Psalm 48
The Security of the King’s Holy City
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A song. A psalm by the Sons of Korah.
Call to Praise
1 The Lord is great. He deserves to be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
2 His mountain is lofty and beautiful, the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion, the northern mountain, is the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels.
He is famous as her fortress.
Defeat of the Enemies
4 Look! See! The kings came together.
They advanced together.
5 They saw. Yes, they were amazed.
They were terrified. They were put to flight.
6 Trembling seized them there,
pain like a woman giving birth.
7 You shattered them with an east wind, like ships of Tarshish.
Thanksgiving
8 What we have heard, we now have also seen:
In the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God, Interlude
God establishes her forever.
9 Inside your temple, O God, we meditate on your mercy.
10 Your praise, O God, reaches to the ends of the earth,
just as your fame does.
Righteousness fills your right hand.
11 Mount Zion rejoices.
The daughters of Judah[a] celebrate because of your judgments.
12 Go around Zion. Yes, go all the way around her.
Count her towers. 13 Consider her rampart.[b]
View her citadels, so that you may tell the next generation about them.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us beyond death.[c]
Footnotes
- Psalm 48:11 That is, the towns around Jerusalem and their inhabitants
- Psalm 48:13 Or moat
- Psalm 48:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts read guide us forever.