Applause is something most of us associate with a football stadium, not a church, but in this psalm we are directed to applaud God. This is not a quiet psalm—it also includes “shouting” and trumpets (vv. 1, 5)—but for good reason: it celebrates the great King over all the earth (v. 2).

We cannot make sense of Psalm 47 in isolation; it is one of the psalms of Yahweh’s kingship and must be interpreted in light of the others. Particularly puzzling is the expression, “God has ascended” (v. 5). To what could this refer? There are several hints that it alludes to Yahweh seated invisibly on his symbolic cherubim-throne and its “ascending” in a victory procession into the inner temple (see Additional Notes). Thus, a liturgist first commands an international congregation (v. 1; cf. v. 9) to applaud…