The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 46
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 47 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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Clap your hands, all ye nations; Shout to God with a voice of exultation.
Παντὰ τὰ ἔθνη κροτήσατε χεῖρας, ἀλαλάξατε τῷ Θεῷ ἐν φωνῇ ἀγαλλιάσεως.
For the Lord most high is terrible; He is a great king over all the earth.
Ὅτι Κύριος ὕψιστος, φοβερὸς, βασιλεὺς μέγας ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν.
"For the Lord Most High is terrible". The Most High in descending made like one ludicrous, by ascending into Heaven is made terrible. "A great King over all the earth." Not only over the Jews; for over them also He is King. For of them also the Apostles believed and of them many thousands of men sold their goods, and…
He has subdued the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet.
Ὑπέταξε λαοὺς ἡμῖν, καὶ ἔθνη ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ἡμῶν·
"He has subdued the people under us, and the nations under our feet". Which subdued, and to whom? Who are they that speak? Haply Jews? Surely, if Apostles; surely, if Saints. For under these God has subdued the people and the nations, that today are they honoured among the nations, who by their own citizens earned to…
He has chosen out his inheritance for us, The beauty of Jacob which he loved. Pause.
Ἐξελέξατο ἡμῖν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ, τὴν καλλονὴν Ἰακὼβ, ἣν ἠγάπησε· διάψαλμα.
"He has chosen an inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob, whom He loved". A certain beauty of Jacob He has chosen for our inheritance. Esau and Jacob were two brothers; in their mother's womb both struggled, and by this struggle their mother's bowels were shaken; and while they two were yet therein, the younger…
God is gone up with a shout, The Lord with a sound of a trumpet.
Ἀνέβη ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ, Κύριος ἐν φωνῇ σάλπιγγος.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises: Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
Ψάλατε τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε· ψάλατε τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε.
For God is king of all the earth: Sing praises with understanding.
Ὅτι βασιλεὺς πάσης τῆς γῆς ὁ Θεὸς, ψάλατε συνετῶς.
"For God is the King of all the earth". What? And before was He not God of all the earth? Is He not God of both heaven and earth, since by Him surely were all things made? Who can say that He is not his God? But not all men acknowledged Him their God; and where He was acknowledged, there only, so to say, He was God.…
God reigns over the nations: God sits upon the throne of his holiness.
Ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη, ὁ Θεὸς κάθηται ἐπὶ θρόνου ἁγίου αὐτοῦ.
"God shall reign over all nations". Who reigned over one nation, "shall reign" (says He) "over all nations." When this was said, God reigned over one nation. It was a prophecy, the thing was not yet shown. Thanks be to God, we now see fulfilled what before was prophesied. A written promise God sent unto us before the…
The rulers of the people are assembled with the God of Abraham: For God’s mighty ones of the earth have been greatly exalted.
Ἄρχοντες λαῶν συνήχθησαν μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ οἱ κραταιοὶ τῆς γῆς σφόδρα ἐπῄρθησαν.
"The princes of the peoples are gathered together unto the God of Abraham". The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. [Exodus 3:6] True it is, God said this, and thereupon the Jews prided themselves, and said, "We are Abraham's children;" [John 8:33] priding themselves in their father's name,…
Every note is a real passage, quoted word for word from a published English translation, with its source. Nothing here is summarised or written by us. Some verses have many notes and some have none, because the Fathers wrote more on some passages than others.
All of these translations are in the public domain. The passages were matched to their verses by the Historical Christian Commentaries project, which also hosts the full texts we link to. The Fathers are a treasury of the Church's mind, and they are best read alongside the life of the Church: if a passage raises a question, bring it to your priest.