The City of God
Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor. Psalm 48:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Terror gripped the enemies so completely that they experienced physical agony—shaking, pain, and complete loss of control, like someone in labor.
The writer is describing how overwhelming the fear became for the attacking armies. The image of labor pain captures something involuntary and intense—these soldiers had no power to stop their panic or control their bodies' response to witnessing God's power.
The worship leader, painting a vivid picture of the enemies' collapse and suffering.
You see this recurring theme in Scripture: when people encounter God's judgment, their confidence crumbles. It's not a pretty thing, but it's part of how God protects His people and demonstrates that He's serious about justice.
Terror gripped the invaders with such intensity that they experienced convulsive, life-threatening anguish comparable to a woman's labor pains.
The Hebrew חִיל (chil) and רְעָדָה (rəʿadah) denote both physical trembling and psychological disintegration. The simile to childbirth labor (כַּיּוֹלֵדָה—kayeladah) employs visceral embodied imagery; Hebrew literature uses this comparison precisely because it conveys overwhelming, involuntary suffering (see Isaiah 13:8 and Jeremiah 4:31). This verse moves beyond mere military fear to depict existential dissolution—the enemy's fundamental coherence unravels in the face of perceived divine opposition.
The narrator describing the psychological and physical collapse of the invading forces.
This anticipates New Testament language about the 'labor pains' of God's kingdom breaking into history (Matthew 24:8; Romans 8:22), reframing human fear in the context of cosmic redemptive conflict where Satan's apparent strength dissolves before God's sovereign purpose.
4For behold, the kings assembled; they all advanced together.
5They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.
6Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.
7With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
8As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD of Hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish her forever.
Read all of Psalm 48 — Mount Zion, beautiful in elevation — the joy of the whole earth. A love letter to the city where God chose to dwell.
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