• Psalm 47 And Rosh Hashanah

  Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 20, 2010 (message contributor)

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  Scripture:  None

  Tags:  Holidays

  Denomination: Independent/Bible

PSALM 47 AND ROSH HASHANAH

When a brand new believer in 1974, my friend loaned his LP Album by Messianic Jewish group "Lamb." When I married Marylu in 1980, I married into Lamb albums.

One of the songs was titled, "Clap Your Hands, All Ye People," and was a paraphrase of Psalm 47. Preparing this sermon meant the song has been playing in my head all week.

But this Psalm is not only appreciated by Christians and Messianic Jews, it is also an important Psalm in Jewish Religious life, particularly last week's celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, known to us as The Feast of Trumpets. Rabbi Shmuel writes,

"More than anything else, the shofar’s notes mark the solemnity of Rosh Ha-Shanah. In many communities just prior to the sounding of the shofar, the words of Psalm 47 are chanted seven straight times. The number seven corresponds to the number of times that the name God (elohim) appears in this psalm. According to some, the number seven also corresponds to the seven levels of heaven that the blasts of the shofar are expected to pierce."

Source: RabbiShmuel.com