Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 48
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 48
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 48
"Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, in his holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is mount Zion, [on] the sides of the north, The city of the great King. God hath made himself known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together. They saw it, then were they amazed; They were dismayed, they hasted away. Trembling took hold of them there, Pain, as of a woman in travail. With the east wind Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish." — Psalms 48:1-7 (ASV)
Jerusalem is the city of our God: none on earth render Him due honor except the citizens of the spiritual Jerusalem. Happy is the kingdom, the city, the family, the heart, in which God is great, in which He is all. There God is known. The clearer the revelations of the Lord and His greatness are made to us, 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. The whole earth has reason to rejoice that God would thus indeed dwell with humankind upon the earth.
The kings of the earth were afraid of it. Nothing in nature can more aptly 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.
"As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of Jehovah of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of thy temple. As is thy name, O God, So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her; Number the towers thereof; Mark ye well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces: That ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide [even] unto death. " — Psalms 48:8-14 (ASV)
Here we see the application that God's people are to make of His glorious and gracious appearances on their behalf. Let our faith in the word of God be confirmed by this. Let our hope for 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 God the glory for 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, so that you may be encouraged to join yourselves to it and to 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 end. He will so guide us as to set us above the reach of death, so that it will not do us any real hurt. He will lead us to a life in which there will be no more death.
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