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. Psalm 46 and Psalm 48 both speak of the city of (our) God … the city of the great King … the city of the Lord of Hosts … (Ps. 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!
See also: