Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
Psalm 48 ends a run of psalms in which a hard-pressed people wait for God to act. Here the waiting turns to song. Why should a rescued city celebrate God's judgments? And what does that gladness mean for readers far from Jerusalem?
The joy here rests on something already done. One writer places the psalm in a sequence, and hears the godly compare an old report with a present sight.
Psalm 48 presents the King established in Zion, the centre of government for the whole earth. So the godly say, "As we have heard," referring to Psalm 44, "so have we seen."
Those who sing had waited a long time.
These are the words of people whose faith held fast through the ruin of the day of rebuke. They kept hold of the sure word of promise. Their hearts had grown sick from hope long delayed. They had grown faint waiting for the salvation of Jehovah, yet they still held on to His testimonies. And now their delighted eyes see the fulfilment of the hope they cherished, a hope that truth had fed.
One writer takes the reason for the joy as a rule that holds for Christians too.
The daughters of Judah rejoice because of the judgments of God (verse 11). This is an eternal principle, and as such applies equally to the Church and to the nation. Wickedness that will not repent has to go before God's saints reach their lasting rest. God will "grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven" (2 Thessalonians 1; compare Isaiah 26:8-11). The believer now waits in hope for the breaking up of everything that lifts itself up in rivalry to the name of Jesus. We look for a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
These judgments have a history. Earlier verses describe a hostile alliance that marched on the city.
There follows a vivid description of the sudden judgment by which the city had been delivered from the enemies of God's people. The allied kings had assembled against the city. They gathered their armies, which passed by together in battle formation. There they met not simply man, but the mighty power of God. Astonished and dismayed, they fled in sudden panic. They trembled like a woman in the pain of labour, and scattered like a fleet in a storm.
Both names carry meaning. One writer explains them, points ahead to the millennium — the thousand years still to come — and asks why the call singles out Judah.
The psalm calls Mount Zion (meaning "sunny") to rejoice, for this is God's centre of the whole earth. She will take her rightful place only in the coming millennium. And it encourages the daughters of Judah (meaning "praise") to be glad because of the Lord's judgments. Is Judah especially spoken of because it was she who had been guilty of the crucifixion of the Messiah? What a change for them then! Having been broken down in repentance, her unbelief will be replaced by joyful gladness!
Another writer hears the same two voices, and marks how far this is from what the nation once was.
It is the earth rejoicing through the carrying out of divine judgments because Jehovah reigns in that day. Zion rejoices when she hears, and Judah's daughters too. That is a blessed part of it, since by nature everything had been so different!
The rejoicing opens into peace. In that peace the people can look at the city and pass on what God did.
The psalm closes with a call to mount Zion to rejoice, and to the cities of Judah to be glad. In peace the people can consider the beauty of Zion as they survey her walls and palaces. So they will be able to tell future generations of this great deliverance. They will know that the God who worked it is their God for ever and ever. Never again will the nation turn aside to idolatry.
One writer draws a lesson for readers today.
This look at the faithfulness of God to His unfaithful people should encourage us in our lives to trust the Lord Jesus every day. Even though we are often unfaithful and let Him down, He will never go back on anything He has promised. As Israel in a coming day will come into wonderful earthly blessing, so the believer will come into heavenly blessing. This will not be because of anything we have done, but by the grace and faithfulness of God.
- Heard, then seen. These singers once only heard of God's power. Now they see it, and the long wait turns to song.
- Judgment first. God's judgments are the cause of the gladness. Wickedness that will not repent must go before God's people rest.
- Named cities. Zion is God's centre for the whole earth. Judah's name means praise, and one writer sees a stunning change in the people once guilty of the crucifixion of the Messiah.
- Peace to inspect. Joy gives way to a calm walk round the walls and palaces, so the next generation hears what God did.
- Grace, not merit. God stays faithful to an unfaithful people. Believers stand on that same ground today.
Walk about Zion, and go round about her count the towers thereof;
Zion is Jerusalem, the city God had just delivered. Now her people are told to go out and look at her for themselves. What is a walk around walls and towers meant to prove, and to whom?
The command comes at the close of the psalm. The danger is over, and the walk is taken in peace.
The psalm closes with a call to Mount Zion to rejoice, and to the cities of Judah to be glad. In peace the people can take in the beauty of Zion as they survey her defences and palaces. So they will be able to tell of this great deliverance to future generations. They recognise that the God who worked the deliverance is their God for ever and ever.
The pace is slow on purpose. Each thing named — towers, defences, palaces — is a separate thing to examine.
Is Zion fully suitable as God's centre of His dealing with the world? Anyone who wants to check this out should take plenty of time to walk about Zion — not ride. Count her towers, her points of observation. Mark her defences, the strength of her protection. Consider her palaces, the wealth and beauty of her resources. Looking at all this will surely move the observer to tell the next generation about it. And in the space of 1000 years there will be many generations to tell.
The count finds nothing damaged. And what earlier generations had passed on by faith, this generation now sees.
Zion emerges in her beauty from under this passing cloud. She is untouched. And now they realise in the present what they had received by faith from their fathers about the days of old.
The survey has an end. What it looks at does not.
They are urged to test this city of strength to the full: survey her as a whole, I take it, and consider her details, so as to tell it to the generations afterwards. God has taken all this abundant care for His people, and He has shown in it what He is. He is their God forever — the guide of His flock forever. This is the glorious portion of His people: a portion that, after all measuring, remains unmeasured.
The safety in view is not temporary. One writer takes verses 12 and 13 as a picture of a city that will never be pulled down again.
Verses 12 and 13 describe the unchangeable stability and security of Jerusalem and her children once God sets them free into the liberty of the new covenant. "It shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever" (Jer. 31:38-40). Her walls shall be called Salvation, and her gates Praise. Her people, too, shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever. The Lord will hasten it in His time (Isa. 60:18-22).
The psalm's walk was once carried out for real. At the dedication of Jerusalem's walls, the people marched right round them.
The dedication of the walls sets out the appreciation of what God has done. The procession round the walls would give the people a full view of the extent of the city. As the Psalmist says, they walk about Zion and go around her. They number her towers. They mark her defences well and take in her palaces. The result, according to the same Psalm, is that they turn to the Lord in praise.
The same walk can be taken over truth instead of stone.
We could apply the same idea to Psalm 48:12-13: "Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers," and mark her defences well. We need to do that in a spiritual way in connection with the truth that we have here, to enter into it in a practical way, to "walk about it".
- Rescue first. The walk is taken in peace. You can only stroll the walls of a city God has already saved.
- Walk, don't ride. Slow looking is the point. Count the towers, mark the defences, weigh the palaces — one at a time.
- Count the evidence. Zion comes out from under the storm untouched. The survey is a test of God's care, and it passes.
- Run out of numbers. After all the measuring, the portion remains unmeasured. The God behind the walls is bigger than any survey.
- Then talk. What the eye has counted the mouth reports: to the next generation, and to God Himself in praise.
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces that ye may tell it to the generation following.
The song ends with an odd command: God has scattered the kings who attacked Jerusalem, and now the survivors must walk their own walls. Why count towers when the danger is past — and who is the tour for?
The ramparts and citadels here are what older translations call the bulwarks and palaces. One commentator draws out what each part of the city stands for, and why the pace matters:
Is Zion fully suitable as God's centre for His dealings with the world? Let everyone who wants to check this take plenty of time. Walk (not ride) about Zion. Count her towers, the points of observation. Mark her bulwarks, the strength of her protection. Consider her palaces, the wealth and beauty of her resources. Looking this closely will never fail to move the observer to tell the next generation about it.
Another translation makes the demand sharper. It turns "consider well" into an act of the heart:
Set your heart to her rampart, consider her palaces, that you may recount it to the generation following.
You cannot stroll around a wall while an enemy army sits outside it. The inspection belongs to the calm after God has driven that army off:
The psalm closes with a call to Mount Zion to rejoice, and to the cities of Judah to be glad. In peace the people can look at the beauty of Zion as they survey her bulwarks and palaces. So they will be able to tell future generations about this great deliverance. They recognise that the God who has worked the deliverance is their God for ever and ever. Never again will the nation turn aside to idolatry.
These people once had only someone else's report. Now their own eyes have confirmed it, and that is what qualifies them to speak:
So delivered and blessed, the remnant now say, "As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever." Their own eyes have now seen the LORD step in with power for His people. That fully confirmed their fathers' report. Their hearts were therefore filled with thanksgiving, and overflow in praise and testimony.
The towers are worth counting because of what they will still be long after the count. One writer reads verses 12 and 13 as a statement about permanence:
Verses 12 and 13 describe Jerusalem and her children when they are set free into the liberty of the new covenant. Their stability and security will be unchangeable. "It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever" (Jeremiah 31:38-40). Her walls shall be called Salvation, and her gates Praise. Her people, too, shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever. The LORD will hasten it in His time (Isaiah 60:18-22).
Another writer takes the survey as a view of the whole city. He ends where the counting stops:
They are urged to make full proof of this city of strength. Survey her as a whole, I take it — consider her points. Then tell it to the generations afterwards. For this God has taken all this abundant care for His people, and He has shown Himself in it. He is their God forever — the guide of His flock forever. This is the glorious portion of His people. After all measurements, that portion remains unmeasured.
The same circuit was once walked for real. Two choirs marched round the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem to dedicate them, and the words of this psalm fit the moment:
The dedication of the walls sets out the appreciation of what God has done. The procession round the walls would give the people a full view of the extent of the city. As the Psalmist says, they "walk about Zion, go around her," they "number her towers," they "consider well her ramparts" and "go through her citadels." The same Psalm gives the result: they turn to the Lord in praise.
- Heard. The generation doing the counting once had only their fathers' report of what God did in days of old.
- Seen. Deliverance came in their own lifetime. Their own eyes confirmed the old report, so their hearts overflow in praise and testimony.
- Counted. Towers are points of observation, ramparts the strength of her protection, palaces the wealth of her resources. Walk it on foot, with the heart set on it.
- Told. Careful inspection produces a witness. The survey is not for the sightseer but for the next generation.
- Unmeasured. After every measurement the portion remains unmeasured. The city's real security is a Person: this God is our God for ever and ever, the guide of His flock.