Psalm 48: The praise of Zion

Psalm 48 is a song of praise, from the Korahites (Levites who assisted with worship). They celebrate Mount Zion, the hill in Jerusalem where God’s house was. We’ll begin by asking what this psalm meant to them, before we ask what it means for us.

For Israel

Psalm 48:title-3 (NIV)
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.

The reason Zion was a celebrated location was that God was there (verse 1). We’re accustomed to having God’s Spirit with us everywhere we go, but the Sinai covenant did not provide the Holy Spirit’s presence like that. God asked them to build a house for him to live among them (Exodus 25–40). Three times a year, they came to God’s house for the festivals. They could never go inside: only priests could do that. All they could do was marvel at the place were God resided among his people.

Zaphon (verse 2) is the word for “north.” There was a Mount Zaphon in northern Syria where the Canaanites believed the gods gathered. Israel rejected the Ugaritic myth that the Baal of Zaphon ruled anything. YHWH is the Great King ruling everything and everyone so, “The aspirations of all the peoples for a place on earth where God’s presence could be experienced were fulfilled in Mount Zion, the true Zaphon.” — Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, WBC (Nelson, 2004), 353.

Because the God who rules the world resides on Mount Zion, the city is secure (verse 3). Any attacker would be crazy to pit themselves against God:

Psalm 48:4-7 (NIV)
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 labour.
⁷ You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.

Phoenician sailing ships were the envy of the nations, yet they were so vulnerable to storms beyond their control. In the same way, Israel declared that nations attempting to storm Jerusalem were vulnerable to the Great King who lived there.

Zion was secure because God was there. It was an unsafe and terrifying place for her enemies, but a secure and joyful place for those who trust the God who lives there.

In verse 9, they switch from talking about God to talking to God.

Psalm 48:8-11 (NIV)
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.
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.

Their security as a nation was the result of God’s unfailing love (verse 9). The Hebrew word ḥě·sěḏ means enduring loyalty, covenant faithfulness, reliable care. It’s a key word in the Psalms, occurring more than 150 times.

His people give honour (praise) to their Great King for who he is (his name), and for what he does (his righteousness) (verse 10).

Righteousness (verse 10) and judgements (verse 11) are words with negative connotations for many Christians. We don’t have any “righteousness,” and we’re terrified of the “judgement” to come. That’s not what these words meant for Israel.

When they had disputes, they would bring the problem to the king (e.g. 1 Kings 3:16-28). A wise king’s decisions (judgements) would sort things out. By doing right by his people (righteousness), the king maintained the relationships between his people. His righteous judgments ensured that everyone lived in peace and harmony.

That’s why the temple singers celebrate the righteousness of the Great King, his judgments that bring joy to all the places in God’s nation. He has a reputation for doing right by his people, sorting out their issues with wise judgements, so his governance brings joy to them all.

Psalm 48:12-14 (NIV)
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.
¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

The final stanza of the song invites a procession around the temple (verse 12), meditating on this place where God lives, with a view to describing God’s enduring faithfulness to the next generation too (verse 13).

The final verse tells us what this song of praise was all about. The future of God’s people was secure because God is secure (verse 14).

For us

So what do you think this psalm means for us? If you go to the temple site today, you cannot walk around and wonder at its towers, ramparts, and citadels. Do you know what’s on the temple site today?

Jesus and his disciples used to go to the temple to meet with God for festivals like Passover. The disciples expressed the same wonder we see in Psalm 48: “Look, Teacher!” What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” (Mark 13:1).

Jesus didn’t argue: “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. Then he dropped a bombshell: “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2).

What happened to the promise that Zion was the city of the Great King, that God was in her citadels, showing himself to be her fortress? (Psalm 48:2-3)

Jesus expected the temple to fall:

Luke 21:20–21 (NIV)
²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.”

What happened to the promise that when the kings join forces and advanced together, … they’d flee in terror … for You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind … because God makes her secure forever? (Psalm 48:4-8)

What happened to God’s unfailing love, … to the next generation, the promise of God’s presence for ever and ever … our guide even to the end? (Psalm 48:12-14)

There was a precedent for Jesus’ comments. It happened once before.

600 years earlier, Jeremiah told the city leaders that Jerusalem would fall to Babylon. They didn’t believe him: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 7:4) Jeremiah said it was no longer God’s house: “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?” (7:11)

Like Jeremiah said, the first temple fell in 587 BC. Seventy years later, they built another. Like Jesus said, the second temple fell in AD 70, because the city had rejected its Christ, the heaven-anointed king God sent them.

Had God given up on his people? Had the promises of Psalm 48 expired? Had God reached the end of his unfailing love (ḥě·sěḏ), his righteousness (doing right by his people), his judgements (bringing peace and harmony to his people)? (Psalm 48:9-11)

No! The resurrection was God’s judgment that his anointed Son deserved life, and God brought us to life in him. That is God doing right by his people — the revelation of God’s righteousness. That is God’s unfailing love to a world that murdered his Son. Consequently, every person who gives allegiance to his Son becomes living evidence of the unfailing love, righteousness, and judgement of God that has now been revealed in him:

But now, apart from the Law, God’s righteousness has been demonstrated … in the faithfulness of King Jesus, in all who give him allegiance (Romans 3:21-22).

Like Jesus said, the temple would fall, but God wasn’t giving up on his people. The generation that saw the temple fall would also see God give the kingship to the Son of Man, the redemption of his people, the kingdom re-established in him (Luke 21:27-32).

So where do we go to see where God lives? God is no longer dwelling in a house made from stones. The Stone that the builders rejected has been raised up as the cornerstone of a new temple for God, a house of living stones (1 Peter 2:4-10). You find God’s Spirit dwelling in the people who’ve come to life in him (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21).

So what does that mean for us? Does it mean people who are not from the tribe of Levi can be priests now? What about people not descended from Jacob at all? (Revelation 7:9, 15). What offering do we bring God? (Romans 12:1)

The temple was the Holy Place, where God lived in the defiled world. But what if God ultimately cleanses the whole world in Christ? Would that mean the whole creation had become a temple, a holy place for God? (Revelation 21:22)

How does this song of the sons of Korah (Psalm 48) inspire you to honour our king?

Is this how you normally read the Psalms, meditating on both the Jewish and Christian perspectives?

Adapted from “Formed in God’s Story: Psalms.” Full notes and podcasts here.

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