“Applaud / all you peoples – shout out / to God
/ with a cry / of praise!” As is clear in the histories, there were times within
Israel’s lifetime where, however momentary, the unification of the world sought
by God (through Israel) was experienced. The kingship, in particular, with the
establishment of the Temple, was one such moment. Also, the Davidic conquests
were another. In this psalm, we are given a glimpse into one of these times
after a battle wherein those who were defeated were brought underneath the
kingship of Yhwh. Israel was, through David, expanding the ‘kingdom of God’
into a liturgical empire. Through Israel proper liturgical praise was being
spread across the earth, as new nations were brought within the covenantal fold
of Israel and made to recognize Yhwh, the “Great King” (vs. 2). These
preliminary remarks highlight the importance of the phrase “all you peoples”.
As we will see, this psalm is very extra-Israel focused. The nations outside of
Israel play a crucial, if not central role. And, further, it is through their
inclusion that the praise offered to Yhwh is so great and reaches its fulfillment.
As we saw in our previous psalm, Jerusalem was the staging ground for the
spread of God’s reign. Here, that spreading is understood as having as its
purpose the liturgical praise of God (Yhwh, El Elyon).In other words, the
kingship of God is one that has as its expression the “applause”, “shouting out”
and “crying of praise” to him. His kingship engenders liturgy. This will be
carried forward into an eschatological vision of Isaiah whereby he sees a time
when “every knee will bend and every tongue confess” allegiance to Yhwh/God.
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