Psalm 47

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 47
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: The King of the Earth Subdues and Converts the Nations

Scripture: Psalm 47

I. The King of the Earth Subdues the Nations — Psalm 47:1–7

A. Psalm 47 is linked to Psalm 46, which ends with God declaring his own exaltation (Psalm 46:10); Psalm 47 is the people's response, declaring that exaltation to one another

1. The selah marks the structural division of the psalm into two parts
2. The Psalter is carefully and liturgically constructed — each psalm follows from the one before it
3. Our hymns follow the same pattern: worshipers sing to one another, declaring what God has declared about himself

B. The title "God Most High" is used throughout Scripture in the context of humbling kings and nations

1. Daniel 5:18–22 — Nebuchadnezzar was humbled until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind; Belshazzar his son did not learn from this

C. "The pride of Jacob whom he loves" (Psalm 47:4) refers to the heritage God gave Israel

1. Unlike the tribal deities of the ancient Near East, Yahweh — Israel's covenant Lord — is also the king of all the earth; this is a uniquely remarkable claim
2. The language of heritage echoes the conquest of Canaan under Joshua (Joshua 13–21), where God subdues nations and portions out the land

D. Nations rise and fall by God's sovereign hand — illustrated by the sudden destruction of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and the Aztec Empire

1. Babylon was an instrument of God's judgment against Israel, yet God judged Babylon in turn (Isaiah 40–66)
2. The Psalter applies these massive redemptive-historical events to every believer in every age — those united to Christ belong to the story of the Exodus, the Red Sea, and every mighty act of God

E. "God has gone up with a shout" (Psalm 47:5) likely reflects the rising of the Shekinah glory that led Israel in the wilderness

1. Numbers 10:35 — "Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered"
2. James Montgomery Boice: more than 50 Old Testament verses speak of the Shekinah glory; its rising indicated God leading his people forward

II. The King of the Earth Converts the Nations — Psalm 47:8–9

A. Verses 8–9 move beyond subduing nations to their conversion — the princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham

1. This is a prophetic word embedded in the psalm (noted by Kidner and Boice)
2. The nations are no longer merely defeated enemies but are gathered into the covenant people of God — Gentiles grafted in (Romans 11)

B. The name Abraham (not Abram) means "father of a multitude of nations" — the covenant promise reaches beyond Israel to all peoples (Genesis 17:4–6)

C. The New Testament fulfills this prophecy

1. 1 Timothy 2 — Paul urges prayer for kings and those in authority because God is savior of all people through Jesus Christ
2. Luke addresses most excellent Theophilus — a title for those of high Roman rank — signaling the gospel's reach into imperial halls from the church's earliest days
3. Matthew 28:19 — the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations"

D. The conversion of Constantine (312 AD) illustrates the psalm's fulfillment

1. Under Diocletian's Great Persecution the church was slaughtered; overnight, with Constantine's conversion, Christianity became the religion of the Empire — through conversion, not the sword
2. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) followed, combating the heresy of Arianism — a remarkable fruit of that reversal
3. Whatever questions remain about Constantine's sincerity, the historical reversal can only be explained by God's sovereign mission coming to fruition in Jesus Christ

E. Application: Psalm 47 calls the church to worship together, singing to one another and encouraging one another in the faith — declaring God as king of all the earth until every nation is gathered to him