Latest / Reformed Thinking / The King Who Reigns Over All the Earth (Psalm 47) | Charles Spurgeon

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The King Who Reigns Over All the Earth (Psalm 47) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. For this deep dive, you've
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brought us a text that is, well, it's just electric.
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It literally shouts with triumph.
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We're looking at Psalm 47. It is an incredible piece of
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scripture, and for our source material we're drawing from
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excerpts of Charles Spurgeon's commentary The Treasury of
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David. Which is always a great place to
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start. And our mission today is pretty
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straightforward. We want to take this amazing
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song and really unpack it. We'll look at the calls to
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worship, try to get a handle on the nature of the king being
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described, and then see what that means for the church.
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Yeah, that's the goal. And this Psalm, it's a hymn of
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victory, of universal kingship. You know, you could look at its
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immediate historical setting. Maybe it was about the Ark of
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the Covenant being moved or some military wind.
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Right A. Specific event, a specific
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event. But Spurgeon makes it clear, and
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I think he's absolutely right, that the spiritual subject here
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is so much bigger. It's about the present
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sovereignty of God Jehovah, and it points directly to the
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victories and the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And that's really why it hits home for us, isn't it?
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The whole idea of a universal Kingdom, a single sovereign king
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over everything, that's just central to how we understand
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God's work in the world. It is, and before we even get
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into verse one, we have to look at the title, A Psalm for the
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Sons of Korra. Spurgeon himself leans very
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strongly toward David being the author.
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He says it has that distinct ring of David's compositions.
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So the sons of Korra aren't the writers?
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No, they were the choir, the singers, the ones designated to
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lead the people in this song. And the history there, the
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history of the Korah Heights, that adds a whole other layer to
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this. I mean, it makes the whole thing
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so much richer. It really does.
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You have this glorious universe spanning Song of Triumph, and
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it's given to the descendants of Korah, the man who led a
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rebellion against Moses and Aaron and was literally
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swallowed by the earth for it. That is the theological frame
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for the whole piece. It's amazing when you think
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about it. Their family history starts with
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this catastrophic rebellion and judgement, but they're
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descendants. They aren't just spared, They're
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given one of the highest honors in the Temple, leading the
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entire world in this shout of triumph for the King.
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It changes everything. The hymn isn't just about a
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national victory anymore. It becomes a monument to
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sovereign grace. The praise is coming directly
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from the lips of those who were rescued by that grace.
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It's a constant reminder that God's choice, his act of
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restoration, that's what even makes our worship possible.
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Yeah, it really raises the stakes.
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We aren't singing because we did something to earn the win.
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We're singing because he won and then he rescued us so we could
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be part of the party. Exactly.
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Now for structuring our deep dive today, Spurgeon suggests a
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really simple clean break right after verse four, the first
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part, verses one to four. It's all about these initial
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calls to praise and the declarations of God's
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sovereignty. It lays the groundwork.
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And then verses 5 through 9 it shifts, it moves to the
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triumphant ascension and what that means for everyone,
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everywhere, the universal application.
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OK, so let's start beginning that first call to to universal
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exultation. Verse one just jumps right in
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with this very physical, very immediate command.
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Oh, clap your hands, all ye people.
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Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
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I mean, these are raw, natural signs of joy.
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This isn't quiet or subdued. It's meant to be loud.
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This is faith finding its physical voice.
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It's almost a necessary release, you know, a celebratory
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outburst. We're called to use the most
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enthusiastic expressions of joy we have because of who the Lord
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is and what He's done. And Spurgeon notes that God is
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fine with that. He accepts this kind of
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demonstrative joy as long as it's coming from a sincere
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heart. That's right, but the thing that
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immediately jumps out is the scope.
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All you people. Yeah, it's not just Israel.
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Not at all. The Gentiles are explicitly
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invited, commanded to join in this triumphal March.
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The vision here is huge. From the get go, it's every
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nation. And because it's for everyone,
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the action has to be something everyone can do.
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Exactly. Spurgeon's inside here is great,
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he says. Look, they can't all speak the
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same language. That's a result of Babel.
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So the symbolic action of clapping hands, that's a
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universal expression. It cuts across all those
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language barriers. So clapping is understood
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everywhere as applause, celebration, agreement.
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It's a picture of humanity's unity being restored, all
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brought together in this one physical act of acknowledging
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the one true King. It's almost like a theological
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reversal of Babel, all happening because of Christ's reign.
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Absolutely, but the direction of the praise is critical.
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It is unto God, it has to be universal, but it also has to be
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undivided. When we shout with triumph, that
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sound has to match the amazing victories that only a great king
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could pull off. I think the commentaries are
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really helpful here for balancing how we think about
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worship. You have Matthew Henry, for
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instance, who encourages us to accept these kinds of outward
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acts. He says God accepts the strength
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of the feeling more than the weakness of the expression.
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You know, as long as the heart is in the right place.
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Which gives a lot of grace for how different people express
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joy. It does, but then you get the
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necessary counterbalance from someone like John Neal.
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He suggests that the real voice of melody should be our deeds
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more than our words. Our obedience, right?
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Our actual lives should be the sound that praises God.
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It's a subtle but really important reminder that the
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clapping has to be sincere and the shouting needs to be backed
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up by a life of faithful submission.
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Our external actions have to reflect an internal reality.
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That makes perfect sense, and that universal praise in verse
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one leads us straight into the character of the King who
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deserves all of it in verse 2. This is where the theological
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weight really starts to settle in.
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It is for the Lord Most High is terrible.
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He is a great king over all the earth.
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So verse 2 gives us the rock solid foundation for all this
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joy for Jehovah. The self existent, the only God
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most high, is terrible. He's lofty, wise, and glorious.
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We have to stop impact that word terrible in our modern years.
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It just means awful or dreadful. If our goal is intelligent
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worship, we can't just let that modern definition sit there.
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No, we have to put our theological lens on right away.
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King is terrible, but this terror is not meant to cause
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dread among his own people. It's actually the reason for
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their triumph, for their security.
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OK, so explain that. Well, his omnipotence is
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terrible to his enemies. It has the power to crush them,
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but for his subjects, that same power is what protects them.
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It's all mighty for their defense.
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That's the key distinction. Then Spurgeon uses this analogy
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of loyal subjects watching a grand review of their prince's
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troops. They're filled with triumph,
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with pride. Why?
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Because their king is so powerful, so able to defend
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them, and so feared by his enemies.
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The terror is pointed outward. Right.
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If you were under his protection, that terror is your
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ultimate safety net. It gives you stability.
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John Boys explains that Christ is terrible injustice, so he is
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feared by his children for their good through discipline, but
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also by the wicked for their inevitable punishment.
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So the word has a huge scope of meaning.
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This king is terrible to the devil who knows and fears his
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authority. He's also terrible to hypocrites
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who fear his justice knowing he's coming to purify things.
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So the fear of this king is the beginning of wisdom for his
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people. It leads to reverence and awe
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for his enemies, though the terror is just pure dread of
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righteous judgement. And this overwhelming power
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leads right into the second-half of the verse, the scope of his
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rule. He is a great king over all the
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earth. This is where that universal
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kingship we hold to really take center stage.
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This is direct refutation of any idea of a small local God.
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He's the sole monarch of all lands, the king of kings.
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Spurgeon really emphasizes this. He says his dominion includes
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every little hamlet, every city, every remote island.
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Nothing is outside of his sovereign rule.
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He governs it all now through Providence.
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But the Psalm is also looking forward.
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George Horn points out that it's looking to the full realization
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of this in the person of Jesus Christ.
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Exactly when Christ ascended, he became terrible to his enemies.
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Having all power in heaven and on earth, He displayed the
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majesty of a truly universal Kingdom.
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So this claim right here in the Psalm, it puts the entire world
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under the spiritual and governmental claim of Jesus
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Christ. It's a declaration that his
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reign is total. And that's why the call for the
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nations to submit and rejoice is so urgent.
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If they were wise, they'd submit right now and start clapping
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their hands, excited to be ruled by such a just and sovereign
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king. Which of course, leads us right
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into the implications of that submission in the next section.
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Right from the universal to the personal.
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Verses 3 and four and verse 3, immediately spells out what the
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King's universal reign means for his people.
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He shall subdue the people under us and the nations under our
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feet. Now that language subdue under
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our feet. It sounds very Marshall, very
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aggressive. It does, but the key is the
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agent. He shall subdue the victory, the
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battle. It all belongs to the Lord.
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This is a promise given to His Church.
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So it's not a questionable war, it's a guaranteed outcome.
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That's right, the church can feel discouraged because the
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fight against unbelief and worldliness seems to go on
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forever. This verse is a promise that
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truth and righteousness will win out in the end.
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Even the most rebellious hearts will eventually submit to
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conquering grace. And the triumph is described as
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decisive. The nations under our feet.
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It speaks of a total reversal. Historically, God's people were
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often the ones being persecuted, the ones under foot.
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This looks to a time when that's flipped and the Church becomes
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this great monarchy through Christ's spiritual victory.
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But we have to be so careful with that imagery in a
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historical context, under our feet could sound like a call for
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worldly domination, for revenge. And that's where commentators
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like Matthew Poole provide such needed clarity.
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What does he say? He says this subjugation is not
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punitive, it's for the good of the ones being subdued.
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So it's a restorative victory, an evangelistic.
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One exactly. It gives the subdued people
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opportunities and encouragement to worship the true God, which
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what leads to their real lasting happiness.
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The nations are conquered by grace, not by armies.
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So the victory is really the successful spread of the gospel.
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The Gentiles are subdued by the preaching, and they are in a
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sense brought under the apostles, the Jewish messengers,
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by being brought into the family of Christ.
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Yes. Thomas Wilcox makes that so
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clear. He says being under our feet
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means the Gentiles become the students and the Jews become the
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teachers, sitting at the feet of those who brought them the
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message of salvation, the subduing of the nations is their
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conversion to the truth. So verses one through 3 cover
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this big external, universal joy and triumph.
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But then verse 4 brings it all inward.
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It demands a really deep personal response to this huge
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truth. He shall choose our inheritance
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for us. This is a radical shift in
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focus. It moves from clapping hands to
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an act of total surrender, and this act of just submitting our
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will, our choices, our desires completely to Him.
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That might be the highest spiritual form of praise in the
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whole Psalm. You know, in our culture, the
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idea of self determination, of making your own choices is seen
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as the highest good. This verse is so countercultural
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it demands that we show we believe He's a great king by
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putting ourselves, our futures, our entire lives at his
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disposal. We have to empty our hands of
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self-care and self planning so that our hands are free to be
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used for His honor. And that is so hard to do in
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practice. We're afraid of the unknown
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inheritance. We fear that God's choice for us
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will be less satisfying than the one we had planned for
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ourselves. That fear of the unknown is very
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real, but Spurgeon talks about how the believer finds rest by
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casting all their care on God. I mean, if we have a king who is
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terrible in power and most high in wisdom, why would we ever
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think our own flawed choice is better than his perfect plan?
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That's the whole point. William Sucker has this
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wonderful story about a woman who was asked if she was willing
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to live or die and she just replied whichever God pleases
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and when they pressed her asking what she would choose, she said
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truly I would just refer it back to him again.
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The person whose will is submitted to God gets their will
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from God. That's a powerful picture of
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just restful trust. If we really trust the King, we
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stop trying to dictate the terms of our own lives.
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And Sicker has this pointed warning that really sticks with
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you, he says. Never were any of their own
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carvers, but they were sure to cut their own fingers.
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We are so often guilty of trying to grab the carving knife,
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hoping to get the best piece for ourselves, only to find we've
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hurt ourselves because we just don't have the wisdom the king
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has. I can definitely relate to that
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looking back at times in my life where I tried to force a career
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path or a relationship and my best efforts were just so short
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sighted compared to how Providence actually worked
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things out. We should be like vessels in a
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house, just standing ready to be filled or emptied as the owner
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pleases. And this submission is justified
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because of the quality of his choice.
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He chooses the Excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.
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God chose the portion for his ancient people, and He will
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choose ours. Our real beauty, our boast, our
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best treasure is having a God like that who manages our
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affairs because He loves us. This also speaks to difficult
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life circumstances, doesn't it? Trials.
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Fletcher makes a really sobering point about our earthly
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situation. He says if you're godly but
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poor, you can't possibly know if you would remain godly if you
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weren't poor. God knows it's better than we
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know ourselves, and He can best fit the estate to the person.
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That's the highest form of an excellent choice.
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It's the choice that perfects the person, not just the
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circumstances around them. It's a choice designed for our
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sanctification. And right at that moment of deep
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personal surrender, the Psalm just pauses Salah.
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It's a moment for holy meditation.
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The text just demands that we stop, leave our portion to God's
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sovereign will, and just rejoice in the relationship.
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He is dying, and thou art his. It's a moment of quiet, absolute
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trust before the whole thing ramps up again with the King's
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return. That quiet moment of Salah ends
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pretty dramatically in verse 5. God has gone up with a shout,
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the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
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It feels like the command to shout from verse 1 is now being
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reported as a fulfilled fact, a reference to Christ's ascension.
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It transports us right to the moment the Conqueror returns to
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glory. The battle is over, the victory
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is won. The shout and the trumpet, they
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signify the splendor of his triumph as he leads captivity
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captive. It was the only fitting way to
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welcome a victorious king back from the wars, with martial
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music and acclamation from angels and glorified spirits.
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And it's God in our nature, in human form, that has gone up to
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heaven. Isaac Ambrose reminds us that
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Christ didn't just ascend for himself, but for us.
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He was acting as a public person.
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So whatever he accomplished in his ascension, we have a part in
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it. When we think about our heads
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soaring up to glory, every member of the body should
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respond with praise. And that link between the past
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event and our future hope is so important.
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Christopher Wordsworth pointed out that origin way back
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suggested that the mention of the shout and the trumpet
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connects the Ascension with what's still to come.
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Our thoughts are carried forward to Christ's return for the final
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judgement. So the sound that marked his
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return to glory is the same sound that assures us of his
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future return and power. After that really dramatic scene
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of Christ's return, verses 6 and seven bring the focus back to
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us, back to the church's required response.
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It's a mandate for ongoing, thoughtful praise.
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The repetition in verse 6 is just.
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It's arresting. Sing praises is repeated 5
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times. It's meant to be a rebuke to our
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spiritual laziness, to stress how earnest and frequent and
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joyful our worship should be. The King never stops being good,
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so we should never stop being grateful.
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And the object of that praise is specified.
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Sing praises unto our King. Jesus is worthy of all of it.
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His sovereignty is the source of our gladness, and singing is the
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fitting homage for such a monarch.
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We pay our tribute in songs of joy, not groans of duty.
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And that command is backed up by the universal scope we we see
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again in verse 7. For God is the king of all the
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earth. This is a truth that the Jews of
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Jesus's day really struggled with.
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They wanted to keep God's Kingdom to themselves.
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Right, a very narrow perspective.
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A very narrow perspective, and the psalmist corrects it
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immediately. Jehovah's providential throne
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governs every single event, which guarantees that the gospel
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promises will be fulfilled for all nations through the Messiah.
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John Trapp captures that thought perfectly.
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He says something like our king said I that's too small.
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He is king of all the earth. And that huge vision requires a
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certain quality of worship. Which brings us to the core
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command. Sing praises with understanding.
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This is so central to acceptable worship and a real hallmark of
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Reformed theology. Spurgeon warns US against the
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idea that just any sound, no matter how nice it is, is
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enough. Worship has to be thoughtful,
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intelligent. We have to appreciate the reason
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for the song. The Hebrew word used there is
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mashil, which is often translated as instruction or
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didactic. It implies sound doctrine.
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It's an explicit call for our minds to be engaged in worship.
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It means we have to prioritize the content, the theology, over
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the music itself. A tune might excite the senses,
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but it's the truth of what we're singing that has to affect the
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heart, and the heart, our spiritual faculty, is what God
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is primarily interested in. This is so relevant for us
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today. We have to be careful not to
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mistake a purely sensory delight in beautiful music or a grand
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building for a genuine spiritual impulse.
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We can end up offering God songs that are designed more for human
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amusement than for his acceptance if we neglect the
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theological content. And this focus on understanding
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creates a really strong theological contrast.
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John Wells argues that if we don't understand what we're
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singing, it shows a careless spirit or a hard heart, and it
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makes the whole service pointless.
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He contrasts that with the practice, like the Papists, that
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davenant sites of singing in an unknown tongue.
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God will not accept a service that the worshipper doesn't even
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understand themselves. That's the real test for
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worship, isn't it? Is the intellect engaged?
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We have to sing wisely if we want to sing gratefully.
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The worship of the King of all the earth requires the highest
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faculty. He gave us our minds to be
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enlightened by the Holy Spirit and applied to the truth of the
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song. We're not seeing dimly anymore,
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so our praise should reflect the full reality of what we know
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about the King who has ascended. Yes, singing a didactic Psalm, a
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song that's just loaded with sound doctrine, praises God most
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effectively because it appeals to the mind and the Spirit.
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As the Psalm comes toward its end, the focus goes back to the
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security and the essential character of this universal
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rule. Verse 8 says God reigneth over
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the heathen. God sitteth upon the throne of
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His Holiness. That opening statement, God
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reigneth over the heathen, establishes a vital present
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reality. Even in nations defined by
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idolatry and spiritual darkness, God is still in control.
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He maintains a secret over ruling governance.
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This is where faith can find its rest, knowing His providential
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throne guides everything, even the chaos, to guarantee His
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promises will be fulfilled. And the nature of that rule is
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defined by where he's sitting upon the throne of His Holiness.
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This is the great assurance for the believer.
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His throne is undisputed. But even more than that, every
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single decree, every act, every command that comes from it is
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Holiness itself. It's never stained by injustice
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or sin. Divine sovereignty, in a
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Reformed view, is never arbitrary.
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It's completely inseparable from divine holiness.
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If God were sovereign but not holy, we would have reason for
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genuine crippling fear. But because His throne is one of
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perfect righteousness, we know His omnipotence is always used
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justly. The King's posture also says a
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lot. He sits in serenity.
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He's unmoved, undismayed. He knows his own power.
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He knows his purposes will be accomplished.
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He's not stressed out by what's happening on earth.
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That assurance that the king is sitting securely on a throne of
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pure holiness is reason enough for the most enthusiastic song.
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That serenity is the direct result of his absolute, inherent
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holiness. The governance of the entire
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universe is in the hands of one whose will is always and
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eternally good. And the final verse, verse 9,
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brings this universal scope right down into the political
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sphere. It details the ultimate
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submission of earthly powers. The Princess of the people are
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gathered together. The prophetic vision sees the
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rulers of the world becoming willing subjects.
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The vision is so grand. It's not just the poor or the
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common people who submit, but the nobles, the rulers, the
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heads of state. All majesties have to recognize
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and own Jesus as far more majestic than they are bowing.
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They're willing next to Christ's spiritual rule.
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It points to a future time when the great people of the nations
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will be regenerate, people serving the true King.
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And this gathering connects right back to the covenant with
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Abraham, even the people of the God of Abraham.
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This is the fulfillment of that ancient promise In thee, and in
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thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
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The gathering arm of the Great Shepherd King here just
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obliterates the dispersion that was caused by Babel.
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But the identity of Abraham's people is so important here,
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Lancelot Andrews clarifies. They are not just the physical
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descendants, the children of the flesh.
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They are the children of the promise, the ones who grab hold
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of that promise by faith. They have the same spirit of
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faith that Abraham had, and that faith-based definition has to
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include the Gentiles, even those who used to worship idols.
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I mean, John the Baptist made that exact point, saying God
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could raise up children for Abraham from stones.
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The people who are spiritually dead are now raised up by faith
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to be the children of Abraham. And the conclusion of the Psalm
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wraps up the totality of this submission with a really
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powerful metaphor for the Shields of the earth belonging
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to God. What are the Shields?
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There are a couple of ways to see that.
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Right there are, Bishop Edward Reynolds suggests, the Shields
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of the protectors of the Commonwealth, the magistrates,
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the rulers, And the metaphor gives them both dignity because
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they're above others, and duty to protect others.
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So if these rulers are God's Shields, they get their
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authority from him, and they owe him their loyalty.
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Joseph Carroll says they're called Shields, not shield
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bearers, to show that protection is essential to their office.
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They're meant to be merciful, strong, honorable instruments
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for defending the people. But then John Calvin offers a
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broader, maybe simpler view, which a lot of people prefer.
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He says God himself is the ultimate defender of the world.
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And the use of the plural many Shields points to the fact that
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because of the innumerable dangers threatening the world,
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God's Providence has to intervene in all sorts of ways,
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using many different bucklers. So whether the Shields are human
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rulers or God's wider Providence, the final message is
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the same. It is all principalities and
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powers must be subject him, because he is greatly exalted in
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nature, in power, in character, and in glory.
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The King who Ascended is the absolute source of all
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legitimate authority and protection on Earth.
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There is no one who compares to them, and that's the final
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crescendo. That's the reason for the
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universal shout. This deep dive into Psalm 47,
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pulling from Spurgeon and Henry and Sucker, has given us such a
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glorious picture of the King. We started with a call for
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universal, enthusiastic priest, clapping, shouting, and we ended
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with the ultimate submission of all creation and all earthly
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authority to this glorious, holy and sovereign King.
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And all the parts of the Psalm are so tightly connected.
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Christ's ascension is the historical guarantee that the
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Church will be victorious in the world, and that victory was won
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by the Gospel ensures the King's universal rule in both
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Providence and grace. And the response required from
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you, the listener, It's not passive, it's active.
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We're called to physical joy in verse one, and then to
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intellectual submission in verses four and seven.
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The King is majestic and terrible in his righteous power,
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but his rule is so gracious and wise that we should eagerly
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surrender our inheritance, our choices, to his will, and we
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should worship him intelligently with Mashall.
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For you, the learner, the Psalm is almost a shortcut to
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understanding that God's sovereignty isn't just a
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philosophical idea. It's righteous, it's inevitable,
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and it is entirely for the good. And the sanctification of his
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people and those he draws to himself is the most stable truth
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you can find in an unstable world.
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Spurgeon ended his notes with this excited command.
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Make haste, you wheels of time, Christ.
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Universal reign is glorious and we look forward to it with real
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eagerness. But we have to operate.
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In the meantime, and here's the thought to leave you with, if
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true worship requires understanding, and if the
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highest homage we can pay is submission, leaving our
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inheritance to God's choice, then how does actively leaving
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our daily affairs, our next decisions, our next efforts in
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his hands today prepare us for that great final shout when the
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King returns? It's one thing to sing about
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ultimate sovereignty when we're reflecting on the past or
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looking to the distant future. It's a completely different
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thing to practice that submission when you're faced
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with an immediate choice this afternoon and you have to
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sacrifice your own will for his wise and holy plan, that daily
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surrender. That's the true measure of our
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belief in the King of all the Earth.