My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psa. 48:0 ¶ A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
Psa. 48:1 ¶ Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain,
Psa. 48:2 beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
Psa. 48:3 Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
Psalm 48, by many accounts, continues a response from the people of God concerning the deliverance that was described in Psalm 46. Personally, I lean to the deliverance that is referred to during the time of Sennacherib’s attempted invasion of Israel (under Hezekiah), but some consider the attack from the kings of Ammon and Moab (2 Chronicles 20:1, 10) to be the historical deliverance of Israel (under Jehoshaphat) referred to in this psalm.
I will not enter any argument for either, except to say that Israel experienced multiple time of deliverance, multiple times where the Great King protected Hs people.
He is the subject of this Psalm, though it’s focus appears to be the City of the Great King, that city would be nothing if it weren’t for the presence of the Great King. As mentioned above, the City had experienced deliverance multiple times, seen great provisions and protection, found a steady help and constant refuge in the city, all due to the presence of the King.
Did the inhabitants feel His presence every day, every minute? Did they sense this protection, this Great King personally overseeing and guarding His people. Obviously not, since both attacks from the enemies caused the population to enter into stress mode, finding relief only after their deliverance. After being delivered in such a way as to be obviously from Him.
The psalmist states it beautifully – He made Himself known.
He was present in the City, overseeing that which was required, and quietly expressing His care for those who were, at least sometimes unaware of His personal intervention, His personal oversight.
Not only is He watching, this psalm speaks of His presence being a refuge for the people, a fortress. The term for fortress in this psalm is also found in Psalm 46.
Psalm 46:7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
The refrain in Psalm 46 speaks of the results of His being made known. In Psalm 48, He is made known by the response of the enemy, by the historical results of the defense provided to the City that was otherworldly. He manifested His presence in the deliverance of His people against an attack.
He was there at all times. The attack brought about the realization of His presence.
As we go through our day, we spend much of it “taking care of business”, occupied with activities we need to concentrate on, tasks that need our focus and concentration. Sometimes this continual stress of meeting deadlines, of satisfying expectations, of providing a service to others, of being a blessing to those in need (and we are all in need!) becomes all we experience. All of this activity, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, becomes the only thing we live in, and yet He is in the midst of it.
Surely He does not reveal Himself to our senses 24/7, for He is not our personal servant, waiting only to satisfy our wants and wishes, to remove our discomforts and concerns. At times He may seem distant, He may seem far off and not actively working in our lives, but He is our fortress. He is our refuge.
We need only to listen for His voice, wait on Him for guidance, ask for His direction and will. At the point when we reach out, whether there be enemies at the door, or we are just consumed in a daily grind, He will reveal Himself. He will reveal Himself in a quiet still voice, a quiet presence that calms the heart, assuring those who seek Him that He is there.
For He is good, all the time.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.
Considering the Bible 
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