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Psalm 48

A song of the sons of Korah.

The Eternal is great and mighty, worthy of great praise
    in the city of our True God, upon His holy mountain.
Situated high above, Mount Zion is beautiful to see,
    the pleasure of the entire earth.
Mount Zion, in the north,[a]
    is the city of the great King.
In her palaces, the True God
    has revealed Himself as a mighty fortress.

Not long ago, enemy kings gathered together
    and moved forward as one to attack the city.
When they saw Mount Zion, they were amazed;
    amazement became fear, then panic. They fled for their lives.
They were overtaken by terror, trembling in anguish
    like a woman in childbirth.
God, You shattered the ships of Tarshish
    with the mighty east wind.
As we have heard stories of Your greatness,
    now we have also seen it with our own eyes
    right here, in the city of the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies.
Right here, in our God’s city,
    the True God will preserve her forever.

[pause][b]

We have meditated upon Your loyal love, O God,
    within Your holy temple.
10 Just as Your name reaches to the ends of the earth, O God,
    so Your praise flows there too;
Your right hand holds justice.
11 So because of Your judgments,
    may Mount Zion be delighted!
    May the villages of Judah celebrate!

12 Explore Zion; make an accounting,
    note all her towers;
13 Reflect upon her defenses;
    stroll through her palaces
So that you can tell the coming generation all about her.
14 For so is God,
    our True God, forever and ever;
    He will be our guide till the end.

Footnotes

  1. 48:2 Hebrew, zaphon
  2. 48:8 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”

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