Tap any verse number for what that verse means.
1O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
3He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
5God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
8God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
9The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.
Understand This
Psalm 47, explained
What Psalm 47 is saying
Psalm 47 is an enthronement psalm celebrating YHWH as King over all the earth, with the congregation summoned to 'clap your hands' and 'shout to God with cries of joy.' The assertion that 'God has ascended amid shouts of joy' (alah Elohim bitru'ah) was historically associated with the Ark's processional ascent to the temple. The universal scope—'God reigns over the nations'—extends Israel's worship to global dimensions.
The background behind it
The psalm belongs to the 'YHWH malakh' (the LORD reigns) tradition, which some scholars connect to an annual enthronement festival in the temple. The Christian tradition associates this psalm with the Ascension of Christ, particularly in liturgical readings.
Themes running underneath
The psalm's universalism is striking: all nations are summoned to praise Israel's God, and Abraham's God is acclaimed as the possessor of 'the shields of the earth' (i.e., the rulers of the nations). The movement from national to universal praise anticipates the eschatological vision of all nations worshiping YHWH.
Why it still matters
Psalm 47 challenges parochial worship by insisting that Israel's God is King of all peoples. It invites embodied, exuberant praise—clapping, shouting—as an appropriate response to divine sovereignty, pushing against overly cerebral or restrained worship.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.