Psalms 47:1-3

1 1Clap your hands, all peoples! 2Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the LORD, the Most High, 3is to be feared, 4a great king over all the earth.
3 He 5subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

Psalms 47:1-3 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Thus psalm is thought by some to be written on occasion of the ark being brought from the house of Obededom to the city of David, to the place he had prepared for it; which was attended with singing and dancing, with shouting, and the sound of a trumpet, 2 Samuel 6:12; but it rather seems to be penned on account of the ascension of Christ to heaven, prophetically spoken of in this psalm; and of the spread of the Gospel, and the conquests it made in the Gentile world upon Christ's ascension; as the whole psalm shows: and even Aben Ezra and Kimchi apply it to the times of the Messiah; and so do some of their most ancient writers, who particularly interpret Psalm 47:5 of him, as may be seen in the note upon it.

Cross References 5

  • 1. 2 Kings 11:12; Isaiah 55:12; Nahum 3:19
  • 2. Psalms 95:1; [1 Samuel 10:24]
  • 3. Psalms 66:3, 5; Psalms 68:35; Deuteronomy 7:21
  • 4. Malachi 1:14
  • 5. See Psalms 18:47
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