The Psalmist Sees YHWH As Having Received His Acclamation As King Over All The Earth And Over All Peoples (Psalms 47:5-9).
In this second part of the Psalm we are introduced to the triumph ceremony following the defeat and humiliation of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army. We are probably to see that the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH (suitably covered) has been brought out of the Holy of Holies and is now leading a great procession up the Mount back into the Temple, accompanied by clapping, shouting and singing, and this as a portrayal of His own rise to heaven after having gloriously come down and disposed of the enemy.
It is probable that representatives of the nations round about who had seen the humiliation of Sennacherib had come to Jerusalem and were joining with them in the ceremony. (Hezekiah had been one of the leaders in a coalition against Assyria). They too were grateful for what had been wrought by Israel's God (compare 2 Chronicles 20:29).
‘God is gone up with a shout,
YHWH with the sound of a ram's horn.
Sing praise to God, sing praises,
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.'
As the Ark, the symbol of God's earthly presence, is borne triumphantly upwards towards the Temple, it is seen as depicting the greater reality of YHWH returning to His heavenly throne having dealt with the Assyrians (compare Psalms 68:18; 1 Kings 8:27). The shouting and the blowing of the ram's horns greet His victory, while the people are called on to sing praises to Him as their God and King. It is bringing home their recognition of the supreme Sovereignty of God as Lord over both Heaven and earth.
‘For God is the King of all the earth,
Sing you praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.'
And this is moreso because He has now unquestionably proved Himself to be the King of all the earth. (Who else could have defeated the Great King of Assyria who ruled over ‘all the earth'?). Thus as they praise they are to understand the significance of what they are doing. They are to see that they are praising the One Who reigns over the nations, and Who sits on His holy throne, both in Heaven and on earth.
When Jesus came to His disciples after His resurrection and declared that ‘all authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth' (Matthew 28:18) He was revealing the same, and it represented an even greater victory, which we too should constantly celebrate with clapping and shouting and singing, and the blowing of trumpets (see Acts 2:32-36; Ephesians 1:19-22; 1 Peter 3:22; Hebrews 1:3).
‘The princes of the peoples are gathered together,
To be the people of the God of Abraham,
For the shields of the earth belong to God,
He is greatly exalted.'
As they looked at the nations from round about who had gathered with them to celebrate the victory it must have brought to mind the great promises of Isaiah about the nations submitting at His feet. And they saw in this a portrayal of that day when the peoples of the nations would become the people of the God of Abraham, through whom all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). And they knew that that day was inevitable. For what God had done had demonstrated that the shields of the earth belonged to Him. It had demonstrated His great exaltation.
Today as we look around and see how His true church has become established around the world, how much more should we be shouting His praise as His conquest of the nations continues as a result of His even greater victory gained at the cross. For He has truly gathered men from the nations of the world, and is still doing so, in order that they might be the people of the God of Abraham (Galatians 3:29; Galatians 6:16; Romans 11:16-24; Ephesians 2:11-22; 1 Peter 2:9; James 1:1).