Psalm 47 · NIVAC

Original Meaning

The Heading (47:0)

THERE ARE NO new terms in the heading of Psalm 47. The psalm is referred to “the director of music”6 and is attributed to the “Sons of Korah.”7 It is also called a “psalm” (mizmor).8

Bridging Contexts

KING OF ALL THE EARTH. To understand the hope for universal restoration of humankind reflected in Psalm 47, it is first necessary to trace the path of disintegration that led from creation to the psalmist’s (and our own) more fragmented contemporary circumstances. How is it, we are asking here, that humankind came to such a sorry and fractured pass, characterized by sin, hostility, and self-focused isolation? Why do the nations as described in the Scriptures represent a state of existence counter to God’s intention? And how will the fractured world of human relations ever be reassembled and restored to wholeness?

(1) A unified creation. We must start with creation, where we find in the complementary narratives of Genesis 1 and 2 an account that emphasizes the original unity of humanity (and indeed the whole of creation) as God purposed and created it. Genesis 1 envisions humanity, both male and female, in all its diversity, together harmoniously reflecting the divine image to creation and extending the authority of Yahweh to it. Genesis 2, with its plaintive cry that the Adam alone was “not good,” is followed by the search for an “appropriate counterpart” to overcome this deficit. This beautifully affirms the teaching of Genesis 1 that it is in harmonious living that males and females together display the divine image and fulfill God’s purposes for humankind.

(2) The disruption of sin. But the original intention of unity and harmony is not our experience of human relationships, nor was it the experience of the biblical authors and editors. The description of the Fall in Genesis 3 and the remaining narratives of Genesis 4–11 drive home the theological understanding that the human choice for disobedience and sin disrupted the original unity and harmony of creation and have continued to infect the whole of the cosmos.

The first man’s response to the divine confrontation over the eating of the forbidden fruit is instructive. The description of the woman—the man’s appropriate counterpart in Genesis 2—was “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (2:23), an affirmation of essential unity confirmed by the concluding observation that the two “will become one flesh” (2:24). In the divine confrontation, the man’s evaluation changes from “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” to “[that] woman” (3:12)—accompanied, I am sure, with the requisite finger-pointing to indicate the distance that now separates the pair. As a result of sin, the original unity and harmony is destroyed, as evidenced by the anticipated hostility between humans and beasts (3:14–15), the expected subjection of a woman to her husband (3:16), and the enmity relationship that grows up between humans and the earth (3:17–19).

(3) Continued expansion. Having been unleashed in the world because of human disobedience, sin and evil continue to spread their influence beyond the first generation with the murder of Abel by Cain (Gen. 4:1–16) and culminate in the complete corruption of all humanity and the whole earth just prior to the Flood (6:1–13).

The Flood unleashes the chaotic waters restricted by God at creation and threatens to allow God’s corrupted creation to return to the chaos from which it began. But the Flood also reduces human evil, cleanses the corrupted earth, and allows a new start for humankind. The respite from sin is short-lived, however, and soon after the Flood abates, sin is on the rampage again, having survived the trip in the ark (Gen. 9:20–27).

(4) The Tower of Babel. By the time we reach the end of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, sin has again established a dominant foothold among humanity—a humanity depicted as at once unified (“the whole world had one language and a common speech,” Gen. 11:1) and still disobedient. Choosing to remain together to build a city and a reputation for themselves rather than fulfilling God’s decree that they scatter and fruitfully fill the earth, humans once again incur God’s judgment, who confuses their languages and forcibly scatters them over the face of the earth (signifying the creation of a diverse world humanity, separated into hostile people groups and all suffering the debilitating consequences of sin and disobedience).

(5) The need for restoration. Genesis 1–11 leaves humanity as a whole in a desperate state. Infected by sin and evil, all humanity stands under the judgment of holy God and in hostile relations with one another and the earth. How is it possible for this broken world to be mended? The opening verses of Genesis 12 offer Israel’s understanding of the divinely instituted solution to the problem of humankind. In the call of Abraham God prepares a way for all humanity to return to right relationship with him and one another. “I will make you [Abraham] into a great nation [Israel], and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (12:2–3). Through Israel, then, the whole of humanity is to find a way out of the curse of sin into the gracious blessing of God.

(6) A light to the nations. Israel’s responsibility is to be the channel through which all the peoples of the earth come to know the blessing of Yahweh. The prophets affirm this when they exhort Israel to fulfill her role as “light for the Gentiles [goyim], that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6).20 The prophets also envision an eschatological end time when Jew and Gentile alike will acknowledge the sovereignty of God and join together in praising him. This eschatological time of unity is described in terms of harmonious relationships between humankind and beast, which signify the restoration of God’s original creation purposes for the cosmos (cf. Isa. 2:2–4; 11:6–7; 65:25; Mic. 4:1–4).

(7) New creation. God’s ultimate purpose, according to this important Old Testament thematic strand, is to bring about the restoration of his original creation intention by redeeming the human race and by re-creating the harmony and unity with which the cosmos began. Insofar as Psalm 47 anticipates a day when all the peoples of the earth will join with Israel as the people of God to praise Yahweh as king over the whole earth, it is this eschatological consummation of God’s purpose that the psalmist holds in mind.

Contemporary Significance

HOW DO WE today join in this anticipated reunification of God’s fractured creation? Unity and harmony certainly do not seem to characterize much of our contemporary world, let alone the Christian church. Genocide rules the relations of people groups from Malaysia, to Africa, to the Balkans. The hostility of nations is a recognized factor in international relations and still dominates the politics of the Holy Land. What hope can we have of anything different? Or must we just settle for the reality of the moment? Psalm 47 offers a perspective of hope for those of us who may be enmeshed in the myopic view of the contemporary world and all its brokenness.

God reigns. The foundation of the psalmist’s hopefulness is a vision of God as king. God’s kingship is for the psalmist a present reality rather than a future possibility: God is king of all the earth!21 He has already become king in the present.22 He has already taken a seat on his royal throne and continues to be enthroned there.23 This enthronement of God flies in the face of the seeming independent action of kings and nations. All actions of those who think themselves free and autocratic rulers, of nations who play world politics with their own self-interest in mind, are unable to alter or frustrate God’s plan to redeem humanity and to restore his creation.

Despite their pretense to power and freedom, “the kings of the earth belong to God” (47:9). While this does not mean that every action undertaken by rulers and nations—whether evil or good—is set into motion or predestined by God, it does mean that God’s purposes are not deterred by kingly pretensions or the politics of nations. God’s purposes move unhindered to their completion despite the chaotic brokenness of our world. God subdues the nations and provides Israel with its true inheritance.24

A commitment to unity and to praise. When Psalm 47 calls “all you nations/peoples” to clap their hands and praise God, it calls them to a covenant of unity with the rest of the world. If “clapping hands” is a sign of reaching an agreement, the picture is one of the diverse nations of the world coming together in agreement to praise the God of Israel.

Christians are those who have been called into a new relationship of unity and praise in Jesus Christ. The event of Pentecost, in which God-fearers from all over the world and representing speakers of diverse languages were all empowered by the Holy Spirit to understand the mighty works of God in their own language, is a sign that the divisions of the Tower of Babel are being overcome in Jesus and that humanity is being reunified (Acts 2:1–21).

Clearly distrust, suspicion, prejudice, anger, and hatred between individuals and races have not been entirely removed, but the early church was remarkable for its ability to draw together a diverse group of Gentile believers into a fellowship of unity and praise. Whenever human beings are enabled by the Spirit of God to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than” themselves (Phil. 2:3); when humans with all their fears and prejudices are able to declare with Paul, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28), then the redeeming grace of God has broken in among us and begun setting things right. We will not see the completion of that restoration until the last day, but the in-breaking of God’s kingdom into our contemporary lives is enough reason to join the chorus of unity and praise this psalm exhorts.

Original Meaning

Yahweh Subdues the Nations (47:1–5)

CLAP YOUR HANDS. While it may seem obvious to the reader that “clapping the hands” is an act of joyous response, the circumstance is more complex than first imagined since the specific idiom employed here (taqaʿ kap) normally means “to strike hands” with another individual as confirmation of a bargain or contract between parties (like a handshake).9 Clapping hands as an indication of joy and appreciation (as our applause at a performance) usually involves the verb mḥʾ rather than tqʿ.10 Clapping the hands does express malicious joy over the downfall of another or a sign of anger or judgment, but this usage regularly goes with the verb spq.11 It is true that in Nahum 3:19 the phrase taqaʿ kap is generally understood to denote clapping “for joy” over the fall of Assyria, but an alternate meaning in keeping with the verb’s usual connotation is possible.12 I suggest, therefore, that taqaʿ kap in our passage does not mean “clap the hands for joy”; rather, in keeping with its regular usage, the “nations” are being called to come to agreement regarding their relationship to Yahweh, God of Israel.

All you nations. As noted above, the “nations” here are actually “the peoples” (ʿammim rather than goyim). The use of the less political term emphasizes the reconciliation of humanity (separated by their rebellion at the Tower of Babel in Gen. 11) rather than the amalgamation of political states. The political element is not dismissed altogether since goyim (“nations”) is used in 47:8a, where God is said to reign “over the nations.” However, the use of less national vocabulary shifts the emphasis away from conquest toward restoration of Yahweh’s original creation intention for all humankind.

The LORD Most High. It is fitting in this context of universal sovereignty where all humankind is called to acknowledge the kingship of Yahweh, God of Abraham, that the title “Most High” (ʿelyon), with its implication of superiority over the lesser gods of the pagan world, should be applied to Yahweh. To acknowledge Yahweh as ʿelyon is to submit to his authority, as the whole psalm demands. This Most High God is also declared “awesome” (lit., “worthy of fear”),13 employing the common Israelite designation for the appropriate human relation to Yahweh—a relationship of humble awareness of absolute dependence on his merciful and sustaining power. In this psalm the call to submit to Yahweh in this fashion is extended beyond Israel to the whole of humanity.

The great King over all the earth. This “Most High” and “fear-producing” God, Yahweh, is here proclaimed to be more than the national God of Israel, taking his place among the panoply of national deities worshiped in the ancient Near East. Yahweh is a “great King [a commentary on human kingship] over all the earth” (ʿal kol haʾareṣ). Therefore, all people ought to acknowledge his authority.

He subdued [peoples]. In an unexpected way Yahweh is said to have “subdued [peoples] under us” (47:3a). Here the national identity of Israel—as the means through which humanity was to be restored to unity before Yahweh—does come to the foreground. In what apparently is an adaptation of the theme of divine subjection of the world to humans in 8:6, Israel is recognized as the entity through which human submission to Yahweh will be realized. The theme is also characteristic of the narratives of the conquest of the land, when Yahweh drove out the peoples of the land of Canaan before the Israelites and gave them the land as an “inheritance.”14

God has ascended. The first stanza concludes with a description of the joyous “noise” that surrounds Yahweh’s “ascension” (47:5). The NIV pictures a procession of the ark of the covenant to the temple (cf. 24:7–10).15 Yahweh goes up in the midst of great tumult and the sounding of the traditional ram’s horn. This reference to God’s “ascension” or “going up” is paralleled at the end of the second stanza by a reference to God’s “exaltation.”