance. This wasn’t because of their righteousness but because they were “the pride of Jacob whom he loves” (v.4).
This call to worship God who has conquered is spoken in the context of a royal procession in which God “has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet” (v.5). The picture is of a conquering king ascending to his throne in great fanfare.
The psalm then issues another call to praise God, this time as reigning king. Four times, verse six tells us to sing praises “to God … to our King” (v.6). Praising God is clearly something important, worth repeating to get the message. No doubt all the nations continue to be subject to this second call too.
The reason to sing praises to God is “for God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!” (v.7).
But while this sounds a little like repetition of verse two, the psalm goes further to explain itself. “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 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!” (vv.8-9).
God has not just conquered. God has begun to reign. Once his enemies, now the nations are part of God’s covenant people, worshiping him alongside those biologically descended from Abraham. The kings, represented by their shields (a metaphor), belong to God and serve him.
Just as Psalm 46 spoke in universal terms of the peace that God will bring, so too Psalm 47 speaks of God’s universal reign, and of the universal worship of God by all the nations. This psalm could not have been fulfilled in their writer’s day, even David and Solomon in all their might did not reign over all the nations.
Rather, this psalm points forward to the universal rule and reign of God through his chosen Anointed One (Daniel 7:14), Jesus Christ, who is king over all Creation. People from every tribe and nation already bow before Christ, praising and worshiping him as their Lord and their conquering warrior king, who has defeated sin and death on their behalf. We are part of that people now, as we trust in Christ to defeat our sins each day.
One day, all nations will bow before King Jesus and all rebellion and claims to autonomy will cease. In the meantime, while we wait for Christ to return in royal splendour to receive the worship of all the nations, we are called to sing this song and daily echo its call to others around us that they too might sing praises to the king of the universe.