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Easter · The Ascension of Our Lord · Year A

Psalm 47

God Has Gone Up with a Shout

May 14, 2026

The Wave, Gustave Courbet
The Wave, Gustave Courbet, 1869Wikimedia Commons
Courbet painted dozens of these at Étretat, laying the paint on with a knife so the swell has real thickness. Cézanne said it hit you in the chest.God has gone up with a shout: Psalm 47 is about something rising, and this is a wall of water at the point of standing up.Gustave CourbetThe leader of French Realism (1819-1877), who insisted on painting only what he could see, and who paid for his politics with exile.Wikimedia CommonsNo holding institution is recorded with the image; it is known from the public domain reproduction.Wikimedia Commons
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelLuke 24:44-53Lk 24:44-53
EpistleEph. 1:15-23Eph 1:15-23
Old TestamentActs 1:1-11
PsalterPs. 47Ps 47

Overview & Insights

“God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.” (Psalm 47:5)

Psalm 47 is a good example of what Gunkel calls a hymn, and he includes it in a subcategory of Zion songs. Mowinckel has followed Gunkel’s study by proposing a new classification, the enthronement psalms,1postulating that ancient Israel celebrated a fall festival at which they reelevated Yahweh to his throne, or at least celebrated his enthronement.2Belonging as it does to the Elohistic collection of psalms, the royal acclamation here is “God reigns” (47:8a), rather than “Yahweh reigns,” as the acclamation appears in Psalms 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; and 99:1. It is not a declaration that Elohim has begun his reign or that he has become king. It is rather a declaration that God is king, that he reigns, unrestricted by time, and unconstrained by geographical boundaries. Psalm 47 alludes indeed to Israel’s acts of worship (“God has ascended amid shouts of joy,” 47:5), but these are celebrations of God’s timeless reign.

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Commentary

Psalm 47 - David Guzik CommentaryPs 47 - David Guzik Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse by verse study of God gone up with a shout, an enthronement psalm long read at the ascension.

Psalm 47:1 CommentariesPs 47:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentators on the clapping of hands and the King who reigns over all nations.

Commentary on Psalm 47Commentary on Ps 47 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary commentary on the enthronement psalm appointed for Ascension Day itself.

Ascension Special: Psalm 47Ascension Special: Ps 47 1517.org

Lutheran reflection on why the church has always read this shout of ascent on Ascension Day.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 47Ps 47 Sefaria

Hebrew text with English and Jewish commentary for the enthronement shout of Psalm 47.

Book of Psalms OverviewBook of Ps Overview BibleProject

Animated overview of the Psalter's shape and its songs of God's kingship.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Psalm 47Catena on Ps 47 Catena

Patristic comment reading God's ascent with a shout as a figure of Christ's ascension.

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