Psalms 48 commentary

Jerusalem is the city of our God: none on earth render him due honour except the citizens of the spiritual Jerusalem. Happy the kingdom, the city, the family, the heart, in which God is great, in which he is all. There God is known. The clearer discoveries are made to us of the Lord and his greatness, the more it is expected that we should abound in his praises. The earth is, by sin, covered with deformity, therefore justly might that spot of ground, which was beautified with holiness, be called the joy of the whole earth; that which the whole earth has reason to rejoice in, that God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth. The kings of the earth were afraid of it. Nothing in nature can more fitly represent the overthrow of heathenism by the Spirit of the gospel, than the wreck of a fleet in a storm. Both are by the mighty power of the Lord.

We have here the improvement which the people of God are to make of his glorious and gracious appearances for them. Let our faith in the word of God be hereby confirmed. Let our hope of the stability of the church be encouraged. Let our minds be filled with good thoughts of God. All the streams of mercy that flow down to us, must be traced to the fountain of His loving-kindness. Let us give to God the glory of the great things he has done for us. Let all the members of the church take comfort from what the Lord does for his church. Let us observe the beauty, strength, and safety of the church. Consider its strength; see it founded on Christ the Rock, fortified by the Divine power, guarded by Him who neither slumbers nor sleeps. See what precious ordinances are its palaces, what precious promises are its bulwarks, that you may be encouraged to join yourselves to it: and tell this to others. This God, who has now done such great things for us, is unchangeable in his love to us, and his care for us. If he is our God, he will lead and keep us even to the last. He will so guide us, as to set us above the reach of death, so that it shall not do us any real hurt. He will lead us to a life in which there shall be no more death.

PSALM 48

In this psalm there is celebrated some notable deliverance of the city of Jerusalem at a time when many kings had conspired to destroy it. The prophet, (whoever was the author of the psalm,) after having given thanks to God for this deliverance, takes occasion from thence to extol in magnificent terms the happy state of that city, seeing it had God for its continual guardian and protector. It would not have been enough for the people of God to have felt and acknowledged that they were once preserved and defended by the power of God, had they not at the same time been assured of being also preserved and protected by the same God in the time to come, because he had adopted them for his peculiar people. The prophet, therefore, chiefly insists upon this point, that it was not in vain that the sanctuary of God was erected upon mount Zion, but that his name was there called upon in order that his power might be conspicuously manifested for the salvation of his people. It is easy to gather from the subject-matter of the psalm that it was composed after the death of David. I indeed admit that among David’s enemies there were some foreign kings, and that it was not for want of will on their part that the city of Jerusalem was not utterly destroyed; but we do not read that they ever proceeded the length of besieging it, and reducing it to such extremity as to render it necessary that their efforts should be repressed by a wonderful manifestation of the power of God. It is more probable that the psalm is to be referred to the time of king Ahaz, when the city was besieged and the inhabitants brought to the point of utter despair, and when, nevertheless, the siege was suddenly raised, (2 Kings 16:5;) or else to the time of Jehoshaphat and Asa, (2 Chronicles 14:9; and 20:2) for we know that under their reigns Jerusalem was preserved from utter destruction only by miraculous aid from heaven. This we are to regard as certain, that the Psalmist here exhibited to true believers an example of the favor of God towards them, from which they had reason to acknowledge that their condition was happy, seeing God had chosen for himself a dwelling-place upon mount Zion, that from thence he might preside over them for their good and safety.

A song of praise of the sons of Korah.

Psalm 48:1-3

1. Great is Jehovah, 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 in her palaces is known for a defence, [or fortress.]

1. Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised. The prophet, before proceeding to make mention of that special example of the favor of God towards them, to which I have adverted, teaches in general that the city of Jerusalem was happy and prosperous, because God had been graciously pleased to take upon him the charge of defending and preserving it. In this way he separates and distinguishes the Church of God from all the rest of the world; and when God selects from amongst the whole human race a small number whom he embraces with his fatherly love, this is an invaluable blessing which he bestows upon them. His wonderful goodness and righteousness shine forth in the government of the whole world, so that there is no part of it void of his praise, but we are everywhere furnished with abundant matter for praising him. Here, however, the inspired poet celebrates the glory of God which is manifested in the protection of the Church. He states, that Jehovah is great, and greatly to be praised in the holy city. But is he not so also in the whole world? Undoubtedly he is. As I have said, there is not a corner so hidden, into which his wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, do not penetrate; but it being his will that they should be manifested chiefly and in a particular manner in his Church, the prophet very properly sets before our eyes this mirror, in which God gives a more clear and vivid representation of his character. By calling Jerusalem the holy mountain, he teaches us in one word, by what right and means it came to be in a peculiar manner the city of God. It was so because the ark of the covenant had been placed there by divine appointment. The import of the expression is this: If Jerusalem is, as it were, a beautiful and magnificent theater on which God would have the greatness of his majesty to be beheld, it is not owing to any merits of its own, but because the ark of the covenant was established there by the commandment of God as a token or symbol of his peculiar favor.

PSALM 48

Psa 48:1-14. This is a spirited Psalm and song (compare Psa 30:1), having probably been suggested by the same occasion as the foregoing. It sets forth the privileges and blessings of God's spiritual dominion as the terror of the wicked and joy of the righteous.

1. to be praised--always: it is an epithet, as in Psa 18:3.

mountain of his holiness--His Church (compare Is 2:2, 3; 25:6, 7, 10); the sanctuary was erected first on Mount Zion, then (as the temple) on Moriah; hence the figure.

2-3. situation--literally, "elevation."

joy of, &c.--source of joy.

sides of the north--poetically for eminent, lofty, distinguished, as the ancients believed the north to be the highest part of the earth (compare Is 14:13).

4-6. For--The reason is given. Though the kings (perhaps of Moab and Ammon, compare Psa 83:3-5) combined, a conviction of God's presence with His people, evinced by the unusual courage with which the prophets (compare 2Ch 20:12-20) had inspired them, seized on their minds, and smitten with sudden and intense alarm, they fled astonished.

7. ships of Tarshish--as engaged in a distant and lucrative trade, the most valuable. The phrase may illustrate God's control over all material agencies, whether their literal destruction be meant or not.

8. This present experience assures of that perpetual care which God extends to His Church.

9. thought of--literally, "compared," or considered, in respect of former dealings.

in the ... temple--in acts of solemn worship (compare 2Ch 20:28).

10. According ... praise--that is, As Thy perfections manifested (compare Psa 8:1; 20:1-7), demand praise, it shall be given, everywhere.

thy right hand, &c.--Thy righteous government is displayed by Thy power.

11. the daughters, &c.--the small towns, or the people, with the chief city, or rulers of the Church.

judgments--decisions and acts of right government.

12-14. The call to survey Zion, or the Church, as a fortified city, is designed to suggest "how well our God secures His fold." This security is perpetual, and its pledge is His guidance through this life.

Great is the Lord - This verse should be joined to the last verse of the preceding Psalm, as it is a continuation of the same subject; and indeed in some of Kennicott's MSS. it is written as a part of the foregoing. That concluded with He is greatly exalted; this begins with Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; i.e., He should be praised according to his greatness; no common praise is suited to the nature and dignity of the Supreme God.

In the city of our God - That is, in the temple; or in Jerusalem, where the temple was situated.

The mountain of his holiness - Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. The ancient city of Jerusalem, which David took from the Jebusites, was on the south of Mount Zion, on which the temple was built, though it might be said to be more properly on Mount Moriah, which is one of the hills of which Mount Zion is composed. The temple therefore was to the north of the city, as the psalmist here states, Psa 48:2 : "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King." But some think that it is the city that is said to be on the north, and Reland contends that the temple was on the south of the city.

The joy of the whole earth - Commentators have been greatly puzzled to show in what sense Zion, or the temple, could be said to be the joy of the whole earth. If we take the earth here for the habitable globe, there is no sense in which it ever was the joy of the whole earth; but If we take כל הארץ col haarets, as signifying the whole of this land, (and it has no other meaning), the assertion is plain and easy to be understood, for the temple was considered the ornament and glory of the whole land of Judea.

God is known in her palaces for a refuge - All those who worship there in spirit and truth, find God for their refuge. But the words may be understood: God is known for the defense of her palaces; and with this view of the subject agree the three following verses.

For, lo, the kings were assembled - Many of the neighboring potentates, at different times, envied the prosperity of the Jewish nation, and coveted the riches of the temple; but they had no power against it till the cup of Jewish transgression was full. In vain did they assemble - confederate, and invade the land. Saw it - reconnoitered the place; marvelled at its excellence and strength, for they were troubled - struck with fear; hasted away for fear of destruction, for fear took hold on them as pains seize on a woman to travail. Those who came to destroy were glad to make their own escape.

Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish - Calmet thinks this may refer to the discomfiture of Cambyses, who came to destroy the land of Judea. "This is apparently," says he, "the same tempest which struck dismay into the land-forces of Cambyses, and wrecked his fleet which was on the coasts of the Mediterranean sea, opposite to his army near the port of Acco, or the Ptolemais; for Cambyses had his quarters at Ecbatana, at the foot of Mount Carmel; and his army was encamped in the valley of Jezreel." Ships of Tarshish he conjectures to have been large stout vessels, capable of making the voyage of Tarsus, in Cilicia.

As we have heard, so have we seen - Our fathers have declared what mighty works thou didst in their time; and we have seen the same. God has often interposed and afforded us a most miraculous defense. So it was when they were invaded by the Assyrians, Syrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians and the Greeks under Alexander.

The city of the Lord of hosts - His hosts defended the city, and it was known to be the City of the great King.

God will establish it for ever - This must refer to the true temple, the Christian Church, of which the Jewish Church was a type. The type perished, but the antitype remained, and will remain till time shall be no more.

Selah - So be it; and so it will be for evermore.

We have thought of thy loving-kindness - We went to thy temple to worship thee; we meditated on thy goodness; we waited for a display of it; and the panic that in the first instance struck us, was transferred to our enemies; and fear took hold upon them, they marvelled, were troubled, and hasted away.

According to thy name - As far as thou art known, so far art thou praised; and where thou art known, thou wilt have praise to the end of the earth. And why? "Thy right hand is full of righteousness." Thou art continually dispensing thy blessings to the children of men.

Let Mount Zion rejoice - The temple is restored in majesty, which was threatened with total destruction; it is again repaired.

Let the daughters of Judah be glad - That thou hast turned her captivity, and poured out thy judgments upon her oppressors.

Walk about Zion - Consider the beauty and magnificence of the temple, count the towers by which it is fortified.

Mark ye well her bulwarks - See the redoubts by which she is defended.

Consider her palaces - See her courts, chambers, altars, etc., etc.; make an exact register of the whole, that ye may have to tell to your children how Jerusalem was built in troublesome times; how God restored you; and how he put it into the hearts of the heathen to assist to build, beautify, and adorn the temple of our God.

For this God - Who did all these wonderful things: -

Is our God - He is our portion, and he has taken us for his people.

He will be our guide - Through all the snares and difficulties of life: -

Even unto death - He will never leave us; and we, by his grace, will never abandon him. He is just such a God as we need; infinite in mercy, goodness, and truth. He is our Father, and we are the sons and daughters of God Almighty. Even unto and in death, he will be our portion.

The city - In Jerusalem. Mountain - In his holy mountain.

The joy - This is spoken prophetically, because the joyful doctrine of the gospel was to go from thence to all nations. The city - Of God, who justly calls himself a great king.

Known - By long experience. Palaces - Possibly he may point at the king's palace and the temple, which was the palace of the king of heaven; which two palaces God did in a singular manner protect, and by protecting them, protected the whole city and people.

The kings - Either those kings confederate against Jehoshaphat, 2Chron 20:1, or the Assyrian princes; whom they vain - gloriously called kings, Isa 10:8. Passed - In their march towards Jerusalem.

Saw it - They did only look upon it, but not come into it, nor shoot an arrow there - nor cast a bank against it, 2Kings 19:32. Marvelled - At the wonderful works wrought by God.

Fear - At the tidings of Tirhakah's coming against them, 2Kings 19:9, and at that terrible slaughter of their army, ver. 35.

Breakest - Thou didst no less violently and suddenly destroy these raging enemies of Jerusalem, than sometimes thou destroyest the ships at sea with a fierce and vehement wind, such as the eastern winds were in those parts.

Heard - The predictions of the prophets have been verified by the events. Establish - God will defend her in all succeeding ages. And so God would have done, if Jerusalem had not forsaken him, and forfeited his protection.

Thought - It hath been the matter of our serious and deep meditation, when we have been worshipping in thy temple.

So - Thou art acknowledged to be such an one as thou hast affirmed thyself to be in thy Word, God Almighty, or All - sufficient, the Lord of hosts, and a strong tower to all that trust in thee. Righteousness - Of righteous actions; by which thou discoverest thy holiness.

Judgments - Upon thine and their enemies.

Tell - He bids them mark well her towers, bulwarks, and palaces, with thankfulness to God, when they should find upon enquiry, that not one of them were demolished.

Tell it - That they may continue their praises to God for this mercy, by which they hold and enjoy all their blessings.

1▪ GReat is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God , in the mountain of his holiness .

In Ierusalem, which he hath chosen for his dwelling Place.

(i. e.) In his holy Mountain, either Zion where the Ark and Tab[illegible: 1+ letters]rnacle was: Or rather Moriah; where the Temple now was. Although both of them are supposed by some to be but one Mountain, having two Tops: and it is certain that both are frequently called by one Name, to wit, Zion.

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 .

Ierusalem may be so called here, as it is also, Lament. 2. 15. not actually, as if all People did rejoyce in it, or for it; but Fundamentally or Causally, because here was very great cause or ground of rejoycing for the Gentile World, if they had understood themselves, or their true Interest; Because here God was graciously present and ready, to hear and Answer the just Desires and Prayers, not onely of the Israelites, but of any stranger of what Nation soever▪ according to So [illegible: 1+ letters]mon's Prayer, 1 Kings 8. 41. &c. and here the Gentiles might find that God, whom like blind Men they groped for, as the Greek Phrase implies, Act. 17. 27. and here they might be informed of the Nature and Properties, as also of the Mind and Will, of the Almighty and everlasting God, of which they were so grossly Ignorant, and of that Messias, who was the D[illegible: 1+ letters]sire of (and Consequently matter of great Joy unto) all Nations, Hagg. 2. 7. and, 2. Prophetically, because the [illegible: 1+ letters]ful Doctrine of the Gospel, was to go from thence unto all Nations: of which see I[illegible: 1+ letters]a. 2. 2, 3. Mich. 4. 1, 2. yet these Words may be and are by others rendred, and understood thus, the Ioy of the or this (for here is an Emphatical Article) whole Land.

(i. e.) Which is on the Northern part of Ierusalem. But because Iosephus and some others affirm, th[illegible: 1+ letters]t Mount Zion stood Southward from Ierusalem, this Clause possibly may be added to signifie that Zion is not here to be understood strictly and Properly for that Mountain, or part of the Mountain so called, but for that other Mountain, or part of the same Mountain, upon which the Temple was built, which was strictly called Moriah; but is here called Zion, because that Name was far better known in Scripture, as being oft put for the Temple, as Psal. 137. 3. Isa. 18. 7. Ier. 51. 10. Lam. 5. 18. and for the whole City, and for the Church of God, in a multitude of places of Scripture.

(i. e.) The City of God, as it was now called, v. 1. who justly calls himself a great King, Mal. 1. 14. as being, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Revel. 19. 16.

Marginal references: Psal. 50. 2. Ezek. 20. 6. Dan. 8. 9. & 11. 16.; Math. 5. 35.

3. God is known in her palaces for a refuge .

To his People by sensible and long Experience, and to all neighbouring Nations, by their own Observation.

(i. e.) In the Habitations, or to the Inhabitants of that City. Possibly he may here point at the Kings Palace, and the Temple, which was the Palace of the King of Heaven; which two Palaces God did in a singular manner Protect, and by Protecting them, he Protect[illegible: 1+ letters]d the whole City and People.

i Uader whose shadow we are more safe and secure, than other Cities are with their great Rivers and impregnable Fortifications.

4. For lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.

Either those Kings Consederate against Ioho[illegible: 1+ letters]haphat, 2 Chron. 20. or t[illegible: 1+ letters]e Assyrian Princes; whom they Vain-Gloriously called Kings, I[illegible: 1+ letters]a. 10. 8.

In their March towards Ierusalem. Or, they pas[illegible: 1+ letters] away, (i. e.) Departed without the Success, which they desired and Considently expected.

5. They saw it , and so they marvelled , they were troubled and hasted away .

Th[illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] look upon it, but not come into it, nor shoot an [illegible: 1 word] t[illegible: 1+ letters]re, - nor cast a Bank against it, as is said upon this or the like Occasion, 2 Kings 19. 32.

Not so much at the structure, or strength of the City, as at the wonderful Works wrought by God on their behalf.

See 2 Kings 19. 35.

6. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain , as of a woman in travail.

Partly, at the Tidings of Tirhakah's coming against them, 2 Kings 19. 9. and Partly, for that Terrible slaughter of their Army, there v. 35.

7. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east-wind .

This is not reported as a Matter of Fact, for we Read of no Ships in those Expeditions, to which this Psalm relates, nor did any Ships come near Ierusalem, because that was a[illegible: 1+ letters] a great Distance from the Sea, and from any navigable River running into the Sea; but onely added by way of Illustration, o[illegible: 1+ letters] Allusion. The Sence is, Thou didst no less violently, an[illegible: 1+ letters] suddenly destroy these Proud and Raging Enemies of Ierusalem, than sometimes thou destroyest the Ships at Sea, with a fierce and Vehement Wind, such as the Eastern Winds were in those Parts, Exod. 14 21. Iob. 27. 21. Ier. 18. 17. Ezek. 27. 26. The Words are and may be rendred thus: Thou diast break them as (such Ellipsis of the Pronoun, and of the note of similitude being very frequent; as I have again, and again shewed) the Ships of the Sea (for Tarshish, though Properly the Name of a Maritine place in Ci[illegible: 1+ letters]icia, Ezek. 27. 25. [illegible: 1 word] 1. 3. is usually put for the Sea, as 1 Kings 10. 22. 2 Chron. 9. 21. Psal. 72. 10. Isa. 2. 16. Ier. 10. 9.) are broken with an Eastwind. Albeit the Enemies of Ierusalem, which are Compared to the raging Waters of the Sea, in Psal. 46▪ 2, 3. may as fitly be Compared to Ships upon the Sea.

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.

The predictions of the Prophets, Either, 2 Chron. 20. 14. or 2 Kings 19. 20. &c. have been verified by the Events. Or, We have had late and fresh Experiences of such wonderful works of God, as before we onely heard of by the Report of our Fathers.

From this miraculous Deliverance, we plainly see that God hath a singular Love to it, and Care of it, and therefore will defend her, in all succeeding Ages, against all her Enemies. And so God would have done, if Ierusalem had not forsaken God, and forfeited his Favour and Protection.

9. We have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

It hath been the matter of our Serious, and deep Meditation, when we have been Worshipping there in thy Temple. For when the Priests were offering Incense or Sacrifice, the Religious People exercised themselves in holy Meditation, or secret Prayer to God, as may be gathered from Luk. 1. 10. and many other places of Scripture, and from the Nature of the thing. Or, We have silently, or Patiently waited for, as some An[illegible: 1+ letters]ient and other Interpreters [illegible: 1+ letters]ender it.

10. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness .

For this and such like glorious Actions, thou art praised and acknowledged, and Evidently proved to be such an one as thou hast affirmed thy self to be in thy Word, God Almighty or Al-sufficient, the Lord of H[illegible: 1+ letters]sts, the King of thy Church [illegible: 1 word] People, and a strong Tower to all that trust in thee, and all other things which thou art called in Scripture. Thy Name is not an empty Title, but is filled up with honourable and Praiseworthy Works answerable to it.

(i. [illegible: 1+ letters].) Of righteous Actions; by which thou discoverest thy Justice and Holiness in destroying the Wicked, and incorrigible Enemies of thy People, and in fulfilling thy Promises made to thy Church.

11. Let mount Zion rejoyce, let the daughters of Judah , be glad, because of thy judgments .

Synecdochically put for Ierusalem.

(i. e.) The other and lesser Cities, and Towns or Villages (i. e. all the People) of Iuda[illegible: 1+ letters]: for such are commonly called Daughters in Respect of the Mother City, to which they are Subjects: See Ios. 15. 45 and 17. 16. Psal. 45. 12. and 137▪ 8. He mentions Iudah onely, and not all Israel; Partly, because they were▪ more immediately and Eminently concerned in Ierusalems Deliverance; and principally because ten of the Tribes of Israel▪ were now cut off from Ierusalem, and from the Kingdom of David's House, and possibly carried away Captive, 2 Kings 18. 9, 10. 11.

Upon thine and their Enemies. At which they were glad not simply, but because it was highly Conducible to God's Honour, and to the Preservation and Enlargement of Gods Church, in the World.

12. Walk about Zion, and go round about her : tell the towers thereof .

He speaketh, Either, 1. To the Enemies, as Triumphing over them. Or rather, 2. To the People of that City and Kingdom, who had been Eye Witnesses of this glorious work of God▪ as appears from the following Verses.

He bids them [illegible: 1+ letters]ark well her [illegible: 1+ letters]owers, B[illegible: 1+ letters]warks and Palaces, here and v. 13. not with vain Ostentation, or Carnal Confidence, for he had said that God onely was their Refuge, v. 3. but with thankfulness to God, when they should find upon Enquiry, that not one of them was demolished, or [illegible: 1+ letters]ny way defaced by so potent an Enemy.

13. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces: that ye may tell it to the generation following .

Or, Exalt, or Admire.

That they may be excited to continue their Praises to God for this Mercy, by which they hold and enjoy all their Blessings, and to trust in God in the like Difficulties, for the Future.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. s[illegible: 1+ letters]t your [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].; [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word].

14. For this God e is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death .

Who hath done this great Work. (i. e.) Whilest we have a being. Birth and Life, [illegible: 1+ letters]nd the several Ages of Life and Death, are oft ascribed to Churches and Commonwealths, both in Scripture and in other Authors. This Promise was made to the Old and earthly Ierusalem, upon Condition of their Obedience, wherein they failing so grossly lost the benefit of it, but it is absolutely made good to the New and Heavenly Ierusalem, the Church of Christ.

Psa 48:1-8 (Hebrew_Bible_48:2-9) Viewed as to the nature of its subject-matter, the Psalm divides itself into three parts. We begin by considering the three strophes of the first part. The middle strophe presents an instance of the rising and falling caesural schema. Because Jahve has most marvellously delivered Jerusalem, the poet begins with the praise of the great King and of His Holy City. Great and praised according to His due (מהלּל as in Psa 18:4) is He in her, is He upon His holy mountain, which there is His habitation. Next follow, in Psa 48:3, two predicates of a threefold, or fundamentally only twofold, subject; for ירכּתי צפון, in whatever way it may be understood, is in apposition to הר־ציּון. The predicates consequently refer to Zion-Jerusalem; for קרית מלך רב is not a name for Zion, but, inasmuch as the transition is from the holy mountain to the Holy City (just as the reverse is the case in Psa 48:2), Jerusalem; ὅτι πόλις ἐστὶ τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως, Mat 5:35. Of Zion-Jerusalem it is therefore said, it is יפה נוף, beautiful in prominence or elevation (נוף from נוּף, Arabic nâfa, nauf, root נף, the stronger force of נב, Arab. nb, to raise one’s self, to mount, to come sensibly forward; just as יפה also goes back to a root יף, Arab. yf, wf, which signifies “to rise, to be high,” and is transferred in the Hebrew to eminence, perfection, beauty of form), a beautifully rising terrace-like height;Luther with Jerome (departing from the lxx and Vulgate) renders it: “Mount Zion is like a beautiful branch,” after the Mishna-Talmudic נוף, a branch, Maccoth 12 a, which is compared also by Saadia and Dunash. The latter renders it “beautiful in branches,” and refers it to the Mount of Olives. and, in the second place, it is the joy (משׂושׂ) of the whole earth. It is deserving of being such, as the people who dwell there are themselves convinced (Lam 2:15); and it is appointed to become such, it is indeed such even now in hope, - hope which is, as it were, being anticipatorily verified. but in what sense does the appositional ירכּתי צפון follow immediately upon הר־ציּון? Hitzig, Ewald, Hengstenberg, Caspari (Micha, p. 359), and others, are of opinion that the hill of Zion is called the extreme north with reference to the old Asiatic conception of the mountain of the gods - old Persic Ar-bur'g (Al-bur'g), and also called absolutely hara or haraiti,Vid., Spiegel, Erân, S. 287f. old Indian Kailâsa and MêruVide Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, ii. 847.  - forming the connecting link between heaven and earth, which lay in the inaccessible, holy distance and concealment of the extreme north. But the poet in no way betrays the idea that he applies this designation to Zion in an ideal sense only, as being not inferior to the extreme north (Bertheau, Lage des Paradieses, S. 50, and so also S. D. Luzzatto on Isa 14:13), or as having taken the place of it (Hitzig). That notion is found, it is true, in Isa 14:13, in the mouth of the king of the Chaldeans; but, with the exception of the passage before us, we have no trace of the Israelitish mind having blended this foreign mythological style of speech with its own. We therefore take the expression “sides of the north” to be a topographical designation, and intended literally. Mount Zion is thereby more definitely designated as the Temple-hill; for the Temple-hill, or Zion in the narrower sense, formed in reality the north-eastern angle or corner of ancient Jerusalem. It is not necessarily the extreme north (Eze 38:6; Eze 39:2), which is called ירכתי צפון; for ירכּתים are the two sides, then the angle in which the two side lines meet, and just such a northern angle was Mount Moriah by its position in relation to the city of David and the lower city.

Psa 48:9-11 (Hebrew_Bible_48:10-12) Now follows grateful praise to God, who hears prayer and executes justice, to the joy of His city and of His people. By דּמּינוּ the poet refers back to the service held in the temple before the army set out, as narrated in 2 Chr. 20, to the prayers offered in the time of their impending danger, and to the remembrance of the favour hitherto shown towards Jerusalem, from which source they drew the comfort of hope for the present time. דּמּה, to compare, to hold one thing over against another, in this instance by causing the history of the past to pass before one’s mind. To God’s mighty deeds of old is now added a new one. The Name of God, i.e., the sum of His self-attestations hitherto, was the subject of the דמינו in the temple, and more particularly of the Korahitic songs (2Ch 20:19); and this name has gloriously verified itself by a new deed of righteousness. His fame extends even to the ends of the earth (2Ch 20:29). He has proved Himself to be One whose right hand is full of righteousness, and who practises righteousness or justice where it is necessary. Let, then, the Holy City, let the country cities of Judah (Isa 40:9, cf. Psa 16:2) rejoice. The whole inheritance of Israel was threatened. Now it is most gloriously delivered.

Psa 48:12-14 (Hebrew_Bible_48:13-15) The call is addressed not to the enemies of Jerusalem - for it would be absurd to invite such to look round about upon Jerusalem with joy and gladness - but to the people of Jerusalem itself. From the time of the going forth of the army to the arrival of the news of victory, they have remained behind the walls of the city in anxious expectation. Now they are to make the circuit of the city (הקּיף, still more definite than סבב, Jos 6:3) outside the walls, and examine them and see that its towers are all standing, its bulwark is intact, its palaces are resplendent as formerly. לחילה, “upon its bulwark,” = לחילהּ (Zec 9:4), with softened suffix as in Isa 23:17; Psa 45:6, and frequently; Ew. §247, d. פּסּג (according to another reading, הפסיג) signifies, in B. Baba kamma 81 b, to cut through (a vineyard in a part where there is no way leading through it); the signification “to take to pieces and examine, to contemplate piece by piece,” has no support in the usage of the language, and the signification “to extol” (erhöhen, Luther following Jewish tradition) rests upon a false deduction from the name פּסגּה. Louis de Dieu correctly renders it: Dividite palatia, h. e. obambulate inter palatia ejus, secando omnes palatiorum vias, quo omnia possitis commode intueri. They are to convince themselves by all possible means of the uninjured state of the Holy City, in order that they may be able to tell to posterity, that זה, such an one, such a marvellous helper as is now manifest to them, is Elohim our God. He will also in the future guide us.... Here the Psalm closes; for, although נהג is wont to be construed with עלּ in the signification ἄγειν ἐπὶ (Psa 23:2; Isa 49:10), still “at death” [lit. dying], i.e., when it comes to dying (Hengstenberg), or “even unto (על as in Psa 48:11, Psa 19:7) death” [lit. dying] (Hupfeld), forms no suitable close to this thoroughly national song, having reference to a people of whom the son of Sirach says (Psa 37:25): ζωὴ ἀνδρὸς ἐν ἀριθμῷ ἡμερῶν καὶ αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ Ἰσραήλ ἀναρίθμητοι. The rendering of Mendelssohn, Stier, and others, “over death” i.e., beyond death (Syriac), would be better; more accurately: beyond dying = destruction (Bunsen, Bibelwerk, Th. i. S. clxi.). but the expression does not admit of this extension, and the thought comes upon one unexpectedly and as a surprise in this Psalm belonging to the time before the Exile. The Jerusalem Talmud, Megilla, ch. ii. (fol. 73, col. b, ed. Venet.), present a choice of the following interpretations: (1) עלמוּת = בּעלימוּת, in youthfulness, adopting which, but somewhat differently applied, the Targum renders, “in the days of youth;” (2) כעילין עלמות, like virgins, with which Luther’s rendering coincides: like youth (wie die Jugent); (3) according to the reading עלמות, which the lxx also reproduces: in this and the future world, noting at the same time that Akilas (Aquila) translates the word by ἀθανασία: “in a world where there is no death.” But in connection with this last rendering one would rather expect to find אל־מות (Pro 12:28) instead of על־מות. עלמות, however, as equivalent to αἰῶνες is Mishnic, not Biblical; and a Hebrew word עלמוּת (עלימוּת) in the sense of the Aramaic עלּימתּ cannot be justified elsewhere. We see from the wavering of the MSS, some of which give על־מוּת, and others עלמוּת, and from the wavering of expositors, what little success is likely to follow any attempt to gain for על־מות, as a substantial part of the Psalm, any sense that is secure and in accordance both with the genius of the language and with the context. Probably it is a marginal note of the melody, an abbreviation for על־מוּת לבּן, Psa 9:1. And either this note, as in Hab 3:19 למנצּח בּנגינותי, stands in an exceptional manner at the end instead of the beginning (Hitzig, Reggio), or it belongs to the למנצח of the following Psalm, and is to be inserted there (Böttcher, De inferis, §371). If, however, על־מות does not belong to the Psalm itself, then it must be assumed that the proper closing words are lost. The original close was probably more full-toned, and somewhat like Isa 33:22.

The Beauty and Strength of Zion.

1 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.

The psalmist is designing to praise Jerusalem and to set forth the grandeur of that city; but he begins with the praises of God and his greatness (v. 1), and ends with the praises of God and his goodness, v. 14. For, whatever is the subject of our praises, God must be both the Alpha and Omega of them. And, particularly, whatever is said to the honour of the church must redound to the honour of the church's God.

What is here said to the honour of Jerusalem is,

I. That the King of heaven owns it: it is the city of our God (v. 1), which he chose out of all the cities of Israel to put his name there. Of Zion he said kinder things than ever he said of place upon earth. This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it, Ps. cxxxii. 13, 14. It is the city of the great King (v. 2), the King of all the earth, who is pleased to declare himself in a special manner present there. This our Saviour quotes to prove that to swear by Jerusalem is profanely to swear by God himself (Matt. v. 35), for it is the city of the great King, who has chosen it for the special residence of his grace, as heaven is of his glory. 1. It is enlightened with the knowledge of God. In Judah God is known, and his name is great, but especially in Jerusalem, the head-quarters of the priests, whose lips were to keep this knowledge. In Jerusalem God is great (v. 1) who in other places was made little of, was made nothing of. Happy the kingdom, the city, the family, the heart, in which God is great, in which he is uppermost, in which he is all. There God is known (v. 3) and where he is known he will be great; none contemn God but those that are ignorant of him. 2. It is devoted to the honour of God. It is therefore called the mountain of his holiness, for holiness to the Lord is written upon it and all the furniture of it, Zech. xiv. 20, 21. This is the privilege of the church of Christ, that it is a holy nation, a peculiar people; Jerusalem, the type of it, is called the holy city, bad as it was (Matt. xxvii. 53), till that was set up, but never after. 3. It is the place appointed for the solemn service and worship of God; there he is greatly praised, and greatly to be praised, v. 1. Note, The clearer discoveries are made to us of God and his greatness the more it is expected that we should abound in his praises. Those that from all parts of the country brought their offerings to Jerusalem had reason to be thankful that God would not only permit them thus to attend him, but promise to accept them, and meet them with a blessing, and reckon himself praised and honoured by their services. Herein Jerusalem typified the gospel church; for what little tribute of praise God has from this earth arises from that church upon earth, which is therefore his tabernacle among men. 4. It is taken under his special protection (v. 3): He is known for a refuge; that is, he has approved himself such a one, and as such a one he is there applied to by his worshippers. Those that know him will trust in him, and seek to him, Ps. ix. 10. God was known, not only in the streets, but even in the palaces of Jerusalem, for a refuge; the great men had recourse to God and acquaintance with him. And then religion was likely to flourish in the city when it reigned in the palaces. 5. Upon all these accounts, Jerusalem, and especially Mount Zion, on which the temple was built, were universally beloved and admired—beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth, v. 2. The situation must needs be every way agreeable, when Infinite Wisdom chose it for the place of the sanctuary; and that which made it beautiful was that it was the mountain of holiness, for there is a beauty in holiness. This earth is, by sin, covered with deformity, and therefore justly might that spot of ground which was thus beautified with holiness he called the joy of the whole earth, that is, what the whole earth had reason to rejoice in, that God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth. Mount Zion was on the north side of Jerusalem, and so was a shelter to the city from the cold and bleak winds that blew from that quarter; or, if fair weather was expected out of the north, they were thus directed to look Zion-ward for it.

II. That the kings of the earth were afraid of it. That God was known in their palaces for a refuge they had had a late instance, and a very remarkable one. Whatever it was, 1. They had had but too much occasion to fear their enemies; for the kings were assembled, v. 4. The neighbouring princes were confederate against Jerusalem; their heads and horns, their policies and powers, were combined for its ruin; they were assembled with all their forces; they passed, advanced, and marched on together, not doubting but they should soon make themselves masters of that city which should have been the joy, but was the envy of the whole earth. 2. God made their enemies to fear them. The very sight of Jerusalem struck them into a consternation and gave check to their fury, as the sight of the tents of Jacob frightened Balaam from his purpose to curse Israel (Num. xxiv. 2): They saw it and marvelled, and hasted away, v. 5. Not Veni, vidi, vici—I came, I saw, I conquered; but, on the contrary, Veni vidi victus sum—I came, I saw, I was defeated. Not that there was any thing to be seen in Jerusalem that was so very formidable; but the sight of it brought to mind what they had heard concerning the special presence of God in that city and the divine protection it was under, and God impressed such terrors on their minds thereby as made them retire with precipitation. Though they were kings, though they were many in confederacy, yet they knew themselves an unequal match for Omnipotence, and therefore fear came upon them, and pain, v. 6. Note, God can dispirit the stoutest of his church's enemies, and soon put those in pain that live at ease. The fright they were in upon the sight of Jerusalem is here compared to the throes of a woman in travail, which are sharp and grievous, which sometimes come suddenly (1 Thess. v. 3), which cannot be avoided, and which are effects of sin and the curse. The defeat hereby given to their designs upon Jerusalem is compared to the dreadful work made with a fleet of ships by a violent storm, when some are split, others shattered, all dispersed (v. 7): Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind; effects at sea lie thus exposed. The terrors of God are compared to an east wind (Job xxvii. 20, 21); these shall put them into confusion, and break all their measures. Who knows the power of God's anger?

God's Care of His Church.

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.

We have here the good use and improvement which the people of God are taught to make of his late glorious and gracious appearances for them against their enemies, that they might work for their good.

I. Let our faith in the word of God be hereby confirmed. If we compare what God has done with what he has spoken, we shall find that, as we have heard, so have we seen (v. 8), and what we have seen obliges us to believe what we have heard. 1. "As we have heard done in former providences, in the days of old, so have we seen done in our own days." Note, God's latter appearances for his people against his and their enemies are consonant to his former appearances, and should put us in mind of them. 2. "As we have heard in the promise and prediction, so have we seen in the performance and accomplishment. We have heard that God is the Lord of hosts, and that Jerusalem is the city of our God, is dear to him, is his particular care; and now we have seen it; we have seen the power of our God; we have seen his goodness; we have seen his care and concern for us, that he is a wall of fire round about Jerusalem and the glory in the midst of her." Note, In the great things that God has done, and is doing, for his church, it is good to take notice of the fulfilling of the scriptures; and this would help us the better to understand both the providence itself and the scripture that is fulfilled in it.

II. Let our hope of the stability and perpetuity of the church be hereby encouraged. "From what we have seen, compared with what we have heard, in the city of our God, we may conclude that God will establish it for ever." This was not fulfilled in Jerusalem (that city was long since destroyed, and all its glory laid in the dust), but has its accomplishment in the gospel church. We are sure that that shall be established for ever; it is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it, Matt. xvi. 18. God himself has undertaken the establishment of it; it is the Lord that has founded Zion, Isa. xiv. 32. And what we have seen, compared with what we have heard, may encourage us to hope in that promise of God upon which the church is built.

III. Let our minds be hereby filled with good thoughts of God. "From what we have heard, and seen, and hope for, we may take occasion to think much of God's loving-kindness, whenever we meet in the midst of his temple," v. 9. All the streams of mercy that flow down to us must be traced up to the fountain of God's lovingkindness. It is not owing to any merit of ours, but purely to his mercy, and the peculiar favour he bears to his people. This therefore we must think of with delight, think of frequently and fixedly. What subject can we dwell upon more noble, more pleasant, more profitable? We must have God's lovingkindness always before our eyes (Ps. xxvi. 3), especially when we attend upon him in his temple. When we enjoy the benefit of public ordinances undisturbed, when we meet in his temple and there is none to make us afraid, we should take occasion thence to think of his lovingkindness.

IV. Let us give to God the glory of the great things which he has done for us, and mention them to his honour (v. 10): "According to thy name, O God! so is thy praise, not only in Jerusalem, but to the ends of the earth." By the late signal deliverance of Jerusalem God had made himself a name; that is, he had gloriously discovered his wisdom, power, and goodness, and made all the nations about sensible of it; and so was his praise; that is, some in all parts would be found giving glory to him accordingly. As far as his name goes his praise will go, at least it should go, and, at length, it shall go, when all the ends of the world shall praise him, Ps. xxii. 27; Rev. xi. 15. Some, by his name, understand especially that glorious name of his, the Lord of hosts; according to that name, so is his praise; for all the creatures, even to the ends of the earth, are under his command. But his people must, in a special manner, acknowledge his justice in all he does for them. "Righteousness fills thy right hand;" that is, all the operations of thy power are consonant to the eternal rules of equity.

V. Let all the members of the church in particular take to themselves the comfort of what God does for his church in general (v. 11): "Let Mount Zion rejoice, the priests and Levites that attend the sanctuary, and then let all the daughters of Judah, the country towns, and the inhabitants of them, be glad: let the women in their songs and dances, as usual on occasion of public joys, celebrate with thankfulness the great salvation which God has wrought for us." Note, When we have given God the praise we may then take the pleasure of the extraordinary deliverances of the church, and be glad because of God's judgments (that is, the operations of his providence), all which we may see wrought in wisdom (therefore called judgments) and working for the good of his church.

VI. Let us diligently observe the instances and evidences of the church's beauty, strength, and safety, and faithfully transmit our observations to those that shall come after us (v. 12, 13): Walk about Zion. Some think this refers to the ceremony of the triumph; let those who are employed in that solemnity walk round the walls (as they did, Neh. xii. 31), singing and praising God. In doing this let them tell the towers and mark well the bulwarks, 1. That they might magnify the late wonderful deliverance God had wrought for them. Let them observe, with wonder, that the towers and bulwarks are all in their full strength and none of them damaged, the palaces in their beauty and none of them blemished; there is not the least damage done to the city by the kings that were assembled against it (v. 4): Tell this to the generation following, as a wonderful instance of God's care of his holy city, that the enemies should not only not ruin or destroy it, but not so much as hurt or deface it. 2. That they might fortify themselves against the fear of the like threatening danger another time. And so, (1.) We may understand it literally of Jerusalem, and the strong-hold of Zion. Let the daughters of Judah see the towers and bulwarks of Zion, with a pleasure equal to the terror with which the kings their enemies saw them, v. 5. Jerusalem was generally looked upon as an impregnable place, as appears, Lam. iv. 12. All the inhabitants of the world would not have believed that an enemy should enter the gates of Jerusalem; nor could they have entered if the inhabitants had not sinned away their defence. Set your heart to her bulwarks. This intimates that the principal bulwarks of Zion were not the objects of sense, which they might set their eye upon, but the objects of faith, which they must set their hearts upon. It was well enough fortified indeed both by nature and art; but its bulwarks that were mostly to be relied upon were the special presence of God in it, the beauty of holiness he had put upon it, and the promises he had made concerning it. "Consider Jerusalem's strength, and tell it to the generations to come, that they may do nothing to weaken it, and that, if at any time it be in distress, they may not basely surrender it to the enemy as not tenable." Calvin observes here that when they are directed to transmit to posterity a particular account of the towers, and bulwarks, and palaces of Jerusalem, it is intimated that in process of time they would all be destroyed and remain no longer to be seen; for, otherwise, what need was there to preserve the description and history of them? When the disciples were admiring the buildings of the temple their Master told them that in a little time one stone of it should not be left upon another, Matt. xxiv. 1, 2. Therefore, (2.) This must certainly be applied to the gospel church, that Mount Zion, Heb. xii. 22. "Consider the towers, and bulwarks, and palaces of that, that you may be invited and encouraged to join yourselves to it and embark in it. See it founded on Christ, the rock fortified by the divine power, guarded by him that neither slumbers nor sleeps. See what precious ordinances are its palaces, what precious promises are its bulwarks; tell this to the generation following, that they may with purpose of heart espouse its interests and cleave to it."

VII. Let us triumph in God, and in the assurances we have of his everlasting lovingkindness, v. 14. Tell this to the generation following; transmit this truth as a sacred deposit to your posterity, That this God, who has now done such great things for us, is our God for ever and ever; he is constant and unchangeable in his love to us and care for us. 1. If God be our God, he is ours for ever, not only through all the ages of time, but to eternity; for it is the everlasting blessedness of glorified saints that God himself will be with them and will be their God, Rev. xxi. 3. 2. If he be our God, he will be our guide, our faithful constant guide, to show us our way and to lead us in it; he will be so, even unto death, which will be the period of our way, and will bring us to our rest. He will lead and keep us even to the last. He will be our guide above death (so some); he will so guide us as to set us above the reach of death, so that it shall not be able to do us any real hurt. He will be our guide beyond death (so others); he will conduct us safely to a happiness on the other side death, to a life in which there shall be no more death. If we take the Lord for our God, he will conduct and convey us safely to death, through death, and beyond death—down to death and up again to glory.

PSAL. XLVIII.

A song a Psalme, to the sonnes of Korach.

GReat is Iehovah, & praised vehemently in the citie of our God, the mountaine of his holinesse. Faire in situation, the joy of all the earth is mount Sion, in the sides of the North; it is the Citie of the great King. God in the loftie palaces therof, knowne he is for an high refuge. For loe the Kings were assembled, they went together. Themselves saw, so they wondered; they were suddenly [illegible: 1 span]ubled, they were frighted away. Trembling tooke hold on them there; paine, as of her that travelleth with childe. With an east wind thou wilt break asunder the ships of Tarshish. Even as we have heard, so have we seene; in the citie of Iehovah of hosts, in the citie of our God; God will establish it for ever Selah. Wee have quietly minded thy mercie, O God, in midst of thy Palace.) As thy name, O God, so thy praise is unto the ends of the earth; thy right hand is full of justice. Let mount Sion rejoyce, let the daughters of Iudah be glad, because of thy judgements. Compasse ye Sion, and goe round about it; tell the towers thereof. Set your heart on the fort thereof, distinctly view the loftie Palaces thereof, that ye may tell to the generation after. That this God is our God, ever and aye; he will guide us untill death.

Annotations. SOnnes of Korach] See the notes on Psal. 42. 1. Here the Greeke addeth, for the second (day) of the W[illegible: 1 span], that this Psalme was then to be sung in the Temple, as is before noted on Psal. 24. 1. Vers. 2. the mountaine] in the Greeke, his holy mountaine; in Chaldee, the mount of the house of his Sanctuary. This was mount Sion, vers. 3. a figure of the Church of Christ, Hebr. 12. 22. Rev. 14. 1. Vers. 3. Faire in situation] or, Beautifull of coast, or climate, situate in a faire climate or region. The Chaldee expounds [illegible: 1 letter]t, Faire as a Bridegroome, the joy of all that dwell on the earth. the sides of the North] the place where the Temple was builded. So Isa. 14. 13. of the great King] that is, of God, who dwelt in this citie, vers. 9. Zach. 8. 3. Hereupon Christ said, sweare not by Jerusalem, for it is the [illegible: 1 word] of the great King, Mat. 5. 35. Vers. 4. loftie Palaces] or, high bowers, or steeples. So vers. 14. and Psal. 122. 7. Vers. 5. the Kings] we may referre this either to the Kings of Moab and Ammon, in the daies of Iosaphat, 2 Chro. 20. or to Sanacherib and his Captaines in the daies of Ezekiah, 2 King. 18. 19. or to the Philistian Princes, 2 Sam. 5. were assembled] or came together, to wit, by agreement at an appointed time and place; so the originall word impor [illegible: 1 span]. Vers 7. that travelleth with childe] or, that bringeth forth. And this paine is great, and sudden, an[illegible: 1 letter] inevitable. See Mic. 4. 9. 1 Thess. 5. 3. Vers. 8. an east wind] which is strong and boystrous; also drie and parching, Isa. 27. 8. Ier. 18. 17. Exod. 14. 21. and 10. 13. Gen. 41. 7. Ezek. 19. 12. Ion. 4. 8. Hereupon the Greeke translateth it, violent wind; and the Chaldee, a strong East wind, as a fire from before the Lord. of Tarshish] or, of the Ocean sea. Tarshish was the name of the son of Iavan, the son of Iapheth, the sonne of Noah, Ger. 10. 4. of whom Tarsus (mentioned in Act. 21. 34.) the chiefe citie of Cilicia in Syria had the n[illegible: 1 letter]m[illegible: 1 letter]. From thence they went by shipping into farre countries, Africa, India, Ophir, &c. 1 King. 22. 48. and 10. 22. Hereupon that Sea was called Tarshish; and generally the name is applied to every Ocean, or maine sea. Vers. 10. we have quietly winded] or, in silence thought upon, and consequently, waited for. Vers. 12. daughters of Iudah] the lesser cities of that tribe, which were as daughters to the mother citie Ierusalem, as the lesser cities of the Ammonites were daughters to Rabbah, Ier. 49. 3. So Ekron with her daughters, Ios. 15. 45. and many the like. So Psal. 97. 8. Vers. 13. tell the towers] number, count them: These things seeme to intend not only a taking notice, but also a care and fortification of Ierusalem against all enemies. See Esay 33. 18. Vers. 14. Set your heart] minde earnestly, set your affections on, as Psal. 62. 11. the fort] or strong frontier, [illegible: 1 letter]konce, rampart, made for strength and safegard of the citie, 1 King. 21. 23. 2 Sam. 20. 15. So Psal. 122. 7. The Chaldee understands it of the strength of people, the multitude. disti[illegible: 2 letters]tly view] or, lift up, meaning the eyes to behold, or reare up the bankes of buildings. The Hebrew Pasgu is here only used; of it is Pisgah, the name of an hill or mount, Numb. 21. 20. and 23. 14. Deut. 3. 17. and 34. 1. The Greeke translateth here, distinguish or distribute, following the Chaldee Passeg, which is to distribute or divide. Vers. 15. ever and aye] ever and yet, to eternitie and perpetuitie. will guide us] or lead us, to wit, as a flocke of sheepe, Psal. 78. 52. 72. therefore the Greeke turneth it, poimanei, he will f[illegible: 2 letters]d, or rule as a shepherd. A like phrase is also used in speech of defence from enemies, 2 Chron. 32. 22. untill death] in Greeke, for ever. The Chaldee paraphraseth thus, For this God is our God, his divine Majestie is within it, and his dwelling is in the heavens for ever and ever; he will lead us in the daies of our youth.

PSAL. XLVIII.

A Pſalm, a ſong for the ſons of Korah] When and by whom compiled, we certainly know not. If by David, probably it was upon occaſion of the Philiſtines comming up to ſeek him, but were ſent away back with ſhame and loſſe, 2 Sam. 5.7, 9. If upon the ſlaughter of Sennscheribs army by an Angel, Iſaiah or ſome other Prophet of thoſe times (as there were many) might be the Pen-man. It ſeemeth to be of the ſame time and occaſion with Pſal. 76.

Verſ. 1. Great is the Lord] Greater, Job 33.12. Greateſt of all, Pſal. 95.3. Greatneſſe it ſelf, Pſal. 345.3. A degree he is above the ſuperlative.

And greatly to be praiſed] No mean praiſes can be meet for ſo great a Majeſty. It muſt be modus ſine modo. Bern.

In the City of our God] i. e.Lib. 3. de uſu part. In the Church; for others will not, cannot do it to divine acceptation. Galen, amazed at the wonderfull frame of mans body, ſang an hymn to the Maker thereof, but yet he lived and dyed a Pagan.

Verſ. 2.Pulcher ſurculo. Beautifull for ſituation] A beautifull Nymph, ſo R. Solomon. Or, beautifull for the branch that droppeth balſam, ſaith Moller; that is, for the Ark there ſeated. Or, for the tract and climat, as Joſh. 12.23. ſituat on the Northſide of Jeruſalem, as Iſa. 14.13. in a cold, drie and clear air, as Job 37.22. Sanantur illi, qui illic infirms conveniu[illegible: 1 letter]t, ſaith Kimchi, they which come thither weak, are made well.

The joy of the whole earth] Not only of the whole Land, becauſe thither three times a year the Tribes went up, the Tribes of the Lord unto the Teſtimony of Iſrael, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord, Pſal. 122.4. nor only of the Eaſt, whereof Jeruſalem was held and call'd the Queen, Ʋrbium totius Orient is clariſſima, ſaith Pliny, ſee Lam. 1.1. but alſo of the whole earth; Sumen totius orbis, as one calleth it, and Rabſhakeh himſelf (in that, more ingenuous than Strato) confeſſeth Judaa to be a Land of Corn and Wine, of bread and Vineyards, Iſa. 36.17. Hence it is called the excellency of Jacob, Pſal. 47.4. the goodneſs of the Lord for Wheat and for Wine, and for Oyl, and for the young of the flock, and of the Herd; for all which men ſhould come and ſing in the height of Zion Jer. 31.12. but eſpecially for ſpirituall bleſſings, that their ſouls might be as watered gardens, and they not ſorrow any more at all, ib. but come to Zion with ſongs and everlaſting joy upon their heads, Iſa. 35.10. for the grace of God that bringeth ſalvation to all men, therehence appearing, Tit. 2.11. Iſa. 2.3, 4. If Plutarch could ſay of Rome in Numa's time, that the Neighbour Villages ſucking in the air of that City, breathed Righteouſneſſs; how much better might the ſame be ſaid of this City of the great King, where God himſelf was reſiant, and his ſincere ſervice was eſtabliſhed, Pſal. 132.13?

Verſ. 3. God is known in her Palaces for a refuge] As the City was an ornament to the whole Country; ſo was God to the City, as being a common refuge to both; and as having his holy Temple there, not a profeſſed Sanctuary for impiety, as Fl[illegible: 2 letters]us [illegible: 1 letter]pitefully ſtiled it, but farre better deſerving than Nama's new Temple in Rome did, to be called, [non-Latin text not transcribed], the Sacrary of Faith, and Peace, where the true God was truly worſhiped, and found to be a very preſent help in trouble, the be[illegible: 1 letter]t bulwark.

Verſ. 4. For [illegible: 1 word] the Kings were aſſembled] The Princes of the Philiſtines, 2 Sam. 5. Or, Sennacheribs Princes, which were all Kings, Iſa. 10.8. Oecolampadins upon Iſa. 13.19. ſaith, that there were twenty and two Kingdomes in Aſſ[illegible: 1 letter]ria; theſe all came with combined forces to lay Jernſaiem deſolate, but could not effect it.

They paſſed by together] They could do this City (dear to God. and ſecured by him, the Athenians boaſted that they were [non-Latin text not transcribed], beloved of God, the Hier[illegible: 1 letter]ſ[illegible: 1 letter] lymitans were ſurely ſo) no more harm, than as if they had been ſo many wayfaring men that had paſſed by it, with their ſtaves in their hands.

Verſ. 5. They ſaw it, and ſo they marvelled] None of them could ſay as Caſar, Ʋeni, vidi, vici, but the contrary; they no ſooner ſaw this Heaven-guarded City, but their hearts miſ-gave them; and they were ready to ſay as that Duke of Saxeny did, who intending to make war upon the Biſhop of Magdeburg, and underſtanding that he made no great preparation for defence of himſelf, and his territories, but ſought help from Heaven by faſting and prayer, Inſaniat alius, ſaid he, God bleſſe mee from ſuch a madneſſe, as to meddle with a man who confideth in God, and committeth himſelf wholly to his protection.

They were troubled and haſted away] Heb. they fled with an baſty or head-long flight, being ſmitten with a ſuddain terrour, ſuch as was that of the Egyptians, when their Charret wheels were taken off; of the Poiliſtines, when for haſte they left their Gods behind them, 2 Sam. 5. of the Syrians, 2 King. 7. when they left all and ran for their lives; of the Aſſyrians, when the Angel had ſlain an hundred eighty five thouſand in their camp, &c.

Verſ. 6. Fear took hold upon them there] By So in the former verſe, and There in this, the ſhamefull flight of theſe enemies is lively deciphered, and as it were pointed at with the finger. So Pſal. 14.5. There were they in great fear; for God is in the Generation of the Righteous.

And pain as of a Woman in Travel] Their grief was no leſs than their fear: and it came upon them, Cert[illegible: 1 letter], cito, ſubito, ſuddainly, ſorely, irreſiſtably, inevitably.

Verſ. 7. Thou breakeſt the ſhips of Tarſhiſh] i. e. Of the Ocean, or of the Mediterranean Sea, Iſa. 2.16. & 23.1, 6, 10, 14. The meaning is, like as thou O God with thine Eaſt-wind that Euroclydon eſpecially, which Pliny calleth Navigantium Peſtem (the Mariners miſchief) art wont to daſh and drown the talleſt ſhips at thy pleaſure; ſo thou both canſt, and wilt deal by thy Churches enemies: To whom therefore this Text ſhould be as thoſe knuckles of a mans hand were to Belſhazzer, to write them their deſtiny; or as Daniel was to him, to read it unto them.

Verſ. 8. As we have heard] viz. by the relation of our Fore-Fathers, Pſal. 44.1. or rather by the promiſes contained in the Holy Scriptures, which now we ſee verified and exemplified in our ſignall deliverances. Hieruſalems conſtane protection then is here affevered and aſſured, per comparationem promiſſionis & experientie ſimul, & ſimilitèr eam conteſtantium. See the like, Job 42.5. with the Note.

In the City of our God] The Church is the City of the living God, Heb. 12.22. a City that breedeth men yea Conquerours, as Herodotus ſaith of Ecbatana the Metropolis of the Medes, and as Pindarus of another place, [non-Latin text not transcribed], &c. Herod. Clio[illegible: 1 letter] Nemeis Od. [illegible: 1 letter]

God will eſtabliſh it for ever] There ſhall be a Church till the Worlds end, maugre all her enemies.

Verſ. 9 We have thought upon thy loving kindneſſe] Heb. We have ſilently muſed or minded, as being amazed, or rather amated thereat, not able to ſpeak for a while, we were ſo tranſported when we met in thy Temple for the purpoſe to praiſe thee, as for thy loving kindneſſe towards us, ſo for thy power and Juſtice exerciſed on our enemies.

Verſ. 10. According to thy Name O God, ſo is thy praiſe] i. e. It is infinite and inexpreſſible, Pſal. 148.1. Pſal. 145.3. Gods Name is exalted above all bleſſing and praiſe, as thoſe holy Levites acknowledge, Noh. 9.5. The diſtance betwixt God and us is infinite; and we ſhould labour to fill up that diſtance, if poſſible, with our praiſes.

Thy right hand is full of righteouſueſs] i. e. of noble Acts, which thou haſt done for us according to thy promiſe, Pſal. 25.10.

Verſ. 11. Let. Mount-Zion rejoyce, let the Daughters, &c.] Let the Church Catholick, and each particular Member thereof give God the glory of his Juſtice, and ſee that their joy be ſpirituall.

Verſ. 12. Walk about Sion, and tell the Towers thereof] q.d. Are they not ſtill the ſame, and as many as they were before the approach of the enemy? is any thing diminiſhed or defaced by the late ſiege, or aſſault? Therefore thus ſaith the Lord concerning the King of Aſſyria, He ſhall not come into this City, nor ſhoot an arrow there, &c. Iſa. 37.33.

Verſ. 13. Mark ye well her Bulwarks] Not at all impaired. The great Turk could never have gotten the Rhodes, but by treachery, notwithſtanding his long and mighty batteries made upon that place day and night. How he raged at the laſt aſſault of Scodra, and blaſphemed, ſee Turk. hiſt. page four hundred twenty three. Geneva, Hanc urbem non niſi miraculoſe ſtetiſſe & ſtare per multos [illegible: 2 letters]nos res ipſa clamst. Anton, Fayus. is invironed with enemies, French, Spaniſh, Savoy, Pope, and barred out from all aid of neighbour Cities and Churches; yet is upheld, as it were, by an immediate hand of Heaven, as Beza hath ſet forth in an elegant Emblem.

Verſ. 14. For this God is our God] To draw them up to this conſideration it was, that the Propher ſo calls upon people to view Sion, &c. and to take notice that ſhe might well have written upon her gates (as that City Hippocrates writeth of, had) Intacta manet, the Daughter of Sion is a Maid ſtill, through the proweſſe of her Champion.

Even unto death] And after too; for this is not to be taken excluſive, He will never leave us, nor forſake us.

Great is the Lord. How great Jehovah is essentially none can conceive; but we can all see that he is great in the deliverance of his people, great in their esteem who are delivered, and great in the hearts of those enemies whom he scatters by their own fears. Instead of the mad cry of Ephesus, "Great is Diana, "we bear the reasonable, demonstrable, self evident testimony, "Great is Jehovah." There is none great in the church but the Lord. Jesus is "the great Shepherd, "he is "a Saviour, and a great one, "our great God and Saviour, our great High Priest; his Father has divided him a portion with the great, and his name shall be great unto the ends of the earth. And greatly to be praised. According to his nature should his worship be; it cannot be too constant, too laudatory, too earnest, too reverential, too sublime. In the city of our God. He is great there, and should be greatly praised there. If all the world beside renounced Jehovah's worship, the chosen people in his favoured city should continue to adore him, for in their midst and on their behalf his glorious power has been so manifestly revealed. In the church the Lord is to be extolled though all the nations rage against him. Jerusalem was the peculiar abode of the God of Israel, the seat of the theocratic government, and the centre of prescribed worship, and even thus is the church the place of divine manifestation. In the mountain of his holiness. Where his holy temple, his holy priests, and his holy sacrifices might continually be seen. Zion was a mount, and as it was the most renowned part of the city, it is mentioned as a synonym for the city itself. The church of God is a mount for elevation and for conspicuousness, and it should be adorned with holiness, her sons being partakers of the holiness of God. Only by holy men can the Lord be fittingly praised, and they should be incessantly occupied with his worship.

Beautiful for situation. Jerusalem was so naturally, she was styled the Queen of the East; the church is so spiritually, being placed near God's heart, within the mountain of his power, upon the hills of his faithfulness, in the centre of providential operations. The elevation of the church is her beauty. The more she is above the world the fairer she is. The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion. Jerusalem was the world's star; whatever light lingered on earth was borrowed from the oracles preserved by Israel. An ardent Israelite would esteem the holy city as the eye of the nations, the most precious pearl of all lands. Certainly the church of God, though despised of men, is the true joy and hope of the world. On the sides of the north, the city of the great King. Either meaning that Jerusalem was in the northern extremity of Judah, or it may denote that part of the city that lay to the north of Mount Zion. It was the glory of Jerusalem to be God's city, the place of his regal dwelling, and it is the joy of the church that God is in her midst. The great God is the great King of the church, and for her sake he rules all the nations. The people among whom the Lord deigns to dwell are privileged above all others; the lines have fallen unto them in pleasant places, and they have a goodly heritage. We who dwell in Great Britain in the sides of the north, have this for our chief glory, that the Lord is known in our land, and the abode of his love is among us.

God is known in her palaces for a refuge. We worship no unknown God. We know him as our refuge in distress, we delight in him as such, and run to him in every time of need. We know nothing else as our refuge. Though we are made kings, and our houses are palaces, yet we have no confidence in ourselves, but trust in the Lord Protector, whose well known power is our bulwark.

The kings were assembled, they passed by together. They came and they went. No sooner together than scattered. They came one way and fled twenty ways. Boastful the gathering hosts with their royal leaders, despairing the fugitive bands with their astonished captains. They came like foam on the angry sea, like foam they melted away. This was so remarkable that the psalmist puts in a note of exclamation, Lo! What! have they so suddenly fled! Even thus shall the haters of the church vanish from the field. Papists, Ritualists, Arians, Sceptics, they shall each have their day, and shall pass on to the limbo of forgetfulness.

They saw it, and so they marvelled. They came, they saw, but they did not conquer. There was no veni, vidi, vici for them. No sooner did they perceive that the Lord was in the Holy City, than they took to their heels. Before the Lord came to blows with them, they were faint hearted, and beat a retreat. They were troubled and hasted away. The troublers were troubled. Their haste in coming was nothing to their hurry in going. Panic seized them, horses were not fleet enough; they would have borrowed the wings of the wind. They fled ignominiously, like children in a fright. Glory be to God, it shall be even thus with the foes of his church; when the Lord cometh to our help, our enemies shall be as nothing. Could they foresee their ignominious defeat, they would not advance to the attack.

Fear took hold upon them there. They were in Giant Despair's grip. Where they hoped to triumph, there they quivered with dismay. They did not take the city, but fear took hold on them. And pain, as of a woman in travail. They were as much overcome as a woman whose fright causes premature delivery; or, as full of pain as a poor mother in her pangs —a strong expression, commonly employed by Orientals to set forth the extremity of anguish. When the Lord arises for the help of his church, the proudest of his foes shall be as trembling women, and their dismay shall be but the beginning of eternal defeat.

Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. As easily as vessels are driven to shipwreck, dost thou overturn the most powerful adversaries; or it may mean the strength of some nations lies in their ships, whose wooden walls are soon broken; but our strength is in our God, and therefore, it fails not; or there may be another meaning, though thou art our defence, yet thou takest vengeance on our inventions, and while thou dost preserve us, yet our ships, our comforts, our earthly ambitions, are taken from us that we may look alone to thee. God is seen at sea, but he is equally present on land. Speculative heresies, pretending to bring us wealth from afar, are constantly assailing the church, but the breath of the Lord soon drives them to destruction. The church too often relies on the wisdom of men, and these human helps are soon shipwrecked; yet the church itself is safe beneath the care of her God and King.

As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. Our father's stories are reproduced before our very eyes. We heard the promise, and we have seen the fulfilment. The records of Zion, wonderful as they are, are proved to be truthful, because present facts are in perfect harmony therewith. Note how the Lord is first spoken of as Lord of hosts, a name of power and sovereignty, and then as our God, a name of covenant relation and condescension. No wonder that since the Lord bears both titles, we find him dealing with us after the precedents of his lovingkindness, and the faithfulness of his promises. God will establish it for ever. The true church can never be disestablished. That which kings establish can last for time only, that which God establishes endures to all eternity. Selah. Here is a fit place to pause, viewing the past with admiration, and the future with confidence.

We have thought. Holy men are thoughtful men; they do not suffer God's wonders to pass before their eyes and melt into forgetfulness, but they meditate deeply upon them. Of thy lovingkindness, O God. What a delightful subject! Devout minds never tire of so divine a theme. It is well to think of past lovingkindness in times of trial, and equally profitable to remember it in seasons of prosperity. Grateful memories sweeten sorrows and sober joys. In the midst of thy temple. Fit place for so devout a meditation. Where God is most seen he is best loved. The assembled saints constitute a living temple, and our deepest musings when so gathered together should have regard to the lovingkindness of the Lord, exhibited in the varied experiences of each of the living stones. Memories of mercy should be associated with continuance of praise. Hard by the table of show bread commemorating his bounty, should stand the altar of incense denoting our praise.

According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth. Great fame is due to his great name. The glory of Jehovah's exploits overleaps the boundaries of earth; angels behold with wonder, and from every star delighted intelligences proclaim his fame beyond the ends of the earth. What if men are silent, yet the woods, and seas, and mountains, with all their countless tribes, and all the unseen spirits that walk them, are full of the divine praise. As in a shell we listen to the murmurs of the sea, so in the convolutions of creation we hear the praises of God. Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Thy sceptre and thy sword, thy government and thy vengeance, are altogether just. Thy hand is never empty, but full of energy, of bounty, and of equity. Neither saint nor sinner shall find the Lord to be an empty handed God; he will in both cases deal out righteousness to the full: to the one, through Jesus, he will be just to forgive, to the other just to condemn.

Let mount Zion rejoice. As the first of the cities of Judah, and the main object of the enemies' attack, let her lead the song. Let the daughters of Judah be glad, let the smaller towns join the chorus, for they join in the common victory. Let the women, who fare worst in the havoc of war, be among the gladdest of the glad, now that the spoilers have fled. All the church, and each individual member, should rejoice in the Lord, and magnify his name. Because of thy judgments. The righteous acts of the Lord are legitimate subjects for joyful praise. However it may appear on earth, yet in heaven the eternal ruin of the wicked will be the theme of adoring song. Re 19:1,3: "Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia, and her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Justice which to our poor optics now seems severe, will then be perceived to be perfectly consistent with God's name of love, and to be one of the brightest jewels of his crown.

Walk about Zion; often beat her bounds, even as Israel marched around Jericho. With leisurely and careful inspection survey her. And go round about her. Encircle her again and again with loving perambulations. We cannot too frequently or too deeply consider the origin, privileges, history, security, and glory of the church. Some subjects deserve but a passing thought; this is worthy of the most patient consideration. Tell the towers thereof. See if any of them have crumbled, or have been demolished. Is the church of God what she was in doctrine, in strength and in beauty? Her foes counted her towers in envy first, and then in terror, let us count them with sacred exultation. The city of Lucerne, encircled by its ancient walls, adorned with a succession of towers, is a visible illustration of this figure; and as we have gone around it, and paused at each picturesque tower, we have realised the loving lingering inspection which the metaphor implies.

Mark ye well her bulwarks. Consider most attentively how strong are her ramparts, how safely her inhabitants are entrenched behind successive lines of defence. The security of the people of God is not a doctrine to be kept in the background, it may be safely taught, and frequently pondered; only to base hearts will that glorious truth prove harmful; the sons of perdition make a stumbling stone even of the Lord Jesus himself, it is little wonder that they pervert the truth of God concerning the final perseverance of the saints. We are not to turn away from inspecting Zion's ramparts, because idlers skulk behind them. Consider her palaces. Examine with care the fair dwellings of the city. Let the royal promises which afford quiet resting places for believers be attentively inspected. See how sound are the defences, and how fair are the pleasaunces of "that ancient citie, "of which you are citizens. A man should be best acquainted with his own home; and the church is our dear and blest abode. Would to God professors were more considerate of the condition of the church; so far from telling the towers, some of them scarcely know what or where they are; they are too busy counting their money, and considering their ledgers. Freehold and copyhold, and leasehold, men measure to an inch, but heaven hold and grace hold are too often taken at peradventure, and neglected in sheer heedlessness. That ye may tell it to the generation following. An excellent reason for studious observation. We have received and we must transmit. We must be students that we may be teachers. The debt we owe to the past we must endeavour to repay by handing down the truth to the future.

For this God is our God for ever and ever. A good reason for preserving a record of all that he has wrought. Israel will not change her God so as to wish to forget, nor will the Lord change so as to make the past mere history. He will be the covenant God of his people world without end. There is no other God, we wish for no other, we would have no other even if there were. There are some who are so ready to comfort the wicked, that for the sake of ending their punishment they weaken the force of language, and make for ever and ever mean but a time; nevertheless, despite their interpretations we exult in the hope of an eternity of bliss, and to us "everlasting, " and "for ever and ever" mean what they say. He will be our guide even unto death. Throughout life, and to our dying couch, he will graciously conduct us, and even after death he will lead us to the living fountains of waters. We look to him for resurrection and eternal life. This consolation is clearly derivable from what has gone before; hitherto our foes have been scattered, and our bulwarks have defied attack, for God has been in our midst, therefore all possible assaults in the future shall be equally futile.

"The church has all her foes defied

And laughed to scorn their rage;

Even thus for aye she shall abide

Secure from age to age."

Farewell, fear. Come hither, gratitude and faith, and sing right joyously.

TITLE. A Song and Psalm. Wherein both voice and instrument were used; the voice began first and the instrument after: and where the inscription is a Psalm and Song, there likely the instrument began and the voice followed. John Richardson.

Whole Psalm. According to Dr. Lightfoot, the constant and ordinary Psalm for the second day of the week was the forty-eighth.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, etc. The prophet, being about to praise a certain edifice, commences by praising the architect, and says that in the holy city the wonderful skill and wisdom of God, who built it, is truly displayed. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; and so he is, whether we look at his essence, his power, his wisdom, his justice, or his mercy, for all are infinite, everlasting, and incomprehensible; and thus, so much is God greatly to be praised, that all the angels, all men, even all his own works would not suffice thereto; but of all things revealed, there is no one thing can give us a greater idea of his greatness, or for which were should praise and thank him more, than the establishment of his church; and therefore, the prophet adds, in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness; that is to say, the greatness of God, and for which he deserves so much praise, is conspicuous in the foundation and construction of his church. Robert Bellarmine (Cardinal).

Great is the Lord. Greater, Job 33:12. Greatest of all, Ps 95:3. Greatness itself, Ps 145:3. A degree he is above the superlative. John Trapp.

Mountain of his holiness. The religion in it holy, the people in it a holy people. William Nicholson.

Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. What is there, or was there, about Zion to justify the high eulogium of David? The situation is indeed eminently adapted to be the platform of a magnificent citadel. Rising high above the deep valley of Gihon and Hinnom, on the west and south, and the scarcely less deep one of the Cheesemongers on the east, it could only be assailed from the northwest; and then on the sides of the north it was magnificently beautiful, and fortified by walls, towers, and bulwarks, the wonder and terror of the nations: "For the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away." At the thought of it the royal psalmist again bursts forth in triumph: "Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following." Alas! her towers have long since fallen to the ground, her bulwarks have been overthrown, her palaces have crumbled to dust, and we who now walk about Zion can tell no other story than this to the generation following. There is another Zion, however, whose towers are still more glorious, and shall never be overthrown. "God is known in her palaces for a refuge." And "this God is our God for ever and ever." How often is this name synonymous with the church of the living God! and no other spot but one can divide with it the affection of his people —no other name but one can awaken such joyful hopes in the Christian's heart. The temporal Zion is now in the dust, but the true Zion is rising and shaking herself from it, and putting on her beautiful garments to welcome her King when he comes to reign over the whole earth. W. M. Thompson, D.D.

When I stood that morning on the brow of Olivet, and looked down on the city, crowning those battlemented heights, encircled by those deep and dark ravines, I involuntarily exclaimed, Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. And as I gazed, the red rays of the rising sun shed a halo round the top of the castle of David; then they tipped with gold each tapering minaret, and gilded each dome of mosque and church, and at length, bathed in one flood of ruddy light the terraced roofs of the city, and the grass and foliage, the cupolas, pavements, and colossal walls of the Haram. No human being could be disappointed who first saw Jerusalem from Olivet. J. L. Porter.

(first clause). Beautiful in climate, that is, Mount Zion is situated in a fair and lovely climate. This is the view taken by Montanus and Ainsworth. Bate and Parkhurst read, "Beautiful in extension, i.e., in the prospect which it extends to the eye." Editorial Note to Calvin in loc.

Beautiful for situation. This earth is, by sin, covered with deformity, and therefore justly might that spot of ground, which was thus beautified with holiness, be called the joy of the whole earth, i.e., what the whole earth had reason to rejoice in, because God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth. Matthew Henry.

Beautiful for situation. —Fair Jerusalem

The holy city, lifted high her towers,

And higher yet the glorious temple reared

Her pile, far off appearing like a mount

Of alabaster, topped with golden spires. —John Milton in "Paradise Regained."

On the sides of the north. Jerusalem, that is the upper and best part of it, was built on the north side of Mount Zion. Hadrian Reland, 1676-1718.

Jerusalem lay to the north of Sion, and this circumstance is mentioned as a proof of Mount Zion's greatest security, for it was almost inaccessible on any other side except the north, and there is was defended by Jerusalem, which was very strong. Samuel Burder.

The great King. God is named the great King in opposition to the kings in Ps 48:4. E. W. Hengstenberg.

They were many and powerful: kings and a plurality of them. They were confederate kings. The kings were assembled. Forces united are the more powerful. But all the endeavours of these confederate kings came to nothing. They passed by together —together they came, and together they vanished. William Nicholson.

Verses 5-6. The potentates of the world saw the miracles of the apostles, the courage and constancy of the martyrs, and the daily increase of the church, notwithstanding all their persecutions; they beheld with astonishment the rapid progress of the faith through the Roman empire; they called upon their gods, but their gods could not help themselves; idolatry expired at the foot of the victorious cross. George Horne.

Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Nothing is more unaccountable than panic. No man, no body of men can adequately guard against such terror. He who made the ears can easily make them to tingle. He who holds the winds in his fist, can easily make them whisper alarm, or roar dismay. This is specially to be expected when men so act as to have their own conscience against them. Job 15:21. But God can at any time so forsake men as that they shall be unmanned, and play the fool exceedingly. Le 26:36. Men have fought bravely several battles, and then played the coward. William S. Plumer.

Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. It is only by her Lord that the church gained "the true riches; "when she enters into traffick with the world, she takes the means of the world for her resources; and when she trusts in her wealth, in her political power, in earthly cunning, to make merchandise, the instruments she adopts come to nothing in her hands, and leave her helpless and poor. From "A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms (The Prayer Book Version), chiefly founded on the Fathers, "1859.

With an east wind, which, in Judea, is a very violent and destructive wind. Kennicot renders the verse thus, As the east wind dasheth in pieces the ships of Tarshish; founding his conjecture upon the similarity in form of two Hebrew letters, signifying the one in, and the other as. Daniel Cresswell.

We have thought. The Hebrew (Mwd) and (Mmd) and (hmd) belong all to the same signification, of quiet, rest, silence, patient expecting, thinking, considering, and must be determined to any of these senses by the context. And here that of expecting or patient waiting, with affiance in him, and without all distrust or repining at his delays, seems to be most proper for it. For coming to the sanctuary to pray for mercy, it is most agreeable to say we wait for it there, as in the place where he hath promised to afford it, in return to prayers. Henry Hammond.

Verses 12-13. In a spiritual sense the towers and bulwarks of Sion are those doctrines of the true faith, which are the strength and glory of the church, which are to be maintained in their soundness and stability against the assaults of heretical teachers, so that they may be transmitted unimpaired to following generations. Origen and Theodoret, quoted by Wordsworth.

Mark ye well her bulwarks. Margin as in the Hebrew, "Set your heart to her bulwarks." That is, pay close attention to them; make the investigation with care, not as one does whose heart is not in the thing, and who does it negligently. The word rendered bulwarks, (lyx), khail —means properly, a host or army, and then a fortification or entrenchment, especially the ditch or trench, with the low wall or breastwork which surrounds it. 2Sa 20:15 Isa 26:1. (Gesenius, Lex.) —Albert Barnes.

Mark ye well: set your heart, mind earnestly, set your affections on. Henry Ainsworth.

Her bulwarks.

1. The designation and constitution of Jesus Christ to be King of the church, King of Zion, is the great bulwark of Zion.

2. The second bulwark of Zion is the promises of God, which are innumerable.

3. The watchful providence of God over the church.

4. Another bulwark is God's special presence. God is in a special manner present in his church.

5. The last bulwark unto which all others may be reduced, is the covenant of God: "For this God is our God." John Owen.

This God is our God for ever and ever. What a portion then is that of the believer! The landlord cannot say of his fields, these are mine for ever and ever. The king cannot say of his crown, this is mine for ever and ever. These possessions shall soon change masters; these possessors shall soon mingle with the dust, and even the graves they shall occupy may not long be theirs; but it is the singular, the supreme happiness of every Christian to say, or have a right to say, "This glorious God with all his divine perfections is my God, for ever and ever, and even death itself shall not separate me from his love." George Burder.

This God is our God. The people of God are sometime represented as so taken with this apprehension of their peculiar relation to God, that they cannot be content to know, but they proclaim it; nor was it enough the present age should know, but they must have it told the following generation: "Let Mount Zion rejoice, " etc. Mark, "That ye may tell the generation following, "For this is our God. See their ostentation of him! This God; q.d., Behold what a God have we! view him well, and take notice how glorious a God he is. And as they glory in the greatness of the God to whom they were related, so they do in the eternity of the relation. "This God is our God for ever and ever." John Howe.

God is not only a satisfying portion, filling every crevice of thy soul with the light of joy and comfort; and a sanctifying portion, elevating thy soul to its primitive and original perfection; and a universal portion; not health, or wealth, or friends, or honours, or liberty, or life, or house, or wife, or child, or pardon, or peace, or grace, or glory, or earth, or heaven, but all these, and infinitely more, but also he is an eternal portion. This God would be thy God for ever and ever. Oh, sweet word ever! thou art the crown of the saints' crown, and the glory of their glory. Their portion is so full that they desire no more; they enjoy variety and plenty of delights above what they are able to ask or think, and want nothing but to have it fixed. May they but possess it in peace without interruption or cessation, they will trample all kingdoms of the earth as dirt under their feet; and lo! thou art the welcome dove to bring this olive branch in thy mouth. This God is our God for ever and ever. All the arithmetical figures of days, and months, and years, and ages, are nothing to this infinite cipher ever, which, though it stand for nothing in the vulgar account, yet contains all our millions; yea, our millions and millions of millions are less than drops in this ocean ever. George Swinnock.

Some expositors have strangely found a difficulty in the last verse, deeming such a profession of personal faith as inappropriate termination for a national song. Even Dr. Delitzch, a wise and devout interpreter, shares in this notion; going, indeed, so far as to throw out the surmise, that some word must have been lost from the Hebrew text. To me it seems that the verse, as it stands, is admirably in harmony with the song, and is its crowning beauty. When the Lord does great things for church or nation, he means that all the faithful, however humble their station, should take courage from it, should repose in him fresh confidence, and cling to him with a firmer hope, and say, This God shall be our God for ever; he will guide us even unto death. William Binnie.

Unto death, or as some explain it, at death, i.e., he will save us from it; others, over death, beyond it. But the most obvious explanation, and the one most agreeable to usage, is that which makes the phrase mean even to the end of life, or as long as we live. The idea of a future state, though not expressed, is not excluded. J. A. Alexander.

(last clause). The last clause is much misunderstood. It is not, "Our guide unto death, "for the words are, (twm-le wnghny), "shall lead us over death." Surely it means, "It is he who leads over death to resurrection" —over Jordan to Canaan. The (Heb.) is used in Le 15:25, for "beyond, "in regard to time, and is not this the sense here? "Beyond the time of death"? Till death is to us over? Till we have stood upon the grace of death? Yes; he it is who leads us on to this last victory; he swallows up death in victory, and leads us to trample on death. And so viewed, we easily discern the beautiful link of thought that joins this Psalm to that which follows. Such is the celebration of The Mighty One become the glory of Jerusalem. Andrew A. Bonar.

All the suggestions under this Psalm except those otherwise designated, are by our beloved friend, Rev. George Rogers, Tutor of the Pastor's College.

1. What the church is to God.

(a) His "city:" not a lawless rabble, but a well organised community.

(b) A mountain of holiness, for the display of justifying righteousness, of sanctifying grace.

2. What God is to the church.

(a) Its inhabitant. It is his city, his mountain. There he is great. There was no room for the whole of God in Paradise, there is no room for him in his law, no room for him in the heaven of angels: in the church only is there room for all his perfections, for a triune Jehovah. Great everywhere, he is peculiarly great here.

(b) The object of its praises. As he is greatest here, so are his praises, and through the universe on this account.

1. Was the ancient Zion beautiful for situation? So is the New Testament church founded upon a rock, upon eternal purpose and grace.

2. Was it the joy of the whole earth? So the New Testament church will become.

3. Was it the special joy of the tribes of Israel that were almost entirely to the north of Jerusalem? So the church is to the saints.

4. Was it a royal as well as a holy city? So is the church. "Yet I have set, "etc.

1. God is a refuge in his church. The church is a city of refuge, but the refuge is not in its church, but its God.

(a) For sinners from wrath.

(b) For saints from trials and fears.

(c) God is there known as such, known to thousands, not known as such elsewhere. "They that know thy name, "etc.

Verses 4-7.

1. The opposition of worldly powers to the church. "The kings, "etc.

2. The manner in which they are subdued —by their own fears; conscience has persecuted those who have persecuted the church of God. They who have seized the ark of God have been glad to return it with an offering.

3. The completeness of their overthrow, As a fleet of ships of Tarshish, dispersed, broken, and engulfed by the east wind.

1. God has ever been to his people what he now is; the same heard as seen.

2. He is now what he ever has been: the same seen as heard.

3. He will ever be what he now is. "Will establish it for ever."

1. What are the lovingkindnesses of God? Pity to the wretched, pardon to the penitent, help to the prayerful, comfort to the afflicted, etc.

2. Where are they to be found? "In the midst of, "etc.

(a) Here they are revealed.

(b) Here they are dispensed.

(c) Here they are sought.

(d) Here they are enjoyed.

As the name of God, so his praises are —

1. Supreme.

2. Unqualified.

3. Universal.

4. Everlasting.

Thy right hand, etc.

1. The justice of omnipotence.

2. Omnipotence controlled by justice.

3. The omnipotence of justice.

1. The subjects of his peoples' joy. Not mercies merely, but judgments

2. Reasons: (a) Because they are holy —needful to the purity of moral government; (b) Just —needful to vindicate law; (c) Good —needful for the greatest amount of good.

1. What is to be understood by the preservation and protection of the church?

2. What is meant by searching into, and considering of, these causes and means of the church's preservation?

3. What are those causes and means of the church's preservation, those towers and bulwarks which will not fail?

4. What reason is there why we should thus search into and consider these causes of the church's preservation and protection?

5. What is the testimony which we have to give concerning this matter to the ensuing generation? John Owen's Sermon.

(first clause). This is the language of a proprietary in God: 1. Of an assured proprietary —"This God is our God." 2. Of a permanent proprietary —for ever and ever. 3. Of an exulting proprietary. W. Jay.

1. The language of discrimination. This God. This God in Christ, in the church.

2. The language of Faith —our God.

3. Of Hope —For ever and ever.

4. Of Resignation —He will be our guide, etc.