Psalms 46-48
Dear RTB’ers,
No doubt, thousand of scholars (possibly hundreds of thousands) have studied the Psalms through the years. I am not one of them. The Psalms are difficult for me. Maybe it’s poetry, in general? Maybe it’s an unknown context for which a particular psalm was written? Maybe it’s a metaphorical tool used by many psalms to speak of the God whom they can never fully know? For whatever reason, I find the Psalms to be difficult. It’s why John and I focused on the Psalms and the Wisdom literature back in 2022, to help us (me!) get a better grip on this more difficult literature. However, returning a few years later, I am not much wiser and the Psalms remain difficult for me.
So, what of today’s reading? Both STS and my Study Bible suggest that these three psalms form a trilogy, with the praise of Psalm 47 in the middle connecting the other two psalms. Psalms 46 and 48 both speak of the city of (our) God …the city of the great King… the city of the Lord of Hosts… (vv. 46:1, 4; 48:1, 2, 8), presumably Jerusalem. Or possibly a later heavenly Jerusalem? A bulwark against all enemies! God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. Within her citadels. God has made Himself known as a fortress. (vv. 46:5a, 48:3) But Jerusalem was destroyed – in Jeremiah’s time (the Exile) by the Babylonians and again in A.D. 70 by the Romans. So, these two psalms must be speaking of the future heavenly Jerusalem? Yes, I am not a Psalms scholar!
There is one verse, however, that I can read and understand more clearly: Be still, and know that I am God .. I will be exalted in the earth. (v. 46:10) Yes, that I understand. Be still…
Blessings!
Fred