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Dhammapada · narration sample

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The Bible · 525 of 1189

Psalms 47

1.O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

2.For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.

3.He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

4.He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

5.God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

6.Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

7.For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

8.God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

9.The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

Asked of Guide

Why does this psalm celebrate God’s kingship with shouts, trumpets, and clapping?

The psalm stages public victory: verses 1 and 5 call for clapping, shouting and “the sound of a trumpet,” treating worship as communal acknowledgment that “God is gone up” and rules over nations. The military language — “subdue the people under us,” “shields of the earth” — frames God’s kingship as decisive power that secures the community’s place and inheritance (v.4).

Verse 7 links that triumph to intelligent worship: “sing praises with understanding,” so the ritual noise names a reality the people recognize and enter into. This resembles Psalms like 2 and 93 where divine rule is announced with royal and cosmic imagery; together they present worship as both announcement and participation in God’s reign.

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