Psalm 48

Psalm 48 KJV (WS)

1 A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. 9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Introduction

This is the third straight psalm detailing the victory that God has brought to his people.

Although there are a few theories about the specific occasion for the writing of this Psalm, I’m going to leave that to you to study out for yourself.

Instead, I want to look at this psalm solely as one author put it.

The lyrical echo of what is told in history.

There are four main parts to this psalm.

An ode to the glories of Zion.

A description of God terrorizing the kings that sought to attack Zion.

The song of a generation that migrated from testimony listeners to testimony givers.

A tour of Zion by a confident tour guide.

Glory of Zion. vss 1-3

Though this first stanza details the glories of Zion, the author is careful to start with praise to God.

All God’s people should agree and demonstrate that great praise is appropriate for a great God.

Though beautiful, glorious, and strategic, Zion’s real majesty stems from God’s presence in it.

Just as his presence fills the earth and his city, so should praise emanate from his people in his special mountain.

The psalmist states that Zion is beautiful given its situation.

It’s name was associated with good things.

In the Bible some cities have meaning.

Babylon, for example, is a picture of pride and corruption.

Zion is a picture of worship and strength.

Situation specifically refers to the elevation of the city.

2,500 ft above seal level.

The city proved to be nearly impregnable.

The city benefitted from other situational advantages.

Not far from the North - South and the East - West trade routes.

Zion’s economy benefitted greatly from this location.

News, goods, and of course money flowed through Jerusalem.

Zion is also the home of the ark of the covenant.

When this psalm was written, Solomon’s temple was still standing.

It was one of the wonders of the world.

There was much national pride in the hosting of this great landmark.

Zion was set up for influence.

The psalmist views Zion as superior to all other deified mountains.

The most likely “competitor” to the mountain of Yahweh was the mountain Zaphon.

The north = Zaphon, the mythical mountain home of the gods.

Zaphon was where Baal lived.

Zion displaces this ancient idea.

God is superior to Baal; his mountain is superior to Baal’s.

The people had assimilated this fact into their lives.

In the palaces, or strongholds of Zion God is understood to be their refuge.

They totally trust in their protector and God.

The mountain is his.

He lives there.

He will protect his home.

Boy does he!

We can see this in the next section.

Zion is threatened by a confederacy of kings.

Terrorizing the kings. vss 4-7

From vs 3 to vs 4, we see a shift from talking about God to talking to God.

The kings of the world gathered to attack.

Something they saw, however caused them to turn back.

Were they repelled by the sight of the city or by the sight of God in the midst of the city?

Whatever they saw, it troubled them and they ran.

Their fear had a physical effect on them in vs 6.

They trembled as one would when experiencing horrible pain.

They are broken up like a warship in a storm.

Jerusalem has never been threatened by a naval assault.

The point that the psalmist is making is pictorial one.

The confederate armies are splintered and scattered as a ship that has been broken up in the sea.

What could have such an effect on the enemies of Zion?

There is no appearance of armed resistance that repels the enemy.

It is the unseen hand of God that smites them away all at once.

What an incredible thing to witness!

It must have reminded the younger generations of the stories they had heard or read about.

That’s really the point of the next section.

Testimonies become experience. vss 8-11

You could say that in vs 8 we see faith turning to sight.

All the things that they had been told about God turned about to be true.

This is such an important personal realization that every generation must undergo.

God wants to turn hearsay and tradition into lived experience.

This Psalm teaches us that the inexhaustibleness of the divine power in not affected by time..

We can look throughout history and see the constant repetition of the same works of love.

One author said the miracles of God are like the sky.

We look to the horizon on our left and see earth and heaven touching in the past.

We look to the horizon on our right and see the earth and heaven touching in the future.

We look straight up, though, where we are standing and earth and heaven seem to be very far apart.

The psalmist and his generation had witnessed God’s power as a present reality.

It caused them to praise his name.

They praised him for his lovingkindness.

They praised him for the greatness of his name which was magnified throughout the earth.

They praised him for his righteousness in keeping his promises.

They praised him and rejoiced for his judgments.

WhenGod’s people witness his power for themselves it has a much greater impact than simply reading about it.

This is why we have to step on faith.

Test God and see what he will do.

It’s why I am so glad we are going through this building project.

Let your kids see and talk to them about what God is doing.

We are in a horrible economy for this kind of thing, but God’s power is making it possible.

This time next year, we will be doing what we see in the last few verses.

Tour guide’s view of Jerusalem. vss 12-14

These are the words of a tour guide.

What he’s doing is taking tourists around and showing them how untouched Zion had been though threatened on every side.

As they examine to towers and strongholds, he no doubt tells them about each king that had brought their might to tear down the city.

And yet look, despite their threatenings, it’s all still standing.

The people have a story of God’s power and they want to share it with future generations.

The same power that paralyzes God’s enemies is a symbol of protection and strength for His people.

The same power that worked for previous generations will work for our generation.

God will guide us all the way through to the end of our life.

As the psalm winds down, it helps us move to a more personal level.

Application

Zion doesn’t mean the same thing to me that it would for a jewish person.

I’ve never been there.

Though I have an intellectual understanding of it’s importance, I want something more than to know that God will establish Zion forever.

What about me?

That’s why we have verse 8 and on.

Zion stands today as a testimony to the power and ability of God.

When you read the Bible, do you feel like these things are just fantastical tales?

Do you think that God doesn’t still work like this anymore?

These old narratives of grace are ever new, not past and gone, but ready to be produced in our lives too.

All we have to do is trust God.

How have you trusted God recently in your life?

Some of you are trusting God with your family’s future.

We are trusting God with this building.

Are you trusting God with your soul?