Let all who know God and own His sceptre sing His praises forever;
for while we dwell under the shadow of such a throne there is eternal reason for thanksgiving.
Psalm 1
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 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 47 – “King over All the Earth”
This psalm may have been sung in the valley of Berachah, where Jehoshaphat celebrated his victory over the Moabites. See II Chronicles 20. When some great deliverance has been granted, we should break out in blessing and praise. Notice Psalm 47:3-4! They are rightly placed side by side; because God will not subdue our enemies under us, unless we have allowed Him to choose our life-plan. Live on that plan and you are unconquerable.
In the second division, Psalm 47:5-9, Jehovah is depicted as returning from the war to his dwelling-place in the height of Zion. This seems to anticipate the Ascension, when Jesus became the enthroned King of men. They fail to recognize Him now, but some day the princes of the people shall be gathered together, and the kingdoms of the world shall have become the one kingdom of the Christ, Revelation 15:4. The shields of the earth, Psalm 47:9, are its princes and leaders. See Hosea 4:18. The kings of wealth, science, art, literature, and power will one day bring their glory and honor into the gates of the New Jerusalem, Revelation 1:5; 21:24. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 47:4—He shall choose our inheritance for us.
“Choose for us, our Father.” We say it deliberately. If He were to give us our choice at this moment, though there is no one of us that does not cherish a secret longing too deep for words, we would put it back into his hand and say, “Thou knowest better than words can tell Thee what lies closest to our soul, but we dare not take the opportunity of snatching at it; Thou wilt give it or its equivalent in the sweetest form and at the most opportune hour.” Would not this be the wisest attitude for any one of us to assume, believing, as we do, that our Father’s wisdom is only outshone by his love?
Wilt thou, O soul of man, standing at the foot of the Hill of God, ask thy Father to choose the track? He knows thy strength and powers of endurance; He knows also thy ardent yearning for the best. Subordinate thy choice to his in all things. Then whatever the difficulties may prove to be, dare to believe that they are less than any that would have opposed thee hadst thou chosen the route for thyself. Never look back; never doubt thy Father’s personal interest; the clouds that sweep darkly over thy path may hide Him from thee, but not thee from Him.
And thou, who hast had much experience of God, wilt thou not still say, He shall choose? Thou canst not repent the trust which thou reposedst years ago in his selection. Thou wilt not withdraw thy confidence. For evermore, whatever life may bring here or hereafter, we will cry, He shall choose, He shall choose. As Nicholas Herman said: “Pains and sufferings would be a paradise to me which I should suffer with my God; and the greatest pleasures hell, if I could relish them without Him.” —Our Daily Homily