Psalm 48 "You’re Home Now!"

Great is the Lord! (v. 1-2)

Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

Jerusalem Walls Photo: Joshua Mitchell 2011

Beautiful in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
    the city of the Great King.

God is in her citadels;
    he has shown himself to be her fortress. (NIV)

Great is the Lord! Psalm 48 begins and ends with its focus on the Lord. Every time we gather as the people of God, our focus...beginning, end, and middle needs to be on the nature and character of Jesus Christ! Not only is he great, but he also faithfully guides us and protects us in his steadfast love! And, “He will guide us forever”(v.14).

What the Zaphon Are You Talking About?

The Sons of Korah, as gatekeepers in the temple, often used temple/Jerusalem/Zion imagery in the nearly a dozen psalms attributed to them (see Psalm 84:5-10 “I’d Rather be a Gatekeeper!) but what is this “heights of Zaphon” thing we find here? In v. 2 there is a translation issue that needs clarification. Is the word “Zaphon” a proper noun in that it is the name of a place or is it to be understood as simply meaning “north”? Surprisingly the normally solid ESV opts for “north” and has “Mount Zion in the far north” which makes no sense geographically since Zion is not in the far north, not even the northern part of Jerusalem. The Expositors’ Bible Commentary’s technical footnotes on Psalm 48 explain it like this.

The name "Zaphon" elsewhere may be translated straightforwardly as "north." But in this context, it is best to retain it as a proper name. Zaphon was to the Canaanites what Mount Olympus was to the Greeks. The Canaanites (Phoenicians) believed that the chief God of the pantheon, El, dwelt on Mount Zaphon. The psalmist is borrowing the imagery and not the theology. Zion is the holy mountain of God. (EBC, Vo;. 5, 363)

Here... Heaven and Earth Meet

Photo: Greg K.Dueker

In the ancient Near Eastern world, there was a luminous idea of a place where a man could meet with God (Mt. Zaphon). It became more than a mythical hope at the authentic Mt. Zion (Jerusalem), as was pointed out by the late Peter Craigie, “The psalmist affirms in effect, that the aspirations of all people for a place on earth where God’s presence could be experienced were fulfilled in Mt. Zion, the true Zaphon.”[1] Yet, centuries later at the transfiguration of Jesus, God made it clear that the meeting place between God and man was no longer a place, but a person to whom we should listen — Jesus Christ! Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand this as seen in this dialogue between Thomas and Jesus.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”[2]

The desire of the entire world for that place where they could meet with God was fulfilled at Mt. Zion, (a symbol of the true Church today). What Jesus did on the cross was for all people. He is the fulfillment of the deepest longing of their souls.

Photo: Greg K.Dueker

The Hebrew idiom "It is beautiful in its loftiness" appears only once in the Bible (an hapax legomenon) … The theological significance of this has been well expressed by A.A. Anderson: "It is here that, in a sense, heaven and earth meet".  (EBC, Vol. 5, 363)

In the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God, heaven came down to earth and assumed all of our sins and sorrow so that we might come back to the Father—both now and forever! In Christ, we are home in a way that is more real and relational than we could ever have imagined.

They Came, They Saw, and They Freaked (v.4-5)

"For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together.

                  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

                        they were in panic; they took to flight."

When the kings of enemy nations came, what was the "it" at which they were looking? It seems it was Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord in its midst. The work of God in and through his people is still a fearful sight to wicked rulers wherever/whenever they dwell. Commentators such as Craigie note that while “the world’s kings (v. 4) came to Jerusalem and saw one astounding thing (v.5); the pilgrim worshipers also came to Jerusalem and saw another thing (v. 8), though in a literal sense it was the same sight that met their eyes.” (Craigie, Psalms, 353)

Pondering His Steadfast Love (v.9-10)

“We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.” 

Do we pause to consider the greatness of God’s love, his steadfast love, available to us because of his sacrifice on our behalf? If not, let's start today! His redemptive plan reaches the ends of the earth. His praise should flow from us as we consider all of who he is: loving, righteous, strong, eternal...

It is always good to think about his steadfast love and since his righteous, loving character reaches the ends of the earth his praise reaches there too. I have the feeling this passage is suggesting the future salvation of the nations. For God's mysterious love is not just for one people (it's too light a thing—Isaiah 49:6) but for all peoples of the world!

As we think about his steadfast love it should fill and overflow from our hearts. How is the overflow of this praise/worship/love visible to the people we encounter on the road, in stores, in the neighborhood, and in our homes?

The Lord’s steadfast love (Heb. hesed) is always a good thing to think about and we should praise him from wherever we are…not just in the places considered holy!

In my spiritual formation classes, I ask my students to take a micro-retreat of just an hour without technology and get outside and walk around and look for ways that they can see God at work around them. This is what the Sons of Korah were asking the people of God to do. They were not merely to sing God’s praises and think about his steadfast love in the Temple (v.9-10) but they were told to walk around the city and see the strength of the walls and towers as a sign of God’s active work of protection for his people (v. 12-14).

How do we engage our whole being in worship and contemplation of God? How might we allow the things that God has made or provided to us to turn our eyes and hearts back to the Lord?

He will Guide Us Forever (v.11-14) 

     Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

 Walk about Zion, go around her,

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

    number her towers,
 consider well her ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
     that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will guide us forever.

What a wonderful reminder of God’s goodness toward his people. May we seek this promised guidance, together as the people of God, both now and always! 

He is our true home and in him, we are home now!

Here are a few other Bible verses for further reading:

• Matthew 11:27-29
• Luke 14:23
• John 14:1-3 
• Isaiah 19:23-25
• Hebrews 12:1-2
• 1 Peter 2:4-5
• Revelation 22:17
• Hebrews 2:14-18

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[1] Peter Craigie, Psalms Vol. 1 WBC, (Waco: TX, Word, 1983) 353.

[2] John 14:5-7