Big Idea: Jerusalem, like Jerusalem’s God, generates awe in her worshipers and terror in her enemies.

Understanding the Text

Like Psalms 46 and 47, Psalm 48 is a hymn that belongs to the subcategory of Zion songs (Pss. 46; 47; 48; 76; 84; 87; 122). It is an appropriate companion to Psalm 47 in that Psalm 47 is addressed to the nations, acclaiming Yahweh as King of the nations and announcing God’s kingly acclamation. Psalm 48 idealizes Mount Zion (Jerusalem), but it capitalizes on the fact that Mount Zion is the “city of our God” (48:1) and that God is there (“in her citadels,” 48:3). Further, Psalm 48 parades the kings of the nations past Jerusalem, perhaps looking at the city from the Central Highway, and the very sight of its impregnable defenses sent the kings fleeing in terror (48:…