Clap Your Hands

One person said, “It takes two hands to clap.”

If you take a moment to think about that, it is very insightful, at least to me. Why do we clap for someone? It is to celebrate them. It is to recognize something that was done well. It is an expression of appreciation. Meaning, it takes one person to do something and another person to acknowledge it. It takes two hands to clap. Clapping cannot happen without two people. I mean, I guess you can clap for yourself  But that’s for another devotional.

If we are honest, we love it when someone claps for us. Maybe it’s not always through a standing ovation, but we love it when we are appreciated and receive acknowledgement for what we have done.

Imagine how motivated we would be if someone clapped for us after every deed.

Taking out the trash (clap! clap! clap!)

Washing the dishes (clap! clap! clap!)

Doing your quiet time (clap! clap! clap!)

Going into work (clap! clap! clap!)

Driving your kids to school (clap! clap! clap!)

Again, some of us would say, I don’t want someone to clap for me. But would you agree that the acknowledgment would make you feel good? Yes?

Here, in Psalm 47, the psalmist is urging the people to clap their hands to the Lord. Verse 1:

Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs to joy!

- Psalm 47:1

To clap your hands biblically is to express exaltation. Why should they? Verse 2 says, “For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.” And verse 4, “He chose our heritage for us.” They acknowledge and recognize that the LORD is a great king who is sovereign over all the world and that He has given us a spiritual heritage in Christ.

Listen, no matter how your life is going today, this psalm reminds us to clap our hands to Jesus. Yes, it requires faith and trust that Jesus is your great king who is sovereign over your personal life and, no matter what, if you are in Christ, you have a spiritual heritage that no sin or situation will ever take away! This is the gospel, my friends. This is what we are to clap for!

When is the last time you have clapped your hands to the LORD in your heart or out loud?

For me, I tried applying Psalm 47 while writing this, and will try this week. I did this in my room by myself. Maybe you, too, can try it. I started clapping my hands and just kept repeating, “Thank you, Jesus. You are great Jesus. You know what you are doing, LORD.”

I found it helpful. Let me know how it went for you!

Pastor Sean

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