PSALM FORTY SEVEN

CLAP AND SING!

   Clapping has a dual significance in the Bible. There is the clapping of 
derision. Job speaks of hand clapping and hissing. Lamentations refer to 
clapping AT a person. Ezekiel speaks to those who had clapped their hands and 
stamped their feet against Israel. Nahum tells of the clapping of hands over 
a despised person. The modern equivalent of all this is the slow hand clap.
   But the Bible also speaks of the joyful clapping of hands. When they made 
Joash king, they clapped their hands and said, "God save the king!" The 
psalmist gives a beautiful picture of the joyfulness in nature, singing, "Let 
the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together!"  God is the 
cause of our joy. He is terrible - that is, He is to be revered. He will set 
in order - just wait until God comes into the scene. He is planning order and 
He will set up order. Clap and sing! God is in power.
   We know the joy of Jubilee. God is gone up with a shout, with the sound of 
a Trumpet. In verse 6 of this psalm there is a triple injunction, "Sing - 
sing - sing!"  How the people of God have sung since our Saviour ascended up 
on high. The world owes its music to the Church. What a pity if now the 
Church has to borrow some of it back again. We need to clap and sing our 
wholesome praises to our God - Glory to God!
   Clap and sing with wisdom and understanding. "God is king of all the 
earth!" sings the psalmist. "Sing praises with understanding!" Sing wisely; 
sing skillfully; sing with spirit and understanding. Mindless ditties do not 
glorify God. The more we understand about the Power and Providence of our 
God, the more we have to clap and sing about.
   God reigns over all the earth. Everything is in His hands. He is in 
control and He will order all things aright. The Shields of the Earth belong 
to Him. The safety and protection of the earth are in God's hands. We can 
well leave them there. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of 
all! Clap and sing!



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file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-047.txt
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