Psalm 47 is about declaring how wonderful our king really is.
1 – 4
Verse 1 is the source of a well-known chorus (in the New King James version). Clapping of hands was a sign of enthusiastic celebration (2 Kings 11:12, Isaiah 55:12).
I picture the king coming into the palace as His people should for joy. They are saying that our God is awesome in that he has given the land of Israel (the “pride of Jacob”) to His people as an inheritance.
As those that belong to Jesus, we too have an inheritance:
1 Peter 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
5 – 7
Here God is pictured ascending up to the throne as the people are singing praises. Verse 7 says to sing a song of “wisdom.” It is also translated “instruction”. Or “Sing praises with understanding” (NKJV). New American says to sing a “skillful” psalm. The Jewish Bible says to “sing psalms in a maskil”. That word can mean “well written” so I guess the idea is to well-craft praise for God, understanding that He is the King of all the earth. We don’t just throw out some random phrases or have repetition for repetition’s sake, but think about what we are saying in praise to the King.
8 – 9
Now God sits on His throne and the people come before Him to worship and praise. I love this: God is on the throne, ruling and reigning, so we do not need to fear!
We will sing this psalm, I believe, when Jesus ascends to His throne in Jerusalem—what a joyful day that will be! For now we can sing this psalm as God ascends the throne of our hearts and rules over the land of our lives—our emotions and motivations and words and actions, hopes, dreams, thoughts, and our destiny!
Psalm 48
Psalm 48, the first 2 verses is a well-known worship chorus that we sing today (King James Version). This psalm is about Jerusalem, the city where God put His name (2 Kings 21:4). Jerusalem will be the center of Jesus’ kingdom when He returns, then the New Jerusalem is really the church, the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9).
1 – 3
The greatness of Jerusalem can only be described by the greatness of her King: Yahweh. Even so, the church’s beauty can only be described by the beauty and majesty of our King Jesus.
Jerusalem sits on a hill and is nearly impenetrable. Other nations looked at Jerusalem and marveled.
4 – 7
This is a poetic description of how powerful the Lord has been for His people. A woman in labor cannot do much of anything but pay attention to her labor pains. Ships against a gale force wind can’t do nothing except go where the wind blows them. And for us, with the Spirit of God in us we are destined to be with God forever!
8
The people heard the victories God wrought for His people in the past, but now they have seen them with their own eyes. God will indeed establish Jerusalem forever—as the place where He dwells in the midst of His people.
9 – 11
Now the people come into the Temple and I love what they do-not gloat about the armies that have been defeated but they “contemplate” God’s love. They are so secure that they have no need to worry about their enemies and it becomes something to marvel at—how God could love us so much to protect us in this way.
The fact that God is for them makes everyone in Israel, not just in Jerusalem, glad and rejoice.
12 – 14
Here the people are looking around Jerusalem—Zion is the ridge on which Jerusalem is built. But notice what they report as they look at the strength of the city—that God is forever and forever our leader.
I want to leave the discussion of this psalm by picturing when the Lord Jesus comes back to Jerusalem to once again make it the capital of the world:
Zechariah 14:3-9 Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. 5 You will flee by My mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with Him.
6 On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish. 7 It will be a day known only to Yahweh, without day or night, but there will be light at evening.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, in summer and winter alike. 9 On that day Yahweh will become king over all the earth—Yahweh alone, and His name alone.
Jesus will be the King of the whole earth and everyone in it but is He today King over your life?
Psalm 49
Psalm 49 has a simple message but one that goes against everything this age teaches us—that money is the answer. And it forces us to think: do we want to focus on the short term, on this life and amassing as much stuff as we can to get a temporary sense of security. If we do, we cannot rely on that wealth to help us in the long term.
1 – 4
Verses 1 - 4 is a general call on anyone—Jew or Gentile, small or great, rich or poor-to hear wisdom. You know—it doesn’t matter the source—if someone speaks the truth, we ought to pay attention.
5 – 9
There is such great truth here. The psalmist knows troubling times come, but the temptation is what to do. He sees those around him trust in their wealth to get them by. But he recognizes that this is iniquity in that it doesn’t put trust in God.
He points out that no amount of money in the world can buy life, no matter how long you toil or try.
10 – 12
Death is the great equalizer. Though people may have amassed mansions and islands they can call their own, their final home is the grave that is dug for them.
13 – 15
The path of riches without trusting in God is separation. Sheol was the abode of the dead who died prior to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was thought to be a physical place in the earth divided into two parts: Abraham’s bosom was where those that trusted in Yahweh for salvation went, and others to a place of discomfort (but not the final destination of those that reject God).
The upright will rule basically means that those who trust God for their salvation will ultimately triumph over those that trust riches.
16 – 20
So the psalmist says: “Don’t get upset when you see others get wealthy.” When we die, we cannot take it with us. Be more concerned about your eternal state and destination than what happens here.
I want to conclude with another truth—one the psalmist only saw hints of, and that is that for those who trust in King Jesus, the grave cannot hold you, just as it could not hold Him. What awaits us is something much more wonderful:
1 Corinthians 15:50 Brothers, I tell you this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. 51Listen! I am telling you a mystery:
We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory
Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? 56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of since is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
