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Psalm 47
When this song is sung, it should be preceded, followed, and interwoven with the triumphant sound of trumpets! It's that kind of song, a song of praise, not to a human king, but to the heavenly King of His people, to the King Who, in fact, is not only King of Israel, but who rules the entire universe!
It should remind us of Daniel 4:34, 35, where we read, "For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have you done?'"
It would have been a good thing for the people of Jerusalem to sing this song the day before their armies returned from battle. Then, the next day, they could go out and sing it again as the victorious armies entered the gates, the warriors themselves joining in as they came near. The sound - and the joy - would be overwhelming indeed!
The song focuses upon the reason for victory. It says, "For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth!" In other words, He can bring victory because He rules absolutely over all that happens on this spinning sphere, for it is all His!
And since it's His property, He gives His people whatever lands He will: "He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves!" He gives it to them, and He maintains it for them. And then, each time He leads their armies to victory over those who would try to take their land from them - it's as though He gave their inheritance to them again.
So in every case His people are simply called upon to shout and sing praises to Him Who is "king of all the earth! - (Who) reigns over the nations (and). . . sits on His holy throne!" He IS greatly exalted, and His people should joyfully sing out that fact!
But let's bring the understanding of this psalm up to our own day and situation. In the present age our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and is exalted to the right hand of the Almighty on high. Regarding Himself our Lord Jesus Christ says that "all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto Me." So it is with that authority that He leads His Church into every battle of the modern age. In fact the battles are won even when they seem to us to have been lost! And of course the final triumph will also be His, for "all His enemies shall be made His footstool!"
It would do us well to be reminded of that sovereignty over all, that final triumph that has already been won. Let us, in fact, be reminded of it as we join His people in songs of praise like this one.
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