Psalm 46 — 47
describe Him as "coming down." He came down to visit the tower of Babel and judged the people building it (Gen. 11:5), and He also came down to investigate the wicked city of Sodom and destroyed it (Gen. 18:21). The night 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slain by the angel, God came down and brought judgment (Isa. 37:28–29, 36) and then "went up" in great glory to His holy throne (v. 8). David gave a similar description of victory in 68:18, a verse Paul quoted in Ephesians 4:8–10, applying it to the ascension of Jesus Christ. From the human viewpoint, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a great defeat and tragedy, but not from God's viewpoint. In His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus won the victory over the world and the devil (John 12:31–32; Col. 2:15) and satisfied the claims of God's holy law so that sinners could believe and be saved. What a victory! He then ascended to heaven, far above every enemy (Eph. 1:19–22), where He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3).
that will change. "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day" (Isa. 2:11 nkjv).
PSALM 47
The promise of 46:10 is fulfilled in 47: "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (nasb). Five times the people are commanded to "sing praises" to the Lord who "reigns over the nations" (v. 8 nasb). If this psalm was written to celebrate the defeat of Sennacherib (see 46), then it describes the people of Israel proclaiming to the surrounding Gentile nations the glorious victory of their God, a victory won without their having to fight a battle! The psalm is used in the synagogues on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year's Day, and in the church, it is used on Ascension Day (see v. 5; 68:18; Eph. 4:8–10). This also makes it a messianic psalm, with an emphasis on the coming kingdom. As the people of Israel praise their God to the Gentiles around them, they make three affirmations about Him.
Our God Is King of Kings (vv. 6–9) A remarkable thing occurs: the rulers and peoples of the Gentile nations join Israel in praising the Lord Jehovah! He is not simply the God and King of Israel, but He is the "king of all the earth." It was God's plan when He called Abraham that Israel would be a blessing to all the earth (Gen. 12:1–3; John 12:32; Gal. 3:7–9), for "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). Throughout their history, Israel has been persecuted by many nations of the world, yet it is Israel that has blessed the world. Israel brought us the knowledge of the one true and living God, they gave us the Scriptures, and they gave us Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Today, Jews and Gentiles in the church are praising God together (Eph. 2:11ff.), and one day in the glorious kingdom, Jews and Gentiles will glorify and praise Him (67:1–7; 72:8–11; Rom. 15:8–13). The psalmist saw God's defeat of the Assyrians as a sign of His defeat of all the nations and the establishment of His glorious kingdom. The prophets announced that the Gentiles would turn to the Lord and share the kingdom with Israel (Isa. 2:1–5; 11:1–10; Mic. 4:1–5), and the psalmist looked down the ages and saw this fulfilled. The Gentile leaders, representing their people, will come and give their allegiance and their praise to Jesus Christ, "[a]nd the Lord shall be king over all the earth" (Zech. 14:9). Paul alludes to verse 7 in 1 Cor. 14:15 when he admonishes us to "sing with the understanding." The word shields can refer to kings since they are the protectors of the people (89:18). The kings of the earth belong to the Lord because He is the King of Kings (Rev. 19:16). The image of God sitting upon His holy throne is used often in the book of Revelation (4:2, 9–10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:10, 15; 19:4; 21:5). For God's people, every day is Ascension Day as we praise and worship the exalted and ascended Lord.
Our God Is an Awesome King (vv. 1–4) We have moved from "Be still" (46:10) to shouting, clapping, and the blowing of trumpets. Jewish worship was enthusiastic, but they also knew how to be quiet before the Lord and wait upon Him (Lam. 2:10; Hab. 2:4; Zeph. 1:7; Zech. 2:13). Since the theme of the psalm is the kingship of the Lord, they worshipped Him the way they welcomed a new king (1 Sam. 10:24; 2 Kings 11:12–13, 20). "The shout of a king is among them" (Num. 23:21). The early church patterned its worship after the synagogue and emphasized prayer, the reading and expounding of Scripture, and the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. When the Jewish people clapped their hands and shouted, it was to the Lord in response to His marvelous works. They did not do it to praise the people who participated in the worship service.
To know God is to know One who is awesome in all that He is, says, and does (65:8; 76:7, 12). Jerusalem's deliverance from Sennacherib proved once more that the God of Israel was greater than all gods and deserved all the praise His people could bring to Him. He gave them victory over the nations in Canaan and gave them the land for their inheritance (135:4; Ex. 15:17; 19:5; Deut. 4:21, 37–38; 32:8). Since God chose the Jews in His love and gave them their land in His grace, what right did the Assyrians have to try to take it from them? (See 2 Chron. 20:10–12.) The land of Israel is very special to the Lord and He watches over it (Deut. 8:7–20; 11:10–12).
Our God Is a Triumphant King (v. 5) God fills heaven and earth, but when He acts on earth on behalf of His people, the Scriptures sometimes