Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 47:9
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.
9. In the spirit of prophecy the Psalmist beholds the realisation of the hope expressed in Psa 47:1. The nations acknowledge Jehovah’s sovereignty. Cp. Psa 102:22. As the representatives of the nations which they rule, the princes of the peoples are gathered together to Jerusalem to pay homage to Jehovah. The Massoretic text ot the next line must be rendered with R.V., ‘To be the people of the God of Abraham’: a bold phrase, reaching the very climax of Messianic hope, and hardly paralleled elsewhere. For though the nations are frequently spoken of as attaching themselves to Israel in the worship of Jehovah (Isa 2:2 ff; Isa 11:10; Isa 56:6 ff; Isa 60:3 ff.; Zec 8:20 ff.; &c, &c), they are not called “the people of God.” This title is reserved for Israel, and only in the N.T. are the promises made to Israel extended to the Gentiles (Rom 9:25). Yet see Isa 19:25, where Egypt receives the title ‘my people.’ The rendering of R.V. marg. ‘Unto the people,’ is scarcely legitimate. It is however to be noted that the consonants of the word ‘ am ’ ‘people’ are identical with those of ‘ im, ‘with,’ and the LXX read them as the preposition ( with the God of A.). It is a natural conjecture that we should restore the preposition and render;
The princes of the peoples are gathered together,
Along with the people of the God of Abraham.
the God of Abraham
the shields of the earth ] Princes are so called, as the protectors of their people. Jehovah is their overlord, and they come to acknowledge their dependence. The title shield is often applied to God, and sometimes to the kings and princes of Israel (Hos 4:18; Psa 89:18).
he is greatly exalted ] Cp. Psa 97:9; and, though the Heb. word is different, Psa 46:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The princes of the people are gathered together – The marginal reading is, The voluntary of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham. The word rendered princes – nadyb – means properly, voluntary, ready, prompt; then, generous, liberal; then, those of noble birth, princes, nobles. It is evidently used here in this latter sense. The word people here may mean either the people of Israel, or the people of other lands; but in this place it seems evidently to denote the latter. The words are gathered together may refer either to a voluntary or an involuntary assembling; meaning either that they came in chains as prisoners of war, subdued by the arms of the people of God, and thus rendering an involuntary tribute to their power and their religion; or that they came in a voluntary manner, and submitted themselves, acknowledging the God of Israel to be the true God. It seems to me that the connection requires that we should understand this in the former sense, as referring to the subjugation of the enemies of of the people of God, and to their being led along as captives, assembled thus from distant parts of the world as proof that the God of Israel reigned.
Even the people of the God of Abraham – The word even is not in the original. The meaning is, to the people of the God of Abraham; that is, they come and mingle with the people of the God of Abraham; or, they come as captives in war to that people, and confess in this manner that their God is the true God. The image is that of the assemblage of great numbers of foriegn princes and nobles as furnishing either a voluntary or involuntary acknowledgment of the fact that the God of Abraham was the true God, and that the people of Israel were his people.
For the shields of the earth belong unto God – Are of right his. This would seem to have been suggested by the marching in triumph of subdued and vanquished princes and warriors, their shields or weapons of war being borne along in the procession, demonstrating that Jehovah was King among the nations. It was seen in such a march that all those weapons of war belonged to him, or that he had a right to dispose of them, and to use them as he pleased.
He is greatly exalted – That is, one who can thus subdue nations, and lead along captive princes and warriors, must be a Being greatly exalted; a Being that has dominion over the nations of the earth. This completes the imagery in the psalm, and gives occasion for the shouts and the joys of triumph. God had shown that he was a great King over the earth. Princes and armies were subdued to his will. They were led along as captives, and were gathered together to the people of God, as if to acknowledge their own inferiority; and in this solemn manner the nations thus subdued owned Yahweh to be the true God. In a higher sense this will be true when all the earth shall be subdued by the power of truth, and when kings, and princes, and people everywhere shall come and acknowledge God, reigning through the Messiah, to be the King of all nations. Compare Isa. 60.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 47:9
The shields of the earth belong unto God:
Gods shields
The shields of the earth, all veritable protectives, are the property of God, and are of His creation.
But why do I require a shield? What are my perils and foes? The fire of passion. The sharp gnawing tooth of care. The dull, heavy pressure of monotony. The burden of apparently unrequited toil. The slug of sloth. The moth of indifference. The rust of contempt. The awful weight of accumulating years. If I am to be protected against these perils I require varieties of shields, and the shields of the earth belong unto God. He has shields for every type of peril; there is no unprotected corner which has been overlooked by our Lord. Our perils change their guise with our changing seasons, and the gradient of our age. In youth we frequently find our antagonism in the lust of the flesh. Against this all-consuming passion we require a shield I In our prime the lust of the flesh changes into the lust of the eyes, and perhaps matures into the pride of life. Passion is converted into acquisitiveness, and acquisitiveness refines itself into vanity. If we are to resist these fatal fascinations we require a shield. In age we are imperilled by our disillusions. The unaccomplished purpose becomes a snare. The radiant ideal seems no nearer achievement, and our poor attainments look upon us with confounding mockery. Then are we prone to become sour and crabbed, and life may pass into an impoverishing loneliness. If we are to be guarded against these perils we need a shield! And right through our life, from early youth to extreme old age, our course lies through perils of over-changing variety. With these environments of continuous danger, what shall we do? We must seek for an adequate shield, and the shields of the earth belong unto God. Let us leek at two or three of them.
I. The shield of good spirits. We often say of a man, His good spirits were his salvation. There was a certain cheery radiancy of spirit about his life. He was possessed by unfailing cheer and geniality, lie saw everything through his own warmth. His warmth was his shield, and by it he was delivered from a thousand snares. Where did he get his warmth? The shields of the earth belong unto God. I have often known men who have been passing through a November season of life in which other people have found nothing but coldness and gloom, but their life has been so possessed by the spirit of geniality, that the bird-song had never seemed to be silent, and the atmosphere was always redolent of the spring. Charles Kingsley passed through many a November season; trials and persecutions were not absent from his day, and yet his good spirits were always abounding, and by his good spirits the gloom was always illumined. Where do these people get their good spirits? They get them from the Lord. Just outside Buda Pesth there is now a spring of continuous hot water, which is practically supplying the needs of an entire population. Boring has been continued to the depth of five thousand feet, and the genial spring has been unloosed. Is not this parabolic? If we want the genial springs, we must go to the requisite depths; we must not be surface characters, or our waters will be chilled in the first day of a cold November. We must bore deep. We must reach as far as God, and when we come into communion with Him, tits water shall be in us a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
II. The shield of holiness. The pure allures the pure and resists the impure. But the life must be scrupulously pure! It must be healthy. Our imperfect consecrations are our perils; they are like ridged and wrinkled surfaces in which uncleanness easily hides. Holiness will not take stains. Lay your unclean finger upon soft and unfinished porcelain, and it will take the impress of your defiling touch. But lay your finger upon the shining, finished, perfected ware, and the substance will not take the stain. The virus which is inoculated for the prevention of small-pox frequently does not take; the body is so healthy that it affords no foothold for the invader! And surely that is what we need in the spirit! We require a spirit so healthy that evil suggestions will not take. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me. That is the shield we require! How can we get it? We shall have to get away unto the Lord, and in deep humility of spirit pray that He will communicate unto us His own saving health.
III. The shield of faith. The shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. What are the perils? Darts–sharp, sudden, fierce experiences; fiery darts–sharp experiences that come to us in heat; fiery darts of the evil one–sharp experiences in the nature of sinful temptations that come to us in the feverish moments of our life. They are provocatives to temper, impatience, rashness, and sinful pique. What do we need as our protective? The shield of faith. Faith gives quietness. Let not your heart be troubled, believe! Where belief is settled, the heart is delivered from distraction, and remains in fruitful peace. Faith gives collectedness. Our powers are no longer a turbulent mob, but a deliberative assembly. A man is not all sixes and sevens, he is a living unit, all his powers co-operating in gracious harmony. This is the shield we require. Where can we get it? We must go to the Lord our Saviour, and in simplicity of spirit we must urge upon Him the prayer of the disciples of old, Lord, increase our faith. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
The law of protection
The text has a special appropriateness for troublous times, and in troublous times the Church has often remembered and verified it. When threatened and terrified, hunted and harried, made the victim of earthly tyranny, the object of earthly assaults, the Church has discovered that just where the earthly danger was, there also was the earthly shield–raised up, brought near, and made available by Him who is the Sovereign of the earth, for the assistance of His cause and the safe-keeping of His people.
I. The shield political is in the hand of God. We refer to the protecting influence of good government. What an unspeakable, yet often forgotten, blessing is the blessing of a civilized and enlightened constitution, considered simply as a shield! It is the principle and the pride of good government like our own that it aims at the throwing of its protecting screen over strong and weak, rich and poor alike, seeking to deal open and even-handed justice to all, without favour and without fear. Well, the shield political is in the hand of God. It is He who appoints it, maintains it, and directs it as need arises or danger demands. What is the practical lesson? For one thing, let there be recognition of Gods power and gratitude for Gods goodness in extending such a shield, so near, so ample, so strong; thus setting our lines in pleasant places, and appointing us a goodly heritage. Let there be prayer for Gods blessing, that those who compose that shield, the living minds that plan, the living hands that execute, may lend themselves more and more to the influence of a Christian spirit and the accomplishment of Christian ends.
II. The shield domestic is in the hand of God. We refer to the protective influence of a pious home. Home is home, indeed, only when it surrounds the growing boy or girl with a whole investiture of pure and affectionate influences–kind deeds, kind words, kind thoughts–and thus forms a quiet pavilion, where the young life can feel itself safe. Let parents grudge no pains, spare no expedients, that tend to the maintenance of this feeling, and the drawing and the keeping of their children together under the shadow of that safeguard which we call home. And let all, whether parents or children, remember that, like other shields, the shield of a happy Christian home is in the hand of God. It is God who erects it. It is God who keeps it together. Therefore, in all that pertains to our home, let God have the guidance, and let God have the glory.
III. Shields social are in the hands of God. Here we pass to another protective influence of life, and note the preserving power of helpful and beneficent institutions. We live in an age of organizations. They are with us upon every hand–organizations philanthropic, moral, religious. We have our societies for the promotion of health, the diffusion of literature, the increase of temperance, the preservation of purity. And all these are shields, or are meant to be shields, for the young, the innocent, the feeble, the tempted, and the penitent. The point we should always notice is this, that they are shields in the hand of God. The fact is suggestive of two things we do well to keep constantly in mind.
1. Such safeguards owe their origin to Divine revelation. Philanthropy springs from the plains of Galilee, where the Saviour fed the hungry and healed the ailments of the multitude.
2. They owe their efficiency to Divine grace. A white cross will not keep a man pure; again, it is only a symbol and expression: what will save and preserve him is the same grace of God.
IV. Shields physical are in the hands of God. Among the protecting influences of life there is the influence of the powers and processes of natural law. Think of these influences in their broadest and most general sense as a protection and a benefit to the race at large. How wonderfully force balances force, and principle supplements or cheeks principle!–the great and grand resultant being the safety and stability of the natural order we belong to, and the safety and stability of ourselves in the midst of it. Let us believe in a Providence that keeps the feet of the saints, and, if necessary for the keeping of them, can make nature itself a minister of grace. A friend writes thus in a letter: Did I tell you of my escape from drowning last year in Derwentwater, after my return from Brittany? My canoe upset. But angels that remove some stones out of the way can place other stones in it when needful. So was I preserved!
V. Shields spiritual are in the hands of God. Let us select, as our last illustration, the protection afforded by the prayers and the presence of the saints. It is a fruitful and inspiring thought! For as the supplications of the saints go up, from the public assembly, from the household hearth, from the solitude and secrecy of private chambers and private hearts, for a race beset by sorrow and defiled by sin, they interpose a real and a solid barrier between those interceded for and the dangers that surround. Tim world owes more to them than it knows. Why is anger restrained? Why is chastisement delayed? Often for the saints sake. May He in whose hand are the shields of the earth continue this shield, the shield of earnest and faithful intercession, till those that are sheltered beneath its shadow make their peace with Himself, and become intercessors in their turn! (W. A. Gray.)
Psa 48:1-14
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. The princes of the people are gathered together] nedibey ammim. The voluntary people – the princely, noble, or free-willed people; those who gladly receive the word of life; those who, like the Bereans, were of a noble or liberal disposition; and, when they heard the Gospel, searched the Scriptures to see whether these things were so. It is a similar word which is used Ps 110:3; and I believe both texts speak of the same people – the Gentiles who gladly come unto his light, and present themselves a free-will offering to the Lord.
The people of the God of Abraham] Who were Abraham’s people? Not the Jews; the covenant was made with him while yet in urcircumcision. Properly speaking, the Gentiles are those whom he represented; for the covenant was made with him while yet a Gentile; and in his seed all the nations-the Gentiles, of the earth were to be blessed. The people of the God of Abraham are the Gentiles, who, receiving the Gospel, are made partakers of the faith of Abraham, and are his spiritual children. The God of Abraham has Abraham’s spiritual posterity, the believing Gentiles, for his own people.
The shields of the earth belong unto God.] The Septuagint translate this , the strong ones of the earth. The Vulgate reads, Quoniam dii fortes terrae vehementer elevati sunt; “Because the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted.” These are supposed to mean kings and rulers of provinces which were present at the dedication of the temple; (for some suppose the Psalm to have been composed for this solemnity;) and that they are said here to be greatly exalted, because they exercised a very high degree of power over their respective districts. The words refer to something by which the inhabitants of the earth are defended; God’s providence, guardian angels, c., c.
He is greatly exalted.] Great as secular rulers are, God is greater, and is above all King of kings and Lord of lords and the hearts of kings and governors are in his hand; and he turns them whithersoever he pleases.
ANALYSIS OF THE FORTY-SEVENTH PSALM
This Psalm, under the figure of the ark being brought into the temple, foretells the ascension of Christ to heaven; who was the true ark of the covenant, and the propitiatory or mercy-seat. It contains a prophecy of Christ’s kingdom, and has two especial parts: –
First, An invitation to sing praises to Christ.
Secondly, The reasons why we should do it.
1. The ascension of Christ is typified under the ark’s ascension, Ps 47:1: “God is gone up with a shout; the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.”
2. On which he invites the people to do now what was then done, “that we clap our hands, and sing praises.” This should be done, 1. Cheerfully: “Clap your hands;” for this is a sign of inward joy, Na 3:19. 2. Universally: “O clap your hands, all ye people.” 3. Vocally: “Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” 4. Frequently: “Sing praises – sing praises – sing praises – sing praises,” Ps 47:6, and again “sing praises,” Ps 47:7. It cannot be done too frequently. 5. Knowingly and discreetly: “Sing ye praises with understanding;” know the reason why ye are to praise him.
3. Now these reasons are drawn from his greatness and from his goodness.
1. He is GREAT. 1. He is the Lord Most High; 2. He is terrible; 3. He is a great King over all the earth. All power, at his ascension, was given unto him in heaven and earth.
2. He is GOOD. 1. In collecting his Church by subduing the nations, not by the sword, but by his word and Spirit, by which he would subdue their iniquities, the iniquity of the Jew first, and then of the Gentile; for the law was to come out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. To the discipline of that religion both were to submit; and therefore both might well be said “to be subdued to us, and brought under our feet.”
2. In honouring and rewarding his Church: “He shall choose out our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.”
1. His Church was his choice: “It is a chosen generation, a peculiar people.”
2. His heritage; for he will dwell among them, and provide an inheritance for them; blessings on earth and glory in heaven.
3. This is “the excellency of Jacob;” of Jacob after the Spirit; the kingdom, priesthood, and all the promises made unto Jacob and the fathers being theirs.
4. The cause: “His love only – he chose – the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.”
3. In the increase and amplification of his Church: “God is now the king of all the earth;” not of the Jews only, for he “reigns over the heathen” also. He “sits upon a throne of holiness;” rules by his holy word and Spirit. 1. Making them holy who were unholy. 2. They are “a willing people” also. For the princes – the volunteers, among the people, are gathered together; even the people of the God of Abraham – the Gentiles, converted and reconciled to God.
4. In protecting his Church; whether by himself, or by the princes he raises up; by his providence, or his angels, or all together. For the “shields of the earth belong unto God.” Secular rulers, and ecclesiastical governors, are shields of the Church. But God is the Head of it, and the Chief: “He is greatly exalted.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The princes of the people; either,
1. The heads of the tribes of Israel, who were gathered together to the tabernacle or temple upon solemn feasts. Or rather,
2. The princes (or the voluntary or willing ones, as this word is rendered, Psa 110:3) of the Gentiles, who are here known by the name of the people, Psa 47:1,3, who were divided in their principles, and interests, and religions, but are now united and gathered together unto Christ, laying their sceptres at his feet, and jointly owning and promoting his worship and service. So he speaks of the conversion of the Gentiles; although he mentions only their princes, because their conversion might seem to be most difficult in sundry respects, and therefore that being affirmed, the conversion of their people with or after them might very reasonably be supposed.
The people of the God of Abraham; so he explains the former clause, and shows what people he spoke of; and it is observable, he doth not say the people of Abraham, lest this should be appropriated to the Israelites; but
the people of the God of Abraham, i.e. which worship the God of Abraham, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. So this is a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles; which also is intimated by the name here used, which is not his old and first name, Abram, but his new name, Abraham, given to him to signify that he should be the father of many nations, Gen 17:5. Or these words with the former may be, and are by divers learned interpreters, rendered thus: The princes of the people (i.e. of the Gentiles) are (i.e. shall be, as is usual in prophetic style) gathered unto which particle is sometimes understood, as Psa 5:8; Jer 26:10; Hos 2:14 the people of the God of Abraham, i.e. unto the Jews, and so both Jews and Gentiles shall be united in one religion; and so God shall reign over the heathen, and be King of all the earth, as is here said, Psa 47:7,8, and all people shall clap their hands for joy, as it is Psa 47:1.
The shields of the earth; either,
1. The protection of the people of all the earth. Or rather,
2. Their princes or rulers, who are fitly called shields, Hos 4:18, because by their office they are or should be the common parents and protectors of all their people, to defend them from all oppressions and injuries. These, saith he, are the Lords, i.e. at his disposal, or subject to his dominion, both as to their hearts and kingdoms. And so this is here conveniently added, as the reason of that great and improbable event, foretold in the foregoing words, that the princes of the people (which of all others were the most lofty, and wilful, and incorrigible) should join and subject themselves to the Lord, and to his church.
He is greatly exalted; by this means God shall be greatly glorified, and appear to be far above all the princes of the world, and above all other gods.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. princeswho representpeoples. For
evensupply, “as,”or, “to”that is, they all become united under covenantwith Abraham’s God.
shieldsas in Ho4:18, “rulers” [Margin].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The princes of the people are gathered together,…. Not against Christ, as at his first coming, but to him, and to his church and people; even the great men of the earth, the kings and princes of it, as they will in the latter day; see Isa 49:23; or this may mean the saints in general, who are all of them the princes of people, and are set among princes, yea, are kings priests unto God; some render it, “the willing” or “voluntary ones of his people” g; the same word is here used as in Ps 110:3; where it is rendered “willing”, and designs such who are made willing to be saved by Christ, submit to his righteousness, and be subject to his word and ordinances;
[even] the people of the God of Abraham; whom the God of Abraham has chosen for his people, taken into covenant, given to his Son, and who are redeemed by his blood, and effectually called by his grace; and who, though Gentiles, belong to the same covenant and the same covenant God as Abraham did, and have the blessing of Abraham upon them; and are indeed his spiritual seed, being Christ’s. The Targum is, “the people that believe in the God of Abraham”. The words may be rendered in connection with the former clause, “gathered together unto the people of the God of Abraham” h; and so denote the association of the Gentiles converted with the believing Jews, as was at the first times of the Gospel, and will be at the latter day, 1Co 12:13;
for the shields of the earth [belong] unto God; that is, the rulers of the earth, as the word is rendered in Ho 4:18; who are as a shield and a protection to their subjects; these are set up and put down by the Lord at his pleasure; and their hearts are in his hands, and he can convert them when he pleases, and gather them to his Son, and into his churches; or, as Jarchi interprets it,
“he has power in his hands to protect as with a shield all that trust in him;”
safety is of the Lord; the protection of the world and of the church is from him who is King over all the earth;
he is greatly exalted; that is, Christ, who has all power in heaven and in earth; he is highly exalted at the right hand of God, angels, authorities, and powers, being subject to him.
g “voluntarii populorum”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. h So Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 47:10) In the mirror of the present event, the poet reads the great fact of the conversion of all peoples to Jahve which closes the history of the world. The nobles of the peoples ( with the twofold meaning of generosi), the “shields (i.e., the lords who are the defenders of their people) of the earth” (Hos 4:18), enter into the society of the people of the God of Abraham; , as Theodoret observes. The promise concerning the blessing of the tribes of the nations in the seed of the patriarch is being fulfilled; for the nobles draw the peoples who are protected by them after themselves. It is unnecessary to read instead of with Ewald, and following the lxx and Syriac; and it is also inadmissible, since one does not say , but or . Even Eusebius has rightly praised Symmachus and Theodotion, because they have translated the ambiguous by ( ), viz., as being a nominative of the effect or result, as it is also understood by the Targum, Jerome, Luther, and most of the Jewish expositors, and among modern expositors by Crusius, Hupfeld, and Hitzig: They gather and band themselves together as a people or into a people of the God of Abraham, they submit themselves with Israel to the one God who is proved to be so glorious.
(Note: It is also accented accordingly, viz., with Rebia magnum, which (and in this respect it is distinguished from Mugrash) makes a pause; and this is then followed by the supplementing clause with Zinnor, Galgal, and Olewejored.)
The conclusion (v. 11) reminds one of the song of Hannah, 1Sa 2:8. Thus universal homage is rendered to Him: He is gone up in triumph, and is in consequence thereof highly exalted ( , 3rd praet., the result of consequence of the in Psa 47:6).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
9 The princes of the peoples are gathered together. The Psalmist enriches and amplifies by various expressions the preceding sentence. He again declares that the way in which God obtained dominion over the Gentiles was, that those who before were aliens united in the adoption of the same faith with the Jews; and thus different nations, from a state of miserable dispersion, were gathered together into one body. When the doctrine of the Gospel was manifested and shone forth, it did not remove the Jews from the covenant which God had long before made with them. On the contrary, it has rather joined us to them. As then the calling of the Gentiles was nothing else than the means by which they were grafted and incorporated into the family of Abraham, the prophet justly states, that strangers or aliens from every direction were gathered together to the chosen people, that by such an increase the kingdom of God might be extended through all quarters of the globe. On this account Paul says, (Eph 3:6,) that the Gentiles were made one body with the Jews, that they might be partakers of the everlasting inheritance. By the abolition of the ceremonies of the Mosaic economy, “the middle wall of partitions” which made a separation between the Jews and the Gentiles, is now removed, (Eph 2:14😉 but it nevertheless remains true, that we are not accounted among the children of God unless we have been grafted into the stock of Abraham. The prophet does not merely speak of the common people: he also tells us that princes themselves will regard it as the height of their felicity to be gathered together with the Jews; as we shall see in another psalm, (Psa 87:5,)
“
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her.”
Farther, it is said that this gathering together will be to the people of the God of Abraham, to teach us that it is not here meant to attribute to the Jews any superiority which they naturally possess above others, but that all their excellence depends upon this, that the pure worship of God flourishes among them, and that they hold heavenly doctrine in high estimation. This, therefore, is not spoken of the bastard or cast-off Jews, whom their own unbelief has cut off from the Church. But as, according to the statement of the Apostle Paul, (Rom 11:16,) the root being holy, the branches are also holy, it follows that the falling away of the greater part does not prevent this honor from continuing to belong to the rest. Accordingly, the “consumption” which, as is stated in the prophecy of Isaiah, overflowed the whole earth, is called the people of the God of Abraham, (chapter 10:22, 23.) This passage contains two very important and instructive truths. In the first place, we learn from it, that all who would be reckoned among the children of God ought to seek to have a place in the Church, and to join themselves to it, that they may maintain fraternal unity with all the godly; and, secondly, that when the unity of the Church is spoken of, it is to be considered as consisting in nothing else but an unfeigned agreement to yield obedience to the word of God, that there may be one sheepfold and one Shepherd. Moreover, those who are exalted in the world in respect of honors and riches, are here admonished to divest themselves of all pride, and willingly and submissively to bear the yoke in common with others, that they may show themselves the obedient children of the Church.
What follows immediately after, The shields of the earth are God’s, is understood by many as spoken of princes. (189) I admit that this metaphor is of frequent occurrence in Scripture, nor does this sense seem to be unsuitable to the scope of the passage. It is as if the prophet had said, It is in the power of God to ingraft into his Church the great ones of the world whenever he pleases; for he reigns over them also. Yet the sense will be more simple if we explain the words thus: That, as it is God alone who defends and preserves the world, the high and supreme majesty, which is sufficient for so exalted and difficult a work as the preservation of the world, is justly looked upon with admiration. The sacred writer expressly uses the word shields in the plural number, for, considering the various and almost innumerable dangers which unceasingly threaten every part of the world, the providence of God must necessarily interpose in many ways, and make use, as it were, of many bucklers.
(189) Magistrates and governors are called shields in Hos 4:18; Psa 89:19. In this sense the word is here understood by the Septuagint.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) The shields of the earthi.e., the princes just mentioned, as in Hos. 4:18; so LXX. and Vulg. (strong ones), which, however, they make the subject of the verbhave been mightily exalted.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. The princes of the people are gathered Literally, the willing minded of the nations are gathered. The word rendered “princes” means, willing minded, free, voluntary, and hence nobles, princes. These had voluntarily assembled, as representatives, to pay tribute to Jehovah, their liege Lord and sovereign. The language has a prophetic outlook of gospel times. The poet had just announced that “God reigneth over the Gentiles,” (Psa 47:8😉 and now the princes of the , am-meem peoples, nations meet to tender their submission and homage.
Even the people of the God of Abraham The word “even” is not in the Hebrew, and “people,” here, ( ,) is in the singular, of which peoples in the preceding line is plural. Taking the singular in its definitive sense of “people of the God of Abraham “ the Hebrew stock and the plural in the sense of peoples, or nations of the Gentiles, which is in harmony with the connexion and admissible in usage, we derive the idea of the Church universal gathered out of all the nations: or, with Delitzsch, we may suppose “the princes of the nations band themselves into a people of the God of Abraham.”
Shields of the earth belong unto God “Shields of the earth” are, probably, here put for the princes of the nations just mentioned, who are the natural protectors of society. See Hos 4:18, where shields is translated rulers. So God is called “our shield,” Psa 84:9. These centres and heads of civil power are in the hands and at the disposal of God, and when they submit the people will follow.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 47:9. The princes of the people are gathered The princes of the nations are incorporated with the God of Abraham; Mudge: with whom almost all the ancient versions and more modern translators agree. The version of the liturgy is, The princes of the people are joined to the people of the God of Abraham. The princes of the people, means the heads of the tribes: are gathered together, namely, at this solemn festival, without any fear of invasion from the neighbouring nations: since God hath undertaken their protection, while they have left their own houses unguarded, to attend his service. See Exo 23:25. But in the prophetical sense, which seems the most proper, the princes of the people, means the heathen princes, who were to be converted to Christianity, and to join themselves to the people of the God of Abraham; that is, to the Jewish converts under the dominion of Christ. The shields means the sovereignty of the whole earth: for God takes to him the shields of the earth; all the princes of it, under his own immediate government. Psa 89:19. King and shield are here, as in other places, synonimous. See Psa 84:9.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The psalm opens with an address to all people to express their utmost exultation in God, the great fountain of salvation.
O clap your hands, all ye people, not only of the Jewish nation, but those who are saved by Jesus out of all lands: shout unto God with the voice of triumph, not merely for Israel’s enemies subdued by David’s sword, but for the more glorious victories which the Son of David hath obtained over all the powers of sin, death, and hell: for the Lord most High, the incarnate Saviour, whose name is above every name in heaven or earth; he is terrible in his judgments, when, turning upon his affrighted foes, confusion covers them, and ruin overtakes them: he is King over all the earth, his dominion sovereign and universal; his people, therefore, may well be joyful in their king. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet; by the powerful influences of his word and Spirit, either effectually converting the Gentiles to himself, and bringing them to the obedience of the faith, or casting down with his mighty arm the refractory and impenitent. He a shall choose our inheritance for us, not Canaan’s fertile land, but a better and more enduring portion shall he provide for the faithful, even one that is eternal in the heavens, which his blood hath bought, his promise hath secured, and himself is gone up to prepare for them, the excellency of Jacob, the spiritual Israel of God. Note; (1.) They who believe the promises, cannot but rejoice in hope. (2.) Jesus is a terrible enemy, but a most desirable friend: happy they, who, fleeing from the wrath to come, find favour and reconciliation with him. (3.) Heaven is the inheritance of the faithful; where then should our affections be?
2nd, If this moment we begin the song, and ceaseless continue it through the days of eternity, we cannot shew forth all the Redeemer’s praise; yet the attempt is gratitude, and the service our bounden duty. We have here several subjects of praise pointed out.
1. For the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God. It might be matter of national joy, when the ark, restored from obscurity, was carried in grand procession to the tabernacle of David; but this is an universal burst of praise; earth rings with the glory of the ascending Saviour, while angels catch the mighty joy, and, opening their shining ranks, receive with a shout of triumph the returning conqueror, who leads captivity captive.
2. For his universal sovereignty. High on his exalted throne the Redeemer sits, as God over all, blessed for ever; as king, ruling by his providence in all the earth, protecting his believing people, restraining the heathen, and making his holiness appear in all his administration; and therefore demanding praise, with understanding, such as becomes him, or from every intelligent being, who are all bound to set forth his glory.
3. For the conversion of the Gentiles. The princes of the people are gathered together, to tender their submission at the feet of Jesus, even the people of the God of Abraham, for such by faith they become; followers of the patriarch, and sharers in his blessing; or, to the people, &c. intimating their union in one body, under Jesus, their exalted head: for the shields of the earth, the rulers of the nations, belong unto God, are appointed by him, and their hearts are in his hand. He is greatly exalted; all power is given him in heaven and in earth, and his dominion eternal as universal: therefore sing praises unto our God, sing praises: sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
HAIL! thou glorious, risen, ascended, and triumphant Saviour! Thou art indeed ascended up on high: Thou hath led captivity captive, and hast received gifts for men. Yea, Lord, for me, for many a poor rebellious sinner, that the Lord our God might dwell among them. And now, Lord, help me by faith to follow thee at the right hand of the Majesty on high. I know, Lord, and am fully persuaded, that all power is thine, in heaven and in earth. Lord! is it not thy blessed province, and is it not thy glory and delight, now thou art exalted as a prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins? Lord, send down all thine ascension gifts, I beseech thee. Do thou rule in me, and rule for me. Grant me, and all thy church, all the blessings of thy kingdom of grace here, and glory hereafter. Set up thy kingdom in our hearts. Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. And so sweetly constrain all the powers and faculties of the souls of thy redeemed into the holy love, and fear, and delight in thee, that songs of praise, and praises with understanding, may go forth from every heart, both here and forever to thee, the God of our salvation. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 47:9 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.
Ver. 9. The princes of the people are gathered together ] Or, the voluntary of the people. The great ones disdain not to meet with the meanest at the public assemblies, for performance of holy duties; but thither they flee one with another, as the doves do to their windows, Isa 60:8 , glorying in this, that they are Christ’s vassals, as did Constantine, Valentinian, and Theodosius, those three great emperors, casting their crowns at his feet, and willing to come under the common yoke of his obedience, with the rest of the people of the God of Abraham, the common sort of Christians (Socrates).
For the shields of the earth belong unto God
He is greatly exalted Even. Perhaps better to supply Ellipsis (App-6): “[unto] the People”, or “[to be] a People”. See the Structure, and Compare Psa 47:4.
shields. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), for princes (in preceding line), or, for defenses in general Compare Psa 89:18 (margin) and Hos 4:18 (margin)
exalted. Compare Psa 47:5. This is the object of the Psalm connected with 46 by the Selah in Psa 46:11.
The princes: etc. or, The voluntary of the people are gathered unto the people of, etc. Psa 72:7-9, Psa 110:2, Psa 110:3, Gen 49:10, Isa 11:10, Isa 60:4, Isa 60:5, Isa 66:19, Isa 66:20, Rom 11:25
the God: Gen 17:7, Gen 17:8, Exo 3:6, Exo 3:15, Isa 41:8-10, Mat 22:32, Rom 4:11, Rom 4:12, Gal 3:29
shields: Psa 89:18, Pro 30:5, *marg.
he is: Psa 46:10
Reciprocal: 1Sa 14:38 – chief 1Ch 29:11 – exalted Psa 68:27 – princes Psa 84:11 – shield Hos 4:18 – rulers Heb 4:9 – people Heb 11:25 – the people
Psa 47:9. The princes of the people The heads of the tribes; even the people of the God of Abraham With all the people that worship him, who promised to give this country unto Abraham; are gathered together Are assembled at their solemn feasts, without any fear of invasion from their foreign neighbours; for the shields of the earth belong unto God For God (to attend whose service they have left their own houses unguarded) hath undertaken their protection; and he is infinitely superior to all other gods, who pretend to be the defenders of the earth. So Bishop Patrick. But almost all the ancient versions and more modern translators render the former clause of this verse, The princes of the nations are incorporated with the God of Abraham: similar to which is the version of our Liturgy; The princes of the people are joined to the people of the God of Abraham. In this prophetical sense, says Dr. Dodd, which seems most proper, the princes of the people mean the heathen princes, who were to be converted to Christianity, and to join themselves to the people of the God of Abraham; that is, to the Jewish converts under the dominion of Christ. The shields mean the sovereignty of the whole earth: for God takes to him the shields of the earth; all the princes of it under his own immediate government. King and shield are synonymous, Psa 84:9.
47:9 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 {f} is greatly exalted.
(f) He praises God’s highness, for that he joins the great princes of the world
(whom he calls shields) to the fellowship of his Church.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes