Psalms Reading – 2.14.2022
Psalm 48
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.
4 When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,
5 they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.
7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.
5 they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.
7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.
8 As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God:
God makes her secure forever.
God makes her secure forever.
9 Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.
10 Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.
10 Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.
13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
This song praises God’s holy mountain, Zion, or Jerusalem. Almost every psalm of the sons of Korah has focused on Zion, either directly or indirectly. This one pulls out all the stops in full-throated praise of the place where God chose to dwell.
While God created all things and is himself above and beyond the farthest reaches of the universe, the Bible reveals that the one place God most identified with was Mount Zion. It’s the place where he dwelt “enthroned between the cherubim” of the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle and temple.
The term Zaphon means “north” and is the name of a mountain marking the boundary between the Holy Land and Syria. The Canaanites believed that Baal resided there. The Canaanite’s also referred to this mountain as Baal’s “beautiful hill,” his “inheritance,” his “holy mountain,” and a “lovely, mighty mountain.” So, as this psalm speaks similar things about Mount Zion, it argues that Yahweh and His dwelling place are greater than Baal.
Mount Zion has no merit on its own. It is the great mountain because God chose to place his name there, to locate his temple there, to dwell there. His righteous judgments emanate from there. Because of God’ presence, God’s people meditate on His unfailing love within the temple, and his praise extends to the “ends of the earth.”
This psalm praises God for the beauty and glory of the place where He dwells. As Christ-followers, we have been promised that God’s presence dwells within us. The amazing description that is spoken about Mount Zion can be said about us! Not because of our own greatness, but because of the Holy Spirit within us that we enjoy the glory of God that makes us beautiful and a witness to the world.
May we own our high value in Jesus!
Memory Verse: Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Question(s) to Consider: Will you claim your infinite worth because God dwells within you?