beautiful (literally or figuratively) · adjective, masculine singular construct
situation
נוֹף֮nOf
H5131
elevation · noun, common masculine singular absolute
joy
מְשׂ֪וֹשׂme.Sos
H4885
delight · noun, common masculine singular construct
earth
הָ֫אָ֥רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
mount
הַרhar-
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · noun, common masculine singular construct
Zion
צִ֭יּוֹןTzi.yon
H6726
Tsijon (as a permanent capital) · proper noun, a place name
sides
יַרְכְּתֵ֣יyar.ke.Tei
H3411
properly · noun, common feminine dual construct
north
צָפ֑וֹןtza.Fon
H6828
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
city
קִ֝רְיַ֗תkir.Yat
H7151
building · noun, common feminine singular construct
great
רָֽבRav
H7227
abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine singular absolute
King
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Matthew 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Lamentations 2:15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call…
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount…
Ezekiel 20:6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing wi…
Daniel 11:16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land,…
Psalms 47:7-8 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 48:1-7
The psalmist is designing to praise Jerusalem and to set forth the grandeur of that city; but he begins with the praises of God and his greatness (Psa 48:1), and ends with the praises of God and his goodness, Psa 48:14. For, whatever is the subject of our praises, God must be both the Alpha and Omega of them. And, particularly, whatever is said to the honour of the church must redound to the honour of the church's God.
What is here said to the honour of Jerusalem is,
I. That the King of heaven owns it: it is the city of our God (Psa 48:1), which he chose out of all the cities of Israel to put his name there. Of Zion he said kinder things than ever he said of place upon earth. This is my rest…
situation--literally, "elevation."
joy of, &c.--source of joy.
sides of the north--poetically for eminent, lofty, distinguished, as the ancients believed the north to be the highest part of the earth (compare Isa 14:13).
John Gill on Psalms 48:2
Beautiful for situation,.... This, and what follows, are said of the city of God, the city of Jerusalem, which was delightfully situated on an eminence, in a wholesome air; the brook Kidron gliding by it, the water of Siloah running through it or at least through some parts of it; fields and gardens adjoining to it, and mountains all around it: and so the church of Christ is built upon him, the Rock; the river of divine love runs by it, the streams whereof make it glad; the green pastures of the word and ordinances are in it; and salvation is as walls and bulwarks about it; and so healthful is it, that the inhabitants have no reason to say they are sick, since the people that dwell therein h…
Psalm 48:1-3
1. Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3. God in her palaces is known for a defence, [or fortress.]
1. Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised. The prophet, before proceeding to make mention of that special example of the favor of God towards them, to which I have adverted, teaches in general that the city of Jerusalem was happy and prosperous, because God had been graciously pleased to take upon him the charge of defending and preserving it. In this way he separates and distinguishes…
The Church Fathers
Joy is rooted in Christ.… His root is God the Word, which is in himself.
Truly the Lord is called great. For consider, he has poured exaltation and joy over all the orb of this earth where previously the land produced the most dreadful growth of sin; he has made joyful the earth that once abounded in sorrow, tears and groans. Now our conscience is set free from sin and can rejoice. Before this it was unhappy, it was drowned in the whirlpool of its own sin; but now, through the goodness and kindness of Christ, it is absolved from all error.
For what reason, tell me, does he now mention the north and describe to us the location of the place? Because from that quarter war generally broke out with the invasion of savages, and generally the inspired authors mention it, calling it "from the north," and speak in terms of a cauldron boiling from that direction.… This city generally vulnerable from that quarter you made impregnable. In other words, just as if someone were to say about the body, "That weak part I made stronger," he too is suggesting the same in this verse in the words, "The quarters from which come wailing and weeping," the basis of disasters, these parts run over with satisfaction, with tranquility; [the place from which] come threats and fears and dangers, [from them come] delight and happiness. No one any longer fears that northern part of creation, no one is anguished, no one is suspicious. All enjoy happiness, for you root it in satisfaction.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Cities · Built: In pleasant situations — Built: In pleasant situations
Excellency And Glory Of The Church, The · Consist in its: Eminent position — Consist in its: Eminent position
Jerusalem · .CITY OF THE GREAT KING — .CITY OF THE GREAT KING
Zion · worship — worship
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
(Heb.: 48:2-9) Viewed as to the nature of its subject-matter, the Psalm divides itself into three parts. We begin by considering the three strophes of the first part. The middle strophe presents an instance of the rising and falling caesural schema. Because Jahve has most marvellously delivered Jerusalem, the poet begins with the praise of the great King and of His Holy City. Great and praised according to His due (מהלּל as in Psa 18:4) is He in her, is He upon His holy mountain, which there is His habitation. Next follow, in Psa 48:3, two predicates of a threefold, or fundamentally only twofold, subject; for ירכּתי צפון, in whatever way it may be understood, is in apposition to הר־ציּון. Th…
Ps 48 This song of Zion (see also Pss 46, 76, 87, 122) explicitly views Jerusalem (Zion) as the city of the Great King where the godly find protection (48:1-3). God rules from Zion in faithfulness, righteousness, and justice, and he inspires his subjects with confidence and joy (48:9-11). They commit themselves to seeing the glory of Zion for themselves so that they can tell the next generation about it (48:8, 12-14).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 48:2
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Beautiful for situation. Jerusalem was so naturally, she was styled the Queen of the East; the church is so spiritually, being placed near God's heart, within the mountain of his power, upon the hills of his faithfulness, in the centre of providential operations. The elevation of the church is her beauty. The more she is above the world the fairer she is. The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion. Jerusalem was the world's star; whatever light lingered on earth was borrowed from the oracles preserved by Israel. An ardent Israelite would esteem the holy city as the eye of…
