Reflections on Psalms 48

 Psalms 48(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A song and a psalm for the people of Korah.) The LORD God is wonderful! He deserves all praise in the city where he lives. His holy mountain,
   
2. beautiful and majestic, brings joy to all on earth. Mount Zion, truly sacred, is home for the Great King.
   
3. God is there to defend it and has proved to be its protector.
   
4. Kings joined forces to attack the city,
   
5. but when they saw it, they were terrified and ran away.
   
6. They trembled all over like women giving birth
   
7. or like seagoing ships wrecked by eastern winds.
   
8. We had heard about it, and now we have seen it in the city of our God, the LORD All-Powerful. This is the city that God will let stand forever.
   
9. Our God, here in your temple we think about your love.
   
10. You are famous and praised everywhere on earth, as you win victories with your powerful arm.
    
11. Mount Zion will celebrate, and all Judah will be glad, because you bring justice.
    
12. Let's walk around Zion and count its towers.
    
13. We will see its strong walls and visit each fortress. Then you can say to future generations,
    
14. "Our God is like this forever and will always guide us."

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This psalm expresses the elation of the people of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, at God's deliverance from the kings that had assembled against the city. This elation is evident in the first verse: "The LORD is great and is highly praised in the city of our God." (48:1) Verses 4-7 describe the source of their elation: "Look! The kings assembled; they advanced together." But when these kings marched their armies within view of the city of Jerusalem, "They looked, and froze with fear; they fled in terror." (48:5) What did they see that frightened them so? We are not told, but it brings to mind another occasion in which God saved the city of Samaria. The invading army heard what sounded to them like a huge army marching to attack them and fled in terror. But it was only the sound of an attacking army that God had put in their ears.

God's intervention and deliverance move the people of Jerusalem to go to the Lord's temple and "contemplate (His) faithful love." (48:9) As the people continue to contemplate God's greatness, they say to themselves, "Go around Zion, encircle it; count its towers, note its ramparts; tour its citadels so that you can tell a future generation." (48:12-13) They wanted to note that the city was unscathed by the invading armies and be able to tell it to a "future generation." They knew that, "This God, our God forever and ever--He will lead us eternally." (48:14)