Psalm 48

Opening & Set Note

Welcome to Torah Today Ministries and our continuing series Tehillim Talks, our studies in the Psalms. In this episode, we look into the short psalm—Psalm 48, a love song for Jerusalem. But before we go any further, you’re probably distracted by what’s over my right shoulder.

We’re always looking for ways to enhance our set for these videos, and my young friend Gabe Balzano made, as you can see, a scale model of Noah’s Ark—complete with flag and anti-aircraft guns for those pesky pterodactyls that might come in for an attack. So thank you, Gabe. I promised I’d keep it on the set for the next video, and there it is.

Let’s get right into our study. I’m going to spend a little more time on the introduction to this psalm than on its body, since the psalm itself is self-explanatory—familiar, beautiful, and often sung in congregations and fellowships over the years. Psalm 48 is the psalm of the day for Monday, the second day of the week.

Why Psalm 48 Is for Monday

For each day of the week there is an assigned psalm read and prayed in daily services. For Monday, it is Psalm 48. Why this psalm—a love song for Jerusalem—on a Monday?

Monday is called “the day of division.” On the second day of creation God divided the waters above from the waters below, creating the firmament by division. It’s the only day of the six on which God did not say “It is good.” Everything He made was good, but He did not pronounce it so on Monday. On Tuesday He said “It is good” twice—a doubly blessed day.

So why is this “day of division,” this day without the spoken good, paired with a love song for Jerusalem?

Jerusalem Heals Division — Yerushalayim יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim)

One reason given is that Jerusalem is the place where division is healed. It is where God, who had in some measure separated Himself from humankind after Adam and Eve’s sin, chose to place His house and begin to dwell among people again. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the place where the division between God and man is healed.

At present the temple does not stand, but it will be rebuilt as the prophets foretell, and God will again dwell with man. The very name Yerushalayim invites reflection. Sometimes it’s thought to mean “city (‘ir עִיר) of shalom (peace),” a meaning we’ll encounter in this psalm. Yet there is a richer origin.

Name Roots — Shalem שָׁלֵם (Shalem) & Shalom שָׁלוֹם (Shalom)

The name arises from two Genesis passages. In Genesis 14:18, after Abraham returns from the war of the kings, he meets Melchizedek in the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Temple Mount: “And Melchizedek was king of Shalem.” If that sounds like shalom, you’re right. Shalom—peace—has at its root the idea of completeness and perfection. Peace in Hebraic thought doesn’t mean absence of conflict but something brought to completion. When the artist’s work is finished, the artist rests; so shalom means wholeness and fulfillment.

Later, in Genesis 22, God tells Abraham to take Isaac to Mount Moriah—the Temple Mount—and offer him there. At the end, the angel reveals the ram caught in the thicket, and the ram is offered in Isaac’s place. Then verse 14 says: “Abraham called the name of that place Adonai Yir’eh (אֲדֹנָי יִרְאֶה) – ‘Adonai will be seen.’”

Many centuries later Messiah appeared on that mount and was crucified there—God’s offering of His own Son was seen. Combine Yir’eh (“will be seen”) with Shalem (“peace, completeness”) and you get Yerushalayim—the city where God is seen and peace is complete.

Melchizedek מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק (Malki-Tzedek) and Messiah

Abraham meets Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, King of Shalem. They share bread and wine, and Abraham pays tithes to him—the lesser to the greater. Melchizedek is a type of Messiah (Hebrews 7). In both names—Yir’eh and Shalem—we see portraits of the Redeemer.

Psalm 48, this love song for Jerusalem, is therefore sung on Monday, the day of division, because Jerusalem is where division is healed.

Psalm Text and City Terms

This is a song—a Psalm of the Sons of Korah. We have one more by them (Psalm 49). It begins:
“Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised in the city of our God.”

That might sound strange, because you’ve heard “city of our God,” but two Hebrew words are used here: ‘ir עִיר (“town”) and kirya קִרְיָה (“city”). Some say ‘ir can mean a quarter of a town. If you translate both as “city,” that’s fine; the distinction is subtle. Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of all the earth—Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King.

Mount Zion צִיּוֹן (Tziyon) and “The Far North” — Tsafon צָפוֹן (Tsafon)

“The far north” translates literally as “the thigh of the north,” from tsafon (also meaning “hidden”). Think of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man—arms outstretched in a circle—the center at the thighs, the focal point. Jerusalem is likewise the focal point of the earth.

Within her citadels God has made Himself known as a fortress. We usually think of walls as the fortress, but the verse says God Himself is the fortress. As long as Jerusalem’s people saw God as their protector, their walls stood firm; when they trusted the walls instead of Him, they fell.

God as Fortress, Not the Walls

Though it may look to others as if our strength comes from our own abilities or intellect, we must remember that God is our source, protector, and provider. When we focus on Him, our hands accomplish what they should, our minds remain clear, and our lives align with His purposes. He is the Be-er; we are the be-ing. He is the Singer; we are the song. Forget that, and everything crumbles.

The Kings Flee — Prophecy of Gog u-Magog גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג

“Behold, the kings assembled; they came on together. When they saw it they were astounded, in panic, they fled. Trembling took hold of them, anguish as of a woman in labor, like an east wind that shatters the ships of Tarshish.”

Rabbis debate the event described—some see Assyria’s failed attack on Jerusalem; others see a prophecy of the coming war of Gog and Magog. I favor the latter. Future events are often written in the past tense in Hebrew and Greek scripture—a prophetic perfect—so this scene can be read as yet to come.

“As We Have Heard, So We Have Seen” — Ka’asher Shamanu Ken Ra’inu כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְנוּ כֵּן רָאִינוּ

“As we have heard, so have we seen.” (Ka’asher shamanu ken ra’inu.) A profound principle: we think seeing is believing, but biblically believing is seeing. “Taste and see that Adonai is good.” You must trust before you perceive. Physical light enters through the eyes; spiritual light through the ears—faith comes by hearing.

Hearing and Obeying — Shema שְׁמַע (Shema)

The verb shamanu (“we have heard”) comes from shema (“hear/obey”). Thus we can render it: “As we hear and obey, so we see.” Trust what God says; act on it; your spiritual vision will sharpen.

“In the city of Adonai of Hosts, the city of our God, which God will establish forever.” Despite voices claiming God is finished with Jerusalem, that is nonsense. Jerusalem is the city of our great God and will stand forever.

God’s Chesed חֶסֶד (Chesed) and Universal Worship

“We have thought on Your steadfast love (chesed), O God, in the midst of Your temple. As Your name, O God, so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.”

This is happening now and will yet happen more fully. God’s name will be known throughout the earth and praise rise from every end. Isaiah 56:6-7 speaks of this: foreigners who join themselves to Adonai, love His name, and keep the Sabbath will be brought to His holy mountain; their offerings accepted, for “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

These are not converts alone but the nations themselves coming to worship Him.

Daughters of Judah and Walking Zion

“Let Mount Zion be glad; let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments.”

“Daughters of Judah” can mean the women of the region or the small towns surrounding Jerusalem—since ‘ir (city) is feminine, its satellites are “daughters.”

“Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider her ramparts, go through her citadels so that you may tell the next generation.” The phrase “next generation” is sometimes read “last generation.”

“This is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us beyond death.” The phrase beyond death is al-mut עַל־מוּת (al-mut), literally “upon death”

Guidance Beyond Death — Al-Mut עַל־מוּת (Al-Mut)

He will guide us beyond death.
The Hebrew phrase al-mut literally means “upon death” or “beyond death.” Translators debate whether it should be read as two words (al mut) or as one compound term, yet the best rendering is “beyond death.”

So, why are we told to walk about Zion, number her towers, consider her ramparts, go through her citadels, so that you may tell the next generation?

Walking About Zion

Jerusalem is a breathtaking city, especially when seen from within her walls. But her beauty is not only architectural—it is spiritual. Every step seems to echo history and holiness. You could almost say the city is “haunted by the Holy Spirit.”

When you walk there, looking at the stones, the streets, the towers, and the homes, you sense a closeness to God Himself. Though your physical eyes fall upon stones, the eyes of your spirit rest upon God and His faithfulness.

Jerusalem’s Miraculous Continuance

There is no logical reason under the sun why this city should still exist. Yet God promised from the earliest days that it would endure.

Abraham said, “On the mountain Adonai will be seen.” And though Jerusalem has been attacked, destroyed, and rebuilt countless times—and though the Temple no longer stands upon the Mount—it still endures.

Jerusalem continues because God decreed it so.

The Future of the City of the Great King

It is the city of the great King. The prophets assure us that Messiah will return to the Mount of Olives on the east and will enter His city in triumph. When you look at the stones of Jerusalem, you can almost see God’s unfolding plan written in them.

That, to me, is what these verses mean: as you walk through Zion and look upon her ramparts, you see the evidence of God’s faithfulness and His future promises.

Closing Blessing

Let me know what these verses mean to you.

And so—until next time in Psalm 49—I wish you Shalom, and may God bless.