Scripture For The Week
Psalm 47
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A Psalm.
Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
How awesome is the Lord Most High,
the great King over all the earth!
He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah
God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the surrounding of trumpets.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
Devotional
Psalm 47 is a beautiful Psalm of rejoicing. It’s filled with shouts of promise and uncontained joy. It gives us a prophetic image of the Son, who when this was written hadn’t yet come to earth, raising from the dead and taking his place in heaven.
It is through this prophetic Psalm of a people’s future joy, that we get to learn how to praise God, why we praise God and where we have to trust God within our praise.
The Psalm gives five examples to help us understand how we should praise God for his presence in our lives.
Our first instruction on how to praise to God is in community with the Church.
Psalm 47:1
Clap your hands, all you nations;
The Psalmist directs that all the nations are to celebrate their God. While we certainly should celebrate God and offer our praise by ourselves, there is a unique and beautiful power that comes from all of God’s people celebrating together.
The dictionary definition of praise is “a form of social interaction expressing recognition, reassurance or admiration”. The key phrase within this definition of praise is “social interaction”. In the mere definition of the word, we are called to offer our praise in a social manner.
More so than just God’s believers coming together, some commentators believe this could mean all of God’s people coming together - those who believe, those who have walked away and those who don’t know any better. In the Bible we see multiple instances where God’s people clap their hands out of celebration and joy. However, there are also passages that teach us that clapping was also used for sorrow and mocking.
In the book of Job, we get a description, through the insight of Job, of a man who is apart from God.
Job 27:21-23
The east wind carries him off, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. It claps its hands in derision and hisses him out of his place.
Throughout the Bible, the east wind is seen as a fierce wind that brings destruction to those who don’t follow God. The east wind is the wind that is referenced in Exodus when God allows Moses to summon the plagues. It is this wind of destruction that claps in mockery at those who don’t follow God. Even those who have turned away from God, are still summoned to partake in active recognition of God’s presence.
Our second call to how we should offer praise, is by realizing that praise crosses all borders.
Psalm 47:1
Clap your hands, all you nations;
When I was in college, I decided to take a series of American Sign Language classes to fulfill my needed language credits for graduation. Though the school offered endless languages, I decided to try ASL because of one thing I had learned consistently over my Elementary to High School years: I just can't speak other languages.
Trust me, it was never for lack of trying. I took Spanish classes for over six years and it just never seemed to click. Six years of hard work on the line and all I knew how to say was "cat", numbers and a few random words if I was reading. And even though I knew Sign Language was a language of the hands, I dreaded the courses. I expected the same struggle with Sign Language that I had had with trying to learn Spanish, Latin, German, Cantonese and Mandarin.
It was a beautiful surprise when I realized that I actually understood Sign Language. Yes, I had so much to learn, but a language based on our motions and facial expressions ended up making so much sense to me.
As I progressed in my classes, finishing the full series offered at my university, even though I had surpassed my requirement, I absorbed the stories my professor shared with us.
He eloquently unfolded tales of his travels across the world. In one particular story, as he shared his experience backpacking across Europe, he mentioned that Sign Language was special because it crossed the boundaries of language.
Sure, there were different dialects of Sign Language, there might be a word or two that varied, but this language of the hands never left individuals unable to communicate. He had the honor of knowing a language that allowed him to engage with people all across the world.
This is what I think of when I consider the Psalmist specifically telling us to clap our hands. Whether we are clapping from joy, out of mockery or in the pain of sorrow, it’s a motion that all of God’s people can understand.
We may not be able to come together in praise, if we had to worship solely with our words, but God gives us the gift of offering praise with our hands. The entirety of God’s people can praise with the mutual language of hand expression. Not one person is excluded from praising God in the language that bridges all other language barriers.
Thirdly, we are called to praise boldly.
Psalm 47:1
...shout to God with cries of joy
Psalm 47:5
God has ascended amid shouts of joy
When all of the people come together to worship in harmony, they are called to praise boldly. What a beautiful and stark contrast this is from most of our churches.
Right after we graduated from college, my husband and I decided to look for a new church to call home. We loved the church we had gone to throughout college but after graduating we wanted a “more mature, grown up” church to attend. During our searching for a new church home, we made several visits to a church on the edge of Boulder.
Every Sunday during worship, one woman would stand out to me. She would stand in the very first pew of the church, her hips swaying; sending the ribbon that flowed off the back of her hat to twirl among her hair. Her hands were raised high in the air as she sang to her God and you knew she felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, as she occasionally called out “Hallelujah!”.
As I share this story, I smile. I realize now what an incredible image it was to see a woman so firm in her faith that she boldly proclaimed it in her Father’s home. She didn't worry about what others thought. Her only concern was being present with the Lord.
Unfortunately at the time, it made me incredibly uncomfortable. My hands were clenched tight in front of my chest and I would murmur the words of worship and praise under my breath; too ashamed of my own voice to freely belt out a proclamation of who my God was. I’m ashamed to say it, but that woman was part of the reason we stopped going to that church; her actions of bold praise made me that uncomfortable.
I’m sharing this story because, while my reaction was definitely not what it should have been, I don’t think this is an uncommon story. I’ve witnessed endless Christians grow visibly uncomfortable when someone starts boldly worshiping God.
Psalm 47 offers us a beautiful contrast to our own instincts. We aren’t called to worship shyly, hiding behind our own insecurities of what others will think. We are called to be like the woman I witnessed. Our bodies and voices moving in response to the freedom of a God who saves. We are called to set aside ourselves and praise God with boldness, regardless of who or what is around us.
Fourth, we praise our God victoriously.
Psalm 47:5
God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the surrounding of trumpets.
Before the musical trumpet we have today was created, different natural objects were referred to as trumpets. Objects such as shells or horns would be polished and blown into to create a loud, belting sound. As the instrument progressed, a single hole was drilled into the objects to allow the tone to be altered between two frequencies. Eventually, metals were used to re-create this curved cone instrument and over time, it evolved into a strictly musical instrument.
Historically though, these initial trumpets weren’t used for music, they were used for communication and war. The blunt noise of a trumpet was used to gain attention. It was a sharp call going out over the land to warn of danger or happenings. Trumpets were also blown during battle as a sign of victory. It was a sharp call announcing that the battle had been won. Some groups would even blow the trumpet victoriously before a hunt or battle in anticipation that it was going to be fruitful.
We praise our God victoriously, in anticipation of the battle that has already been won. We call out, in praise, with the heart of a trumpet call, proclaiming that our God has already defeated death and he reigns victorious even before his work is completed.
And finally, we praise God with our spiritual gifts.
Psalm 47:6
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
I realize that the verse I have drawn our attention to specifically mentions praising God with song. Friends, I have heard more than one person in my lifetime with this incredible gift. God blessed them with an angelic voice to lift brilliant praises to his ears. However, we weren't all gifted in this area, myself included.
Because of my complete lack of ability to sing, I tend to stay quiet during worship. Sometimes, if the people around me are loud enough, I will open my mouth and quietly hum or sing along. Most of the time though? I quietly tap my fingers to the beat and I mouth the words silently. I let my mind sing while the words of praise never leave my lips.
I know that we should sing in praise and worship despite ourselves. It’s not about how sweet or gnarly our voices sound, it’s about the aspect of reaching outside of ourselves. We should sing praises to God because of what he has done and will do, not because of how we sound to ourselves.
But while I believe that we should sing praises to God, regardless of how we feel, I don’t think this verse has to be exclusive to singing. I think it can also mean using our, unique and individual spiritual gifts as a resource to turn to God in praise.
I recently finished reading a Christian Romance Novel. In this particular book, Lilly’s Wedding Quilt, by Kelly Long, the main character is a teacher and she’s working with her students to create their upcoming Christmas program. As they are working on making decorations for the classroom, one of the little boy’s points out that his father won’t like that he’s doing “women’s work”. The character, Lilly, uses the opportunity to grow the little boy’s perspective.
This is an excerpt from pages 87-88.
Reuben sighed. “Yes, but my daed’s - my dad’s - not like to ‘ppreciate all this decorating. ‘Women’s work’ he would call it. That’s what he said about the quilt square when I told him.”
Some of the students laughed.
“I see, well, I’d like you all to know that decorating and making a community quilt are not just ‘women’s work.’ It’s art. And many of our great artists, even Amish artists, are men.”
“No way,” Reuben burst out.
“Jah. I mean, yes. They are.”
“Like who?”
The whole class was listening now, and Reuben puffed out his fifth-grade chest with pride at having caught the ears of everyone in the room. Lilly enjoyed the moments when the younger students could be heard, so she chose to extend the discussion.
“Well, you’ve all seen the fine leatherwork that Amish men do during the winter to sell at spring festivals - the saddles, satchels, belts, and such. All of that could be called ‘sewing’ by some, but it’s really art.”
“That ain’t art.” John Zook interjected his voice, strident with adolescence.
“Isn’t, John, and yes it is art. Don’t you find that leatherwork is interesting to look at? The design details are inspiring and make you think that what you see is more than just a piece of cowhide.”
The youth considered. “Ye-es, I guess so. But why care about art that men make anyway? Isn’t Derr Herr the best artist at nature and stuff, like the bishop says at Meeting sometimes?”
Lilly felt the thrill she always did when a student pushed back, stretching and thinking on his or her own. “You’re right, John, of course. But He has blessed us as well that we can create beauty with purpose, like the intricate belt that still holds up a man’s pants.”
Singing is a poetic declaration. It’s a way to share thoughts, emotions and experiences. It’s an opening of the vulnerable self to share intentional harmony with others. In the same way, other spiritual gifts and works of art, create something beautiful with a purpose.
Sometimes the purpose of our creation may be based on functionality. Other times the true intention of creation turns back to God as praise.
As God created, he gave his children the ability to create. We have the unique ability to see God as the master artist, and to be inspired by his being in our own creations. When we see our works, our creating, our arts, as a platform to portray the works of a good God, we become enveloped in a new form of singing praise to our God.
If you’ve ever been around small children, there is one question that becomes the bane of existence: why? Without even having to ask, the Psalmist meets our needs and not only shares how we can praise God, but also shares why we praise God.
We praise our God because he is awesome.
Psalm 47:2
How awesome is the Lord Most High,
the great King over all the earth!
I heard a devotional in college that considering the Lord as awesome, meant being in a state of awe; a state of respect and wonder. We don’t have to fully understand our God to be in awe of him and to consider him awesome. We stand in awe of our God because of who he is, what he has done, and what he has promised to do. We respect that our God is about our joy while mutually wondering about his ways. He is worthy of our awe regardless of our understanding.
We praise God because he is King of all the earth.
Psalm 47:7-8
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
This part of Psalm 47 gives us a throwback to Psalm 46. In Psalm 46 we reveled that God mutually and actively reigned in heaven and on earth. Psalm 47 piggybacks off of that message and reminds us that God is King of earth, actively reigning, while seated on his holy throne.
God isn’t a passive God. He is actively working, guiding, ruling the entirety of his people across the earth. We praise Him out of joy that he is a God who actively participates in our lives. We praise Him out of recognition that he is King of the earth and he actively reigns as such.
We choose to praise God because he has chosen us as his people.
Psalm 47:3
He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
This verse of Psalm 47 speaks of God’s chosen people. It points to Ephesians 1 to help us learn who God has chosen us to be in relation to him.
Ephesians 1:3-6
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
How incredible is this news friends?
How easy is it to turn to praise when we remember the depths to which we have been chosen?
We praise God, as his chosen people, because he chose us from the very beginning. He predestined us, before we ever existed, before Christ walked the earth, to be one with God because of his son. From the beginning of time, we were intended to be saved in love and grace by the Son. We praise God because he chose to bless us and extend his grace to us before we even took our first breath.
And finally, we praise God for the passed prophecy of his Son who could come, die and ascend to heaven. We praise God for the current prophecy that his Son will come, and rise, again.
Psalm 47: 5
God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the surrounding of trumpets.
Psalm 47:8
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
At the time Psalms was written, Jesus had yet to descend to earth and willingly pay the price of his life for His people. This Psalm was a joyful prophecy, not only that Jesus would come, but that he would ascend back to heaven with his work completed. It was a recognition and praise filled excitement over the events that were promised by God. It was a praise of excellence for the truly incredible moment that God’s people were waiting for.
For us, while we can certainly appreciate the anticipation of awaiting Jesus’ life, death and ascension, it reminds us of our own anticipation for when Christ will return. It reminds us that God still has promises he’s fulfilling.
I know the second coming can so easily feel scary in comparison to Jesus’ first walk on this earth. We don’t fully understand what will happen, much of Revelations is taken out of context, and it reminds us that God’s people will be divided by those who love Him, and those who don’t.
It makes sense to be afraid of something we can’t understand. But friends, look at the joyful anticipation of this Psalm. Christ’s second coming, His re-ascension to Heaven, is a good thing. It’s something we should anticipate with joy and praise.
I’m sure that at the time Psalms was written, there was a weird mix of joy and fear over the King of all Kings that was foretold to come. They didn’t know precisely what would happen either, and look how wonderful it turned out to be. God and his promises are so much greater than our own fear of the unknown.
It is good and right for us to set aside our uncertainties and remember that the fulfillment of God’s promises is worth our praise.
With this strong praise, we must learn to trust in God and his plans.
Psalm 47:4
He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
This point so deeply ties in with the last two points we discussed as to why we praise God. If we praise God because we are his chosen people and because he has and will ascend to his throne, then we must trust in God’s chosen inheritance for us as well.
The psalmist so easily glides past this point in his song of praise. It’s so natural for him to remember that God loves his people and chose his people. Because of their trust of who they were to God, they easily trusted in God's inheritance for them as well.
I think we unfortunately live in a day and age where we are constantly focusing on what we can give ourselves rather than trusting that God’s plan is so much greater.
We want to have a say in what happens to us and what we do with our lives. We want to choose our blessings and are disappointed when we usually get the opposite. We desire everything we don’t have, our minds pinning at how to achieve more, rather than finding peace with where God saw fit to put us. We think we can handle any hardship, any trial, except for the one that’s present in our life.
When I was applying for colleges I was set on going out of state or even out of the country. For some reason I blamed Colorado for all the hardships I had faced and I just wanted to be done with the state. I toured and applied to schools from Massachusetts to Nebraska to Wyoming.
Every school I got accepted into, fell off my reality list when I looked at the tuition. Because they were out of state, I couldn’t get the same level of funding and I knew there was no way I, or my family, had the money to pay my tuition without funding. One particular school in Queensland, Australia left me devastated after I realized their tuition was 70K a semester.
Eventually, all that was left was the University of Colorado - the one school I desperately didn’t want to go to. I was so angry and bitter, that the only school who offered enough funding for me to attend, was the one I didn't want to go to and couldn’t see myself attending.
Friends, going to CU was a work of God. It was the last thing I wanted and yet, it was everything I needed.
I was so scared that the school itself would make me lose my faith and I experienced the exact opposite. I was given an incredible Christian community and I finally had the space to work through all my built up hurt. My relationship with God only grew during those years. He used the school I saw as a despair, and turned it into an opportunity to show me hope for a future.
If I hadn’t gone to that school, I wouldn’t have grown so deep in my faith, I wouldn’t have met my future husband, I wouldn’t have started my first job that led to my accident. If I hadn’t gone to the school God showed me the way to, I would have never had the opportunity or courage to start writing these devotionals for you.
The wonderful thing about God’s inheritance is that it may not be what we want up front, but it will always be exactly what we need.
We may not get the blessings, trials or calling that we desire, but God gives us something so much greater. He gives us what will grow us, strengthen us and fulfill his promise in us. He may give us the unexpected, but he will never give us something that we will truly hate, or truly be unable to do.
He knows us better than we know ourselves and that in and of itself is worthy of our praise.
Thoughts For The Week
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I want you to consider Lilly’s explanations of art that I shared from the novel I was reading.
"The design details are inspiring and make you think that what you see is more than just a piece of cowhide."
"He has blessed us as well that we can create beauty with purpose."
How do these descriptions help you understand the functionality of our lives in respect to praise?
How does understanding that the God who creates also gives us the ability to create, give you insight on how and why we can praise in our day to day lives?
How are your works, the details of your life, a small part of God’s bigger picture?
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What spiritual gifts do you have that you can use as a platform of praise?
What would this look like for you to use your passions and abilities to intentionally give praise?
How can you use your gifts to share the gospel?
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Consider the different ways we offer praise: in community, across barriers, boldly, victoriously, with our spiritual gifts.
Which of these forms of praise do you find the easiest? Which forms of praise do you need to grow in?
Pick one form of praise you need/would like to grow in and set an intention for the week to practice praising God in a new way.
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Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We clap our hands and shout our joy towards you. We set aside our self consciousness to show you the depths of the freedom you have given us. We praise you boldly in reflection of the bold God that you are.
You are awesome, Lord. You are king of all the earth and you reign actively and wisely from your seated throne.
You protect your people and in your great love for us, give us what we need, not what we want.
You have chosen our inheritance for us Lord and that is a great and wonderful thing. You have chosen a good and wonderful path that will grow us in and towards you. You have chosen us from the beginning and offer us a place in your home.
Lord, we praise you in remembrance of the ascension that was and in hope for the ascension that will be. We see you as sovereign God and we rejoice.
We assemble as your people, ready to serve and to praise the Lord.
You have given so much and our hope for a future is complete in you.
In your name we pray,
Hallelujah! Amen!
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