(A Song; a Psalm. Of the sons of Korah.) Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the hill of his holiness.
Psalm 48 opens with praise, and the praise has an address: it rises "in the city of our God." No one admires God's greatness in the abstract here — people celebrate it at one hill, because they have watched Him act there.
This song closes a run of psalms, and it answers what the earlier ones pleaded for:
This psalm completes the series of psalms beginning with Psalm 44. There the godly have heard from the fathers about God's deliverances long ago. Their faith looks to God to arise for their help and to redeem Israel from the power of the enemy. Psalm 45 presents Christ as the answer to that cry. He is the One through whom deliverance will come... Psalm 47 celebrates the intervention of God on behalf of His people... Psalm 48 presents the King established in Zion, the centre of government for the whole earth.
The verse ties God's greatness to one place on the map — the centre God Himself appointed for His rule on earth. ("Jehovah" in these quotes is the older English form of the LORD's name.)
The only place of God's name on earth is Zion. Sovereign dignity belongs to Jerusalem as the divinely appointed centre of all earthly dominion. What she was for a moment in the best days of Solomon, she will be permanently, under the sceptre of Messiah's rule... Man and the devil have ruled the earth to its corruption and ruin. It will be revived under the blessed rule of the sceptre of righteousness... The eyes and the heart of Jehovah are at Jerusalem continually (2 Chron. 7:16). She may be forgotten for a time as punishment for her sins, but neither the wrath nor the plans of man can frustrate the purposes of God. His recorded purpose is to beautify the earthly house of His glory with His praise — to make the place of His feet glorious (Isa. 60:13).
The verse names the place twice: the city of our God, and His holy mountain. The order of those two names matters:
The psalm opens with praise to Jehovah, who has established His throne in Zion, "the city of our God." Then follows a description of the glory of the city. As fits the dwelling place of Jehovah, the psalm calls it "the mountain of his holiness." Once holiness is established, the city that had been desolate becomes beautiful, the joy of the whole earth... Now God, dwelling in the city, is known as its defence and security. So the city is publicly known as holy, beautiful, a joy, and as a refuge for God's people.
The city that will be the joy of the whole earth is the city that crucified its King. One writer holds both facts together:
This song has for its immediate subject the earthly Zion, the city of the great King (Matt. 5:35). To Jerusalem alone belongs this title. Nor is it an empty distinction. True, the great King Himself, the Judge of Israel, was there struck on the cheek and nailed to the cross. The Scripture had to be fulfilled that way. For its sin, that same city had been hissed at and cursed among the nations. Yet it will be known as the joy of the whole earth, because of the majesty of the presence of that same Messiah, whose glory was once turned to shame.
The singers of this verse are not strangers to God. Their own history is what makes this praise remarkable:
Jerusalem will have wonderful reason indeed to celebrate the greatness of God, their Lord (v. 1). The very God they had dishonoured for centuries will be the Object of their adoring worship. The centre of His choosing will then prove worthy of His choice, "the city of our God in His holy mountain," an elevation observable by the whole world.
Zion's courts are silent for now. One writer points to where God is praised in the meantime, and to the day the song spreads outward:
God's present dwelling place is where He dwells among the praises of His people, while the courts in Zion are silent... But the courts of Zion will again resound with the praises of His earthly people. They will sing, "Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain" (Ps. 48:1). Then the whole earth, "filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea," will take up the glad refrain.
Readers often ask whether "the city of our God" means a heavenly city here. One writer answers plainly: "the earthly and not the heavenly Zion is here meant. The entire language of the Psalm forbids any other interpretation" (A. Pridham).
- Cry answered. Psalm 44 pleaded for God to arise; Psalm 48 is the celebration after He has. Praise here is not a mood — it is a verdict on something God actually did.
- Place chosen. God's greatness has an address. Zion is the centre He appointed for earthly rule, held permanently under a righteous sceptre.
- Holiness first. The psalm calls the place holy before it calls the city beautiful. Established holiness is what turns a desolate city into a joy and a refuge.
- King restored. The city that struck and crucified the great King becomes the joy of the whole earth. The presence of that same King in majesty makes the change.
- Praise spread. The very people who dishonoured Him for centuries lead the song, and the whole earth takes up the refrain.
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, [on] the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Psalm 48 celebrates a city, but the praise belongs to the God who lives there. The verse raises three questions: what makes the city beautiful, why the whole earth is glad, and who "the great King" is.
The order of the words matters. One writer traces the movement from God's holy mountain to the beauty and joy that follow.
The psalm opens with praise to Jehovah. He has established His throne in Zion, "the city of our God." Then comes a description of the glory of the city. Because it is the dwelling place of Jehovah, it is described as His holy mountain. Once holiness is established, the city that had been desolate now becomes beautiful, the joy of the whole earth... Now God, dwelling in the city, is known as its defence and security. So the city is publicly known as holy, beautiful, a joy, and as a refuge for God's people.
The city named here is the one that rejected and executed her own King. That history is not skipped over; it is what makes the promise so striking.
This song celebrates Jehovah's name and glory as the God and King of all the earth. Its immediate subject is the earthly Zion, the city of the great King (Matt. 5:35). To Jerusalem alone belongs this title. Nor is it an empty distinction. It is true that the great King Himself, the Judge of Israel, was struck on the cheek there, and nailed to the cross... But that same city had been an object of scorn and cursing among the nations for its sin. Now it is to be known as the joy of the whole earth. The reason is the majesty of the presence of that same Messiah, whose glory was once turned to shame.
Some read Zion here as a picture of the believer's present blessing. One writer allows the parallel, but holds that the psalm means the earthly city in her coming days of peace.
This Psalm records the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem as she will be known in the millennium. Then her name shall be, "The LORD Is There." The believer now has come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Faith finds places of blessing that are still invisible to the natural eye. But the heavenly Jerusalem is not, sadly, the joy of the whole earth... The entire language of the Psalm forbids any other interpretation.
Commentators differ on this phrase. Some take it as a comment on where Zion sat in the city.
Some have thought the words "in the far north" mean that Mount Zion was in the north of the city. But may it not mean that on the north side of Zion stands the city of the great King, that is, Jerusalem? The psalm is clearly millennial.
Another writer reads the north as the dark, hidden side — and as the seat the boastful king of Isaiah 14 wanted for himself.
The phrase "in the far north" adds great significance. The north — tzaphon — means "what is hidden," because the north side of anything is the dark, hidden side. The north is therefore the place of mystery, and of opposition to the light... So it is in the far north that the Babylonian scoffer means to sit (Isa. 14:13) in defiance of the Most High. But here now Mount Zion stands, God's bulwark against the enemy — who is, let us note, a northern enemy.
One writer points to the day the King rode into this city in person.
The King in person rode into the capital of the kingdom, as the long-expected Messiah, to which He will return some day in power to reign.
Zion carries Israel's memories and hopes — and a role for the whole earth.
Zion is rich in sacred memories for the Jew. It is his goal of hope. It is also God's chosen city... It is the seat of universal government for earth, and the centre of interest to the millennial world (Isa. 2). It is where Jehovah has purposed to set His King (Ps. 2:6). Three distinct thoughts are connected with Mount Zion. It is the seat of royal power. It is the place of God's intervention in grace. It is the place of Jehovah's sovereignty. All of this is in relation to Israel.
- Holiness — God calls Zion His holy mountain first. Its beauty follows from who lives there.
- Beauty — the city once desolate and scorned among the nations is the one promised this glory.
- Joy — the gladness reaches "all the earth," because Zion is to be the seat of government for the world.
- North — some read the phrase as a note on the map. Others read it as the hidden side, and the seat the proud king of Isaiah 14 wanted. God sets His city there.
- King — the promised King has already ridden into this city once. Commentators look for His return in power to fulfil the verse.
God is known in her palaces as a high fortress.
Psalm 48 is a song about a city. Jerusalem is praised as beautiful, joyful and safe, and the third verse gives the reason for all of it: God Himself is inside her walls, and she knows Him as her defence.
The beauty, the joy and the safety of the opening verses are not things the city makes for herself. One writer names the cause, then sets it against the nation's own darkness. The writers quoted here use an older wording of the verse: "God is known in her palaces for a refuge."
The third verse contains the secret of the blessing described. "God is known in her palaces for a refuge." The present condition of the nation is darkness. God is completely unknown among them. They know Him only as the one who carries out the judgment written against their stubbornness and blindness of heart.
The verse does not say only that God is there. It says He makes Himself known there. Enemy kings learned that the hard way.
Jehovah is now fully established as Israel's God in Zion. Zion is the praise of the whole earth, the city of the great King, and in her palaces God is well known as a refuge. The kings gathered together. They found a different power there than they had expected. They marvelled, were troubled, and hurried away.
Why is God known there as a stronghold first of all? Because of the battle that has just been fought.
In her palaces God is known. As Ezekiel tells us, "The name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There" (Ezek. 48:35). In the first place He will be known there as a refuge, or high fortress, for Armageddon has just taken place. The kings of the earth were assembled "for battle on the great day of God the Almighty" (Rev. 16:14). They have been utterly defeated and broken.
The verse just before locates Zion in the far north; older wording reads "on the sides of the north." One writer links the phrase to the direction from which the attacks came.
The words "on the sides of the north" may point to the nations that had tried to destroy Israel. They had come from the north, but they were defeated and destroyed themselves. That point of attack is now seen as a place of glory. God was now dwelling in the city as its defence and security, so it becomes holy, beautiful, a place of joy and a refuge for God's people.
Another writer starts from what the Hebrew word for north means.
The north — tzaphon — is "what is hidden," because the north side of anything is the dark, the hidden side. So the north is the place of mystery, and of opposition to the light; and "God is light." Unbelief draws its arguments from the mysterious things in nature, from the mysteries of God's providence, and from the clouds and darkness that surround His throne. All of these are in truth full of His wisdom and goodness. Yet unbelief uses them to attack the truth of God. But here now Mount Zion stands, God's bulwark against the foe.
A fortress keeps you alive; it does not make you glad. One writer finds a second way God is known in those same palaces.
And now God is known in her palaces in another way. He is known not only as a refuge, but in that loving-kindness which is proper to Himself. Zephaniah promises: "The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over you with singing" (Zeph. 3:17, older translation). The great JEHOVAH, revealed as JESUS, will be rejoicing in His redeemed people resting in His love.
The psalm's last verse turns all this into something a reader can own.
He speaks of "THIS GOD." What great depths are found here! The God who is known in this wonderful way is before us: and He "is our God for ever and ever." Is it not so? We are to have the light and power of this knowledge of God. And we are not merely to have it as onlookers, for we have a vital interest in Him: He is our God. Nor is it a passing interest, but for ever and ever.
- Known. The city's safety is not her walls but a Person. He is not just present there. He makes Himself known there as her stronghold.
- Proved. The attack already came and failed. The kings met a power there that they had not expected.
- Reversed. The north was the direction of the attack, and the symbol of what is hidden. It is now the side where God's fortress stands.
- Deepened. Refuge is only the first thing known there. The same palaces then learn His loving-kindness: a God who rejoices over His people.
- Ours. The psalm ends by making this God the reader's own, for ever and ever. The refuge others saw becomes ours to count on.