Psalms 48:4

4 For see, the kings assembled; they advanced together.

Psalms 48:4 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 48:4

For, lo, the kings were assembled
As the princes of the Philistines to seek for David, when in the strong hold of Zion, ( 2 Samuel 5:17 ) ; as the Ethiopians in the time of Asa, ( 2 Chronicles 14:9 ) ; and the Moabites and Ammonites in the times of Jehoshaphat, ( 2 Chronicles 20:1 ) ; and the kings of Syria and Israel in the times of Ahaz, ( Isaiah 7:1 ) ; and Sennacherib with his princes, who, in his esteem, were kings, in the times of Hezekiah, ( 2 Kings 18:17 ) ; which are instances of the kings, of the nations' gathering together against Zion, the city of Jerusalem, and people of the Jews, who were typical of the church of Christ; and that without success, and to their own confusion and destruction; though this seems to refer to the latter day of the Gospel dispensation, when all the kings of the earth, Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan, will be gathered together at the instigation of Satan, to the battle of the great day of the Lord God Almighty, in a place called Armageddon, where they will be defeated by Christ the King of kings, ( Revelation 16:13 Revelation 16:14 Revelation 16:16 ) ( 19:19-21 ) . Jarchi and Kimchi interpret the passage of Gog and Magog gathering together to fight against Jerusalem, with which compare ( Revelation 20:8 Revelation 20:9 ) ;

they passed by together;
either to the battle, as Jarchi explains it; or they passed by Jerusalem, the city of our God, the church, without entering into it, or doing it any harm.

Psalms 48:4 In-Context

2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, [is] {Mount Zion}, {in the far north}, [the] city of [the] great king.
3 God [is] in her citadels; he is known as a [high] stronghold.
4 For see, the kings assembled; they advanced together.
5 {They themselves saw} [it], so they were astonished. They were terrified; they ran off.
6 Trembling seized them there-- pain as of a woman in labor.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. That is, preparing for battle
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.