O CLAP YOUR HANDS, ALL PEOPLES - PSALM 47 MESSAGE ON THE PSALMS OF KORAH
Psalm 47 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
Psa. 47 v 1 O Clap your hands, all peoples. Shout to God with the voice of joy,
You can’t clap your hands before God or shout to God with a joyful voice unless it is genuine. So much in Christian circles is sham and confusion. Sham means it is pretend, or just going through the motions, to please husband or wife, or if you like, just fulfilling your Christian duty. Confusion is because the bible is downgraded and not treated as it should be – the personal, accurate, and inspired word of God. For too many people in churches, the bible is an addition, not the singular fundamental foundation of faith. And as for praising and worshipping God, I don’t like it much of the time when someone says, “Let’s worship God by singing such and such,” when “such and such” is often a song saying what we are doing for God. That is not worship. It is only elevating the human being. The psalmist is thinking of the power and magnificence of God and bursts out in praise and worship, but also he encourages the people to join in.
There is a distinct difference between praise and worship, not always made clear because the two words are often run together. It is another subject so that won’t be covered today.
There are so many factors that underlie what genuine thankfulness and praise, or worship, is. Firstly, the heart or the life must be right. That means there is to be no known sin or a sinful practice in a believer’s life. You can’t have hot and cold water issuing from the same tap at the same time. If your tap is running hot, good, you can praise God, but if it is running cold, then don’t pretend. Get before God and make it right. All of us can fall into habits that are not worthwhile for God. We can even be caught up in sin. Those things make us weak spiritually, and dishonour our Saviour who loved us. “Let a man examine himself” (means, “let us examine ourselves”) from 1Corinthians ch 11, was in reference to the Lord’s Table, but it is a must at all times in our lives.
There is nothing like sin to take joy and gladness away. Confess our sins, for the Lord is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That was the road King David travelled. After his great sin, we have recorded in Psalm 51, David’s Prayer. One verse from there is this one, Psalm 51 v 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. For 9 months David had been miserable because of unconfessed sin, but in Psalm 51, he got right with God. Adultery and murder is not outside the boundary of God’s forgiveness, even for a child of God.
Joy comes from a joyful heart and praise comes from a praising heart. Being sad, even miserable, having sorrow through suffering, is not sinful. We are going to look into that tomorrow in the letter to the church at Smyrna. The disciples were really sad after the crucifixion, maybe miserable and dejected, but when they saw the Lord, it says they were glad. Nehemiah had a sad face and was despondent because the walls of Jerusalem were so ruined, and even King Ataxerxes noticed it.
There is one aspect that can not be neglected when it comes to praise to the Lord. Do you know what it is? Let me state it this way, “How can you praise and worship someone you don’t know very well?” Knowing Jesus is what it is all about. How do you do that? Well, it is the bible of course. When you learn more of the Lord and His work, His character, His attributes, then your heart will want to overflow with praise and gratitude and thankfulness and joy. The greatest hymns of praise and thankfulness, were written by those who had the joy of the Lord as their strength. They were men and women of the word. We will close this section with a New Testament quote - Romans 15 v 9 “and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your name.” Rom 15:10 Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people,” Rom 15:11 and again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him,”
There is a New Testament verse that has what seems to be strange wording. I will give that verse in context - Hebrews 13 v 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. (Reproach and rejection. Jesus was put out, unwanted and despised). Heb 13:13 Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach, (The Christian will share that rejection and reproach and despising of the world, for the world wants nothing to do with God, or with God’s people. There are many camps – false religion, intellectualism, philosophy, humanism, liberalism, just to name a few.) Hebrews 13:14 for here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. (This is a whole new perspective. The world is earth-centred whereas Christians are heavenly-centred. We look forward to treasures not of this world). Hebrews 13:15 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name, (Just note that verse 15 fits with “outside the gate” and “outside the camp”. Christians are the despised and rejected ones, but they are qualified to offer up the sacrifice of praise.
The verse with the strange wording is verse 15 which speaks of the sacrifice of praise. It is a concept that we may not know much of, but what is it? Look at the world’s devotion. Young people line up for days sometimes, even in the cold and rain, in order to buy tickets for a pop concert where they go and chant the praise and worship of their pop idols who are too often homosexual and satanists. The same thing happens in football finals in Australia, especially in Melbourne with that game they call Australian Rules, and pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket. They sing and wave banners and show extreme emotion. It is even more so with English soccer and American football and baseball. That is the world’s example of the sacrifice of praise. They sacrifice their time and money and voice in their worship.
What then of Christians? What does this sacrifice of praise mean to them? First of all, they are not in their comfort zone, for they are outside the camp. In corporate praise, they have to travel and put themselves out to be with other Christians. Then they have to come equipped, as do the world’s people who go with banners and scarfs and attire and grog to their venues. Christians must also be equipped, and what is the equipment? It must be a prepared heart and spirit, that has been thinking of the Lord, and preparing in His word. There can be no proper praise without heart preparation. Sacrifice your time – get out of bed; read the bible in meditation; draw close to your Lord – all that is important to be a praising and worshipping people. I say too, that verse 15 operates both privately by yourself and corporately with fellow Christians. There is much about praise in the Psalms and this is one such verse - Psalm 69 v 30, 31 I will praise God’s name in song and exalt Him with thanksgiving, and this will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with horns and hooves.
Commentator Gaebelein states, “Outside of the camp, is found the cross of Christ with all its grace and glory. And therefore the exhortation, which seems to us was the all-important message for these Hebrews (and for us as well) “let us go forth therefore unto Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” In other words, leave all behind, be separate from all, which denies the cross and the work accomplished there. And “outside the camp” must mean “inside the veil,” to enjoy the perfection in Christ, to be in God’s holy presence as a true worshipper.”
McLaren says a very challenging and difficult thing for us – “Sacrifice means nothing if it does not mean surrender; and surrender is nothing, if it is not the surrender of the will. It was a great deal easier for Abraham to take the knife in his hand, and climb the hill with the fixed intention of thrusting it into his son’s heart, than it is for us to take the sword of the Spirit in our hands, and slay our own wills, and I am here to say that unless we do, we have very little right to call ourselves Christians.”
VERSES 2-4
Psalm 47 v 2 for the LORD Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth. Psa 47:3 He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet. Psa 47:4 He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
(1). Now the psalmist provides some reasons why God is worthy of praise. I find four reasons here. The first is that the LORD Most High is to be feared. Some people have a problem with this word “fear”. They understand it to mean “to be afraid of”, but that is just not correct. The only ones who need to be afraid of God are the sinners especially those defiant to God, for they need to be afraid of the consequences and the judgement to come. One verse says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It was written of the church after Saul became a Christian - Acts 9 v 31 so the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up, and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. This word “feared” in verse 2 just simply means that the Lord is worthy of profound reverence or adoration.
(2). The next reason for praise is that God is King over all the earth. We are quite familiar with the concept of God as King. Especially so, is that Jesus the Messiah is King of the Jews, and King over all the earth and King of kings and Lord of lords.
(3). The third reason relates to the covenant relationship God has with the Jews. That’s why it can say “He subdues peoples under us.” Also nations are put under the feet. The use of “our feet” is the psalmist recounting God’s victories for the Jews. The three verses in this section are very Jewish.
(4). The fourth reason is also very Jewish. God loves the descendants of Abraham and has set down a glorious inheritance for Israel. The tribes that descended through Jacob will one day come into this inheritance, but only when they are purified in the Great Tribulation and enter with their Messiah into His Kingdom. The magnificent blessings in the land that will happen, are part of that inheritance. Of course we also have an inheritance as members of the Church, but it is a heavenly one, not an earthly one.
Hebrews 9 v 15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Ephesians 1 v 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
VERSES 5-9
Psalm 47 v 5 God has ascended with a shout, the LORD, with the sound of a trumpet. Psa 47:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our King, sing praises, Psa 47:7 for God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with a skillful psalm. Psa 47:8 God reigns over the nations. God sits on His holy throne. Psa 47 v 9 The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God. He is highly exalted.
Verse 5. Now the psalm moves to a more focussed tone on the greatness of God, especially His kingship. The heralds sound trumpets before Him and the whole gathering shouts His praises and victory. Ancient kings had a lot of pomp and ceremony at coronations or returns from battles. This was also true in matters of important State functions. I don’t know if any of you follow opera, but the great moving music in Aida known as The Triumphal March captures well a return in victory. This verse is like the triumphal ascension of the King to His throne.
This of course is poetic language and the thought is, of God who came down (from heaven, or His throne) to assist Israel in battle, then He ascended again to heaven. It is a bit like a prayer, “Lord, come down to help us.” The same language is used also about the Ark of the Covenant, wherein God was present, which went, or was carried up to the hill of Zion, where the Tabernacle was erected for it, and afterwards to the hill of Moriah into the Temple. The Ark was the very presence of God, and He came down to help His people, then ascended again. Of course, in a way, this can be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ who came down from heaven and then ascended to heaven after His work on earth for salvation was done.
Verses 6-7. The two verses go together. Verse 6 is the response and verse 7 is the reason. The words “sing praises” are repeated four times in verse 6, to show how passionately desirous the psalmist was that God might have his appropriate praise and glory, and how important it was for men to perform this great, and necessary worship. Matthew Henry wrote, “Praise is a duty in which we ought to be frequent and abundant. But here is a needful rule; Sing ye praises with understanding. As those who understand why, and for what reasons they praise God, and what is the meaning of the service, it is not an acceptable service, if it is not a reasonable service.”.
The reason for the joyous outburst of praise, is verse 7 and it is because God is King of all the earth. Of course this is the Lord Jesus here who is now King of the Jews, and King over all, but He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Here is something about verse 7 –
The NASB translates “Sing praises with a skilful psalm” while Holman says, “a song of wisdom” and most other versions just use “psalm”. (Barnes) - The Hebrew is, "Sing a Maschil", that is, sing, or play, a teaching psalm or tune, that is, a song or ode adapted to convey valuable lessons of instruction. The idea is that the occasion was one for which "such" a psalm or song would be especially appropriate; an occasion on which great lessons or truths had been taught by the dealings of God, which it required His people now to set forth in an appropriate manner. Those lessons or truths pertained to the fact that God is the great King over all the earth, and that He is a sovereign among the nations: a truth of immense importance to mankind.”
The Psalms about praise are numerous. I was going to select some of them but changed my mind. It is a very rewarding exercise for you to go through the psalms finding references to praise and thinking about the context. The first one of them is this verse - Psalm 7 v 17 I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. The last three psalms of the book are intense, with 33 mentions of the word “praise” in 29 verses. Psalms is the praise book of the bible. If God places such high value on praise in our hymns, then forget about this rubbish that is around that is nothing more than what I am doing, egocentric songs, a symptom of our modern age. “Lord, I am singing Your praises. Lord I am praising You.”
Verse 8. Two facts are found in this verse. God sits on His throne and rules over the nations. It may not look that way just at present, but it most certainly is. Very soon the actuality of it will be known by the nations. God’s throne is holy and His judgement and rule will be in holiness. Nations, beware! Verse 9 closes this psalm with the emphasis on the Lord who is highly exalted.
Verse 9. The Gentiles will assemble to praise God, and later on the Jews, the descendants of Abraham, will also do that. The last sentence – He is highly exalted – will be fact after this age has run its course, but it should be the desire of our lives now. We should praise Him and we should worship Him, and there is a difference. May the Lord help us to be a worshipping people.
Rejoice the lord is king (lord’s supper); Join all the glorious names; Praise Him Praise Him; Praise my soul the king of heaven
Ron Ferguson ronaldf@aapt.net.au
