John Gill Commentary Psalms 47

O clap your hands, all you people,
Meaning the Gentiles more especially; see (Psalms 117:1) compared with (Romans 15:9–11); who had reason to rejoice and be glad, since the ascended Lord and King here spoken of was given to be their Saviour, was the propitiation for their sins, and had given himself a ransom price for them; and now the Gospel was preached among them, by an order from him after his resurrection; and upon his ascension gifts were bestowed on his apostles, qualifying them for it; when many of them were converted by it, and were made partakers of the same grace and privileges with the Jews that believed in Christ, and were formed into Gospel churches. Wherefore they are called upon to declare their joy and gladness by "clapping their hands"; which is a gesture expressive of exultation and joy; see (Psalms 98:8) (Isaiah 55:12) (Nahum 3:19). It was used at the unction and coronation of a king, (2 Kings 11:12); and so very proper to be used on occasion of the Messiah being made or declared Lord and Christ, as he was at his ascension, (Acts 2:36);

shout unto God with the voice of triumph;
as when triumphs are made on account of victories obtained, which was now the case; Christ having conquered sin, Satan, and the world, by his sufferings and death, and having spoiled principalities and powers, made a show of them, openly triumphing over them, when he ascended on high, and led captivity captive; and he having sent his apostles into the Gentile world with his Gospel, they were caused to triumph in him wherever they came. And now these external actions of clapping hands, and shouting with the voice, are expressive of inward spiritual joy; which those among the people who were conquered by the grace of God, and had a sight of their ascended Lord and Saviour, were filled with: and who are exhorted to express it in this manner, unto God: not to angels, nor to men, no, not to ministers, who brought the joyful tidings to them; but to God, either to God the Father, for all their temporal and spiritual blessings; especially for the unspeakable gift of his Son, to suffer and die for them: or to the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh; God that was gone up with a shout, (Psalms 47:5); and was now at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honour; who, by the sufferings of death, had obtained eternal redemption for them.

For the Lord most high [is] terrible
Christ is not only the Son of the Highest, but he himself is the most high God, God over all, blessed for ever. He is higher than the highest, than the angels in heaven, or any of the sons of men on earth. He is the high and lofty One, that dwells in the high and lofty place. And even this character agrees with him as the ascended Lord and King in his human nature; he is ascended on high, is set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. He is highly exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour; he is made higher than the heavens, and than the kings of the earth are; angels, authorities, and powers, are subject to him. And this is a reason exciting all the people to joy and gladness.

And he is "terrible" to his enemies, being the Lion of the tribe of Judah; who will rule the nations with a rod of iron, and break them in pieces as a potter's vessel: and so he will be when he shall come in the clouds of heaven, land descend from thence, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on those who have despised and rejected him; and at the same time will be glorious to and admired by them that believe in him. His appearance, which will be terrible to others, will be matter of joy to them.

Though the word used may be rendered as it is in (Psalms 111:9) ; "reverend" or "to be feared" ^F2 , as he is; see (Isaiah 8:13Isaiah 8:14) ; both on account of his goodness, as the Redeemer and Saviour of his people, (Hosea 3:5) ; and of his greatness, being equal with God, and King of saints. As it follows;

[he is] a great King over all the earth ;
as he must needs be, since he is the great God and our Saviour; and is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is now King of Zion, and head over all things to the church; and before long the kingdoms of this world will become his, and he will take to himself his great power and reign, and shall be King over all the earth openly and visibly; he shall be one, and his name One, (Zechariah 14:9) (Malachi 1:14) ; which is another reason for joy and gladness among the people.

FOOTNOTES:

• F2: (arwn) "reverendus", Junius & Tremellius; "timendus est", Coccius; "venerandus", Michaelis.

He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. As Joshua, his type, subdued the Canaanites; and as David, another type of subdued the Syrians, Moabites, and others: the Jews from these words expect, that, in the times of the Messiah they look for, the Gentiles in a literal sense will be subdued by him, and become subject to them;

but these, and all other expressions of the like kind, are to be understood in a spiritual sense; such as (Isaiah 49:23) (Isaiah 60:10Isaiah 60:12Isaiah 60:14); and which will have their accomplishment in the latter day, in the subjection of the Gentiles to the word and ordinances of the Gospel administered in his churches:

though the passage here refers to the times following the ascension of Christ to heaven, when he went forth in the ministry of his apostles conquering and to conquer; and which he made use of to cause the people to fall under him, and to be willing to be saved by him; to submit to his righteousness, and to his ordinances, the sceptre of his kingdom; and which was causing them to triumph, and subduing the people under them, who through the Gospel preached by them became obedient by word and deed; and which was an occasion of joy even to the conquered ones.

He shall choose our inheritance for us

Either a portion in this life; God knows what is best for his people, and therefore they should leave it with him, who can make a better choice for them than for themselves: an Heathen ^F3 once gave this advice,

``give thyself wholly to the will and disposal of the celestial ones; for they who are used to give good things easily can also choose the fittest.''

Or the heavenly inheritance, so called in allusion to the land of Canaan, subdued and possessed by the Israelites, in which Christ is greatly concerned; his people are predestinated to the adoption of children, that is, to the inheritance they are adopted to by him, in whom they obtain it; through his death they receive the promise of eternal inheritance, he being the testator of that will of their heavenly Father which bequeaths it to them; it is his righteousness which gives them a title to it, and through his grace they have a meetness for it, and he will at last introduce them into it; all which is a reason for joy and gladness in them.

The Arabic version renders it, "he has chosen us an inheritance for himself"; so the Lord's people are, (Deuteronomy 32:9) . Christ asked them of his father, and he gave them for his inheritance, he having chosen them as such, and greatly delighted he is with them, (Psalms 2:8) (16:6) ;

the excellency of Jacob whom he loved .
The saints, who are, in his esteem, the excellent in the earth, and who will be in the latter day an eternal excellency, (Psalms 16:3) (Isaiah 60:15) ; even the whole church, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, the spiritual Jacob or Israel of God, whom Christ has loved with an everlasting love, and therefore has chosen them for his portion and peculiar treasure; as Jacob in person was loved when Esau was hated.

Selah; on this word, (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: Socrates apud Valer. Maxim. l. 7. c. 2. extern. 1.

God is gone up with a shout
That is, the Son of God, who is truly and properly God, equal to the Father, having the same perfections; God manifest in the flesh, the Word that was made flesh, and dwelt among men on earth. In the next clause, he is called "Lord" or "Jehovah", being the everlasting "I AM", which is, and was, and is to come. Having done his work on earth, he went up from earth to heaven in human nature, really, locally, and visibly, in the sight of his apostles, attended by angels, and with their shouts and acclamations, which are here meant;

the Lord with the sound of the trumpet ;
which circumstance, though not related in the account of Christ's ascension in the New Testament, yet since the angels say he shall descend in like manner as he ascended, and that he will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God; so that if his ascent was as his descent will be, it must be then with a shout, and the sound of a trumpet, (Acts 1:10) (1 Thessalonians 4:16) . This text is applied to the Messiah by the ancient Jewish writers ^F4 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F4: Bemidbar Rabba, s. 15. fol. 218. 1.