Joyful Triumph

Psalms 47:1 (KJV) [[To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.]] O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

(Proverbs 25 also read)

I began reading this in the NASB.

Psalms 47:1 (NASB95) For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.

And as I moved into the next verse, I noticed that it went from joy to fear.  The KJV goes from triumph to terrible.  The contrast struck me.  I looked at the footnote in the NASB and it had the idea of shouting with great enthusiasm.  So it wasn’t just rejoice in the sense of having beaten down someone else, but it is trust Him in the sense of joyful victory.

There’s a very real sense in which God wants us to live in victory but I think that the nuance presented by the word “joy” might give us a better insight into our attitude toward that victory and the nature of that victory.  Every day will not seem like we are winners.  Often it will feel like we were given the short end of the stick.  That’s when we need to realize that God is on the throne and that He’s watching what happens and He’s working things out for His glory and His purpose.

So?  Live in the joy of knowing the things that happened to you can have glorious outcomes.  It may not happen today or tomorrow.