PM July 16th Psalm 47

July 16^th Psalm 47

A Psalm for the sons of Korah

God is our King

1: O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. 2: For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. 3: He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. 4: He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. 5: God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6: Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7: For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. 8: God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 9: The 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.

Psalm 48

A song or Psalm for the sons of Korah

Zion, God’s city

1: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2: Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3: God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4: For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5: They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6: Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 7: Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. 8: As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. 9: We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10: According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11: Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. 12: Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 13: Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. 14: For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

To the chief musician,

Today we have been reading Psalm 47 & 48. The first Psalm - 47 is dedicated to the sons of Korah. And its an encouragement to joyful loud praise. He says come on – clap your hands! – All of you. Get yourself involved – shout not to each other but to the Lord. Why? Because he is far bigger than you and far bigger than yourself in fact he is so big its terrifying. He is THE GREAT KING over ALL the earth. (This probably has a Messianic significance) He will come and conquer all nations and put them under the Jews. The nations will bow so low that his feet will be on their heads. And he will select a good inheritance for Israel. The place that he will choose for Israel will be for better than anything you they imagine. Think about that! Think about it. Then the Psalmist says God (In the person of the Lord Jesus) has gone up to his temple with a shout from his people. This is the LORD (Jehovah) who is accompanied with the sound of a trumpet. So sing Gods praises, come on sing! SING! To the King of kings - the Lord of all the earth. Lets sing intelligently. God reigneth over all the heathen nations. He sits on the throne of his holiness. All the princes of Israel are gathered together – all sons of Abraham, because all the protection of all the earth belongs to God and he is greatly lifted up. The second Psalm – 48 has a similar theme. Again it is dedicated to the choir of Korah. It’s a song of praise at the amazing greatness of the Lord which will be seen properly in the Messianic kingdom. To is sung to the Lord. Great is the Lord and so great that he will be praised in the city of Jerusalem on the mountain of Zion. The city will then be beautiful in its situation. It will be the place where all men of every nation will rejoice in the Lord. Mount Zion will be the tallest mountain in the world and it will be the city of the great King. In those days the prophecy given to Mary will finally become true. He shall be great and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob and of his kingdom there will be no end. The queens of the earth will know that there is a refuge in the Lord. The Kings of the earth will come to Jerusalem and they will be amazed and yet troubled and they will hurry away because they recognise that they are bound to serve him and they dont want to. Rebellion is in their heart. The fear of the Lord will grip them like the pains of childbirth. The Lord will smash the ships of Spain with an east wind. The city of Jerusalem will be the city of the LORD of heaven and it will be established forever. Think about that! Can you imagine it? We have often thought of the loving kindness of the Lord when we are in the middle of the millennial temple. Wherever your name is known there men will praise the LORD and the Lord will reign in truth and righteousness. So may all the citizens of Zion rejoice in the Lord. And may all the daughters of Judah be glad because of the Lords righteous judgments. Walk around Zion and count the towers. Inspect the walls and think about the palaces, so that you will be able to describe then to future generations who haven’t seen them yet. Because our God is eternal and he will be our guide all our lives.

• When will Psa 47 come to fulfillment?
• What will Mt Zion be like one day?
• How will the Lord deal with his enemies?