Works Volume 4, Book 2 · Psalm 47
The Forty Seventh PSALM.
TO the chief Muſitian, A Pſalm for the ſons of Coreh.
Paraphrase. The forty ſeventh Pſalm is a ſummons and invitation to all to bleſs and acknowledge God in his power and mercy, expreſt remarkably to the Jews in ſubduing the heathen nations about them, but myſtically to the Chriſtian Church, in bringing the Potentates of the world to be members of it. It was committed to the Praefect of the Muſick, to be ſung by the poſterity of Coreh, and probably to be ſung at the ſolemn feaſts when the whole nation of the Jews aſſembled to the houſe of God at Jeruſalem.
1. O clap your hands, all ye people; ſhout unto God with the voice of trumpet.
Paraphrase. 1. Let all the ſervants of God praiſe and magnifie him, recount his acts of power and mercy afforded to us, ſolemnize the victories which he hath wrought for us with triumphs and ovations and jubilees.
2. For the Lord moſt high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
Paraphrase. 2. For the God of Iſrael is the only powerful God, moſt formidable to all his, and his Churches enemies, the only Ruler of all the world.
3. He †or hath ſubdued.ſhall ſubdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
Paraphrase. 3. It hath been his immediate and peculiar work, to ſubject the Canaanites and the reſt of the ſeven nations, and give us poſſeſſion of their lands, and to ſuppreſs the Philiſtims and the other adjoyning nations alſo.
4. He †or hath choſen—ſhall chuſe our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
Paraphrase. 4. It hath been his free act of mercy, grace and goodneſs, to ſeek out and eſpy, Ezek. 20.6. for us of the ſeed of Jacob ſo rich a portion, and withal to afford us the benefit of his ſanctuary, that excellence of our ſtrength, Ezek. 24.21. and herein to advance us above all other people of the world, out of his meer love and favour to us.
5. God is gone up with a ſhout, the Lord with the ſound of a trumpet.
Paraphrase. 5. He hath a peculiar preſence in that place where his people aſſemble to his ſervice. And ſo the ſerving him there is another matter of triumphant joy to the pious man; the ſhout and the trumpet call men together thither, and ſo attend that, as they do the triumphs of a conqueror.
6. Sing praiſes to God, ſing praiſes: ſing praiſes to our King, ſing praiſes.
Paraphrase. 6. Let us therefore all joyn in the continual magnifying of him, as of our God, which hath choſen us to himſelf, and as of our King that hath moſt proſperouſly fought all our battels for us, and now in peace expects our offerings of peace, to be honoured and praiſed by us.
7. For God is the King of all the earth: ſing ye praiſes with underſtanding.
Paraphrase. 7. He is the ſupreme Governour of all the world, and is therefore duly to be acknowledged and glorified by all.
8. God reigneth over the heathen: God ſitteth upon the throne of his holineſs.
Paraphrase. 8. He hath ſignally ſubdued the Idolatrous heathen nations, ſubjected them to the throne of David, and among his own people the Jews he exhibits himſelf in a divine and powerful manner in the Sanctuary, the place of our aſſembling, and his conſtant reſidence. (In the myſtical ſenſe, He will ſubject the heathen world to the faith of Chriſt, and exerciſe a ſpiritual dominion in their hearts.)
9. The Princes of the cforeignpeople are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the ſhields of the earth ‖are the Lords.belong unto God; he is greatly exalted.
Paraphrase. 9. And thither do the rulers of the tribes, and all the people of Iſrael aſſemble at the appointed times of his ſervice, the ſolemn feaſts, ſo many times a year: and though at ſuch times the country be left naked, and in a manner deſolate, no company remaining at their houſes to guard them from the violence of the neigbouring nations; yet hath God undertaken to protect them from all invaſion, having promiſed that none ſhould deſire their land, when they went up to the place that he ſhould chooſe, Exod. 34.24. And this he hath ſignally made good, working in the hearts of all the adjacent heathen a great dread and awe of us. (In the myſtical ſenſe is further contained a prediction, that the Jews that ſtood out againſt Chriſt ſhould at length come in, many of them, and receive the faith, ſome before the deſtruction by Titus, others in Adrians time, at which time the whole nation became Chriſtian, (ſee note on Revel. 2. f.) and not only they, but the heathen nations alſo, who ſhould univerſally come in to Chriſt, become Chriſtian.) And this both in the firſt literal, and ſublimer myſtical ſenſe, is to be lookt on as a ſignal act of Gods power and providence, and ſo to be acknowledged by all.
Annotations on Pſal. XLVII.
3. He ſhall ſubdue] 'Tis ſo frequent for the future to be uſed in the preter tenſe, and the matter doth ſo ſignally direct it to do ſo here v. 4. and 5. that it is ſtrange any interpreters ſhould retain the future ſenſe in their rendring. The place belongs evidently to Gods giving the land of Canaan to the Iſarelites, and that ſure was paſt at the writing of the Pſalm; and accordingly the LXXII. render it in both verſes, foreign,foreign he hath ſubdued, v. 3. and foreign, he hath choſen, v. 4. There is nothing then of farther difficulty to be here explicated, unleſs it be, that foreign excellence, magnificence, pride, from foreign being high or excellent, doth here denote that excellent portion, that fat and fruitful land, which God had choſen for the Iſraelites to poſſeſs, they and their poſterity; but eſpecially the place of Gods publick worſhip among them, which is ſtyled the excellence of their ſtrength, that which ſecured to them all their victories over their enemies, and the deſire of their eyes, Ezek. 24.21. a priviledge which of all others ought to be moſt pretious, and deſirable to them.
foreignV. 7. With underſtanding] 'Tis ordinarily reſolved, that foreign here ſignifies with underſtanding: foreign with a good underſtanding, ſaith the Chaldee: foreign, intelligently, ſay the LXXII. and ſapienter, wiſely, the Latine. But the word being a noun, is not elſewhere to be found adverbially, and is therefore by the interlinear rendred intelligens. But neither will that without much ſtreining be fitted to accord with foreign ſing ye, foreignin the plural. It is not therefore improbable, that foreign being ſo oft uſed in the titles of the Pſalms, for the name of a tune or key in Muſick, (See note on Pſal. 32. a.) ſhould here alſo be taken in that ſenſe, being joyned with foreign ſing praiſes to God in that tune or key, which was then well known by that title. But this being only a conjecture, 'tis ſufficient here to have thus mentioned it, and no more.
V. 9. People] This laſt verſe is thought capable of ſome variety of rendring, firſt in reſpect of the word foreign, the people. This the LXXII. appear to have read with Chir…c foreign, and ſo have rendred it foreign, with: and the Latine follows them, cum Deo Abraham, with the God of Abraham. But paſſing by this, and taking foreign for a noun, 'tis yet not improbable, that it ſhould be read in the notion of foreign as in the Dative caſe, thus, the Princes of the people foreign were aggregated or joyned foreign to the people of the God of Abraham, foreignpopulo, ſaith the Interlinear, i. e. to the Jews. And then ſtill the LXXII. their rendring will be as to the ſenſe expreſſive enough, foreign, The Princes of the people have been joyned with the God of Abraham: for that is in ſenſe exactly the ſame with joyning with the Jews, who worſhipt that God; as it was all one to be a proſelyte to God, and a proſelyte to the Jews, and as it is all one to aſſociate and joyn with Chriſt, and with Chriſtians. Laſtly, it may be read foreign, as in the nominative, or perhaps the genitive caſe, and joyned by oppoſition either to the Princes or the people foregoing, as in our Engliſh, The Princes of the people, even the people—And ſo the Chaldee render it, The princes of the people are aſſembled foreign the people that are faithful to the God of Abraham; and thus 'twill note the whole nation of the Jews, as many as continue conſtant to that obedience, and that worſhip which God hath by law eſtabliſhed among them. And thus will the words fitly and literally be underſtood, in reference to the univerſall aſſembling of all the nation of the Jews at the feaſts at Jeruſalem, Princes and people together, the whole people of Iſrael, or children of Abraham: and to that will belong what follows, concerning the ſhields of the earth, or land, howſoever we underſtand them. The words ſeem capable of a double interpretation.foreign If foreign the ſhields of the earth] be taken literally, for the inſtruments of protection and preſervation, then foreign to the Lord] will ſignifie, that all ſuch means of ſafeguard, wherein the whole land can be concerned, are in Gods power, and at his command or diſpoſing, ſo that he can ſurely give what he hath promiſed, the moſt perfect defence and ſafety to them that in obedience to him reſort to Jeruſalem to worſhip, and leave no number of men at home to defend their country from invaſions. But both the Jewiſh-Arab Interpreter, and Abu-Walid, by foreign the ſhields of the earth, will have here meant foreign the nobleſt of men, and chief of them. And ſo alſo Aben Ezra, and Kimchi; and ſo the word is uſed, Hoſ. 4.18. foreign her ſhields: foreign her great men, ſay the Chaldee; and we rightly render it, her Rulers. And ſo here, though the Chaldee render it literally foreign ſhields, yet the Syriack hath foreign which their Latine doth not rightly render territoria, the territories of the earth: it ſignifies the dominions or powers (foreign power or principality, from foreign or foreign to hold, to poſſeſs) and ſo the LXXII. read foreign, the mighty of the land are God's; not as the Latine, dii fortes terrae, the ſtrong Gods of the land, (ſure it ſhould be Dei, anſwerable to foreign, and foreign) but the mighty of the land are God's, in the ſenſe as Rev. 11.15. we read, foreign, the kingdoms of the world became our Lords, i. e. were converted to Chriſt, (ſee note on Rev. 11. f.) And then, as there it follows, foreign, and he, i. e. God or Chriſt, ſhall reign for ever and ever; ſo here foreign he, i. e. God, is highly exalted: not foreign in the plural, as the LXXII. and Latine, and others from thence; but as the Chaldee and Syriack, in the ſingular, God is exalted, as ver. 8. God reigneth over the heathen, and ver. 7. God is the King of all the earth; God being then ſaid to be exalted and to reign, when men come in to acknowledge and obey him. And this will be moſt fully underſtood in the prophetical meaning of the words, as they had a larger completion under Chriſt, at the converſion of the Jews and Gentiles alſo, for that is the aſſembling both of, and to the people of the God of Abraham, that Father of the faithful, whoſe myſtical or ſpiritual Children are ſtyled the people of God, by way of eminence, and the converſion of heathens or incredulous Jews into ſuch, is the reigning of God or Chriſt among them.