Psalms 48

1 The song of psalm, of the sons of Korah. The Lord is great, and worthy to be praised full much; in the city of our God, in the holy hill of him. (The song of the psalm, for the sons of Korah. The Lord is great, and worthy to be greatly praised; in the city of our God, on his holy hill.)

2 It is founded in the full out joying of all earth; the hill of Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great king. (Well-placed, it is the full out joy, or the rejoicing, of all the earth; Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.)

3 God shall be known in the houses thereof; when he shall take it. (And God is known as a refuge, or a stronghold, in its palaces.)

4 For lo! the kings of (the) earth were gathered together (against it); they came into one place.

5 They seeing, so wondered; they were troubled, they were moved (al)together, (But when they saw it, they wondered about it/they were full of wonder, or amazement; and they were troubled, and ran away,)

6 trembling took them. There sorrows, as of a woman travailing of child; (for panic, or trembling, took hold of them there. And sorrows, like when a woman laboureth with child;)

7 in a great spirit thou shalt all-break the ships of Tarshish. (or when a great east wind all-breaketh the ships from Tarshish.)

8 As we heard, so we saw, in the city of the Lord of virtues, in the city of our God; God hath founded that city [into] without end. (All that we had heard about, we saw with our own eyes, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; and God hath established that city forever.)

9 God, we have received thy mercy; in the midst of thy temple. (God, we think about thy love; in the midst of thy Temple.)

10 After thy name, God, so thy praising is spread abroad into the ends of earth; thy right hand is full of rightwiseness. (The praising of thy name, O God, is spread abroad unto the ends of the earth; thy right hand is full of righteousness.)

11 The hill of Zion be glad, and the daughters of Judah be fully joyful; for thy dooms, Lord. (Let Mount Zion be glad, or rejoice, and let the daughters of Judah make full out joy; because of thy judgements, Lord.)

12 Compass ye Zion, and embrace ye it; tell ye in the towers thereof. (March ye around Zion, ye people; and count ye up its towers.)

13 Set ye your hearts in the virtue of him; and part ye the houses of him, that ye tell out in another generation. (Put ye its strongholds, or its fortresses, in your hearts; and think ye about its palaces, so that ye can tell about it to the next generation.)

14 For this is God, our God, into without end, and into the world of world; he shall govern us into worlds. (For this God is our God, forever and ever; yea, he shall govern us forever.)

Psalms 48 Commentary

Chapter 48

The glories of the church of Christ.

Verses 1-7 Jerusalem is the city of our God: none on earth render him due honour except the citizens of the spiritual Jerusalem. Happy the kingdom, the city, the family, the heart, in which God is great, in which he is all. There God is known. The clearer discoveries are made to us of the Lord and his greatness, the more it is expected that we should abound in his praises. The earth is, by sin, covered with deformity, therefore justly might that spot of ground, which was beautified with holiness, be called the joy of the whole earth; that which the whole earth has reason to rejoice in, that God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth. The kings of the earth were afraid of it. Nothing in nature can more fitly represent the overthrow of heathenism by the Spirit of the gospel, than the wreck of a fleet in a storm. Both are by the mighty power of the Lord.

Verses 8-14 We have here the improvement which the people of God are to make of his glorious and gracious appearances for them. Let our faith in the word of God be hereby confirmed. Let our hope of the stability of the church be encouraged. Let our minds be filled with good thoughts of God. All the streams of mercy that flow down to us, must be traced to the fountain of His loving-kindness. Let us give to God the glory of the great things he has done for us. Let all the members of the church take comfort from what the Lord does for his church. Let us observe the beauty, strength, and safety of the church. Consider its strength; see it founded on Christ the Rock, fortified by the Divine power, guarded by Him who neither slumbers nor sleeps. See what precious ordinances are its palaces, what precious promises are its bulwarks, that you may be encouraged to join yourselves to it: and tell this to others. This God, who has now done such great things for us, is unchangeable in his love to us, and his care for us. If he is our God, he will lead and keep us even to the last. He will so guide us, as to set us above the reach of death, so that it shall not do us any real hurt. He will lead us to a life in which there shall be no more death.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 48

\\<>\\. This psalm is entitled a "song psalm", a psalm to be sung vocally; or "a song and psalm" to be sung both vocally and instrumentally; and is one of the spiritual songs the apostle speaks of, Eph 5:19; It was occasioned, as some think, by David's spoiling the Philistines, 2Sa 5:17-21; or, as others, by the deliverance of the people from the Moabites and Ammonites in the times of Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 20:27,28; or, as others, by the deliverance of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from Sennacherib in the times of Hezekiah, 2Ki 19:34,35; though as Kimchi, a celebrated Jewish commentator, owns, it belongs to the times of the Messiah, as the other preceding psalms; and treats of his greatness, and of the praise and glory due to him, and gives large encomiums of his church.