Psa 48:1, 3, 132:13-14, Eze 48:35 | JFB | STEP | 1. to be praised-- always: it is an epithet, as in . mountain of his holiness-- His Church (compare , ; 25:6, ); the sanctuary was erected first on Mount Zion, then (as the temple) on Moriah; hence the figure.

‏ Psalms 48:1

PSALM 48

Psa 48:1-14. This is a spirited Psalm and song (compare Psa 30:1), having probably been suggested by the same occasion as the foregoing. It sets forth the privileges and blessings of God's spiritual dominion as the terror of the wicked and joy of the righteous.

1. to be praised--always: it is an epithet, as in Psa 18:3.

mountain of his holiness--His Church (compare Is 2:2, 3; 25:6, 7, 10); the sanctuary was erected first on Mount Zion, then (as the temple) on Moriah; hence the figure.

‏ Psalms 48:3

2-3. 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 Is 14:13).

‏ Psalms 132:13-14

13. is made on the ground of God's choice of Zion (here used for Jerusalem) as His dwelling, inasmuch as the prosperity of the kingdom was connected with that of the Church (Psa 122:8, 9).

14-18. That choice is expressed in God's words, "I will sit" or "dwell," or sit enthroned. The joy of the people springs from the blessings of His grace, conferred through the medium of the priesthood.

‏ Ezekiel 48:35

35. Lord is there--Jehovah-Shammah. Not that the city will be called so in mere name, but that the reality will be best expressed by this descriptive title (Jr 3:17; 33:16; Zec 2:10; Re 21:3; 22:3).