Tap any verse number for what that verse means.
1Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
2Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
3God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
4For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
5They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
6Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
7Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
8As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
9We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
10According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
12Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
13Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
14For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
Understand This
Psalm 48, explained
What Psalm 48 is saying
Psalm 48 is a Zion song celebrating Jerusalem as God's holy mountain, 'beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth.' The psalm recounts an enemy assault that collapsed when kings saw the city and fled in terror—'they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.' The pilgrims are invited to walk around Zion, count her towers, and tell the next generation of God's unfailing defense.
The background behind it
The identification of Zion with 'the heights of Zaphon' (y'rkete tsafon) is theologically provocative: Zaphon was the sacred mountain of the Canaanite deity Baal. The psalm claims for YHWH's city the cosmic significance that Canaanite religion attributed to Baal's mountain.
Themes running underneath
The psalm develops a theology of sacred space: God's presence transforms a modest hilltop into the 'joy of the whole earth.' The military defeat is described in almost surreal terms—enemy kings flee in birth-pang terror simply upon seeing the city—emphasizing that Zion's defense is supernatural, not architectural.
Why it still matters
Psalm 48 challenges modern Christians to consider what it means that God's presence transforms places and communities. The instruction to 'tell the next generation' that 'this God is our God forever' emphasizes the responsibility to transmit living faith, not merely doctrinal information.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.