Psalm 47 Devotional

Applause for the King of All

“For God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise.”Psalm 47:7 (BSB)

Psalm 47 is loud. It calls every people on earth to clap their hands and shout to God with joy (47:1). The reason is simple: the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King who rules the whole earth (47:2). He chose an inheritance for his people out of love (47:4). Then God goes up amid shouts and the sound of the horn, and the call to sing praises rings out again and again (47:5-6).

What makes this psalm remarkable is its reach. It is not only Israel that praises. The rulers of the nations assemble as people belonging to Abraham's God (47:9). That recalls God's promise to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham (Genesis 12:3). The psalm pictures that promise coming true, with nations once outside God's people now gathered in. God's kingship is not a reason for anxiety but for joy, because the King who reigns over every nation is the one who loves his people and keeps his promises.

To think about: How might it change your view of the world's nations to see them as people God is gathering to himself?