RRB notes on Psalm 48

Psalms 48 KJV

A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah.

1. Great is the LORD, 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. [1] 

[1] Verse 1 could have reference to earthly Jerusalem on earthly Mount Zion, but verse 2 could not possibly be under any circumstances. There are no “palaces” (vs. 3) on Mount Zion in earthly Jerusalem. The “mount Zion” of verse 2 is not in Palestine; it is “on the sides of the north,” which is located above the clouds and the stars (Isa. 14:13-14). “The city of the great King” is the “mount Sion” of Hebrews 12:22, where “the heavenly Jerusalem” is located “above” (Gal. 4:26) in “the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2). There are two Mount Zions and two Jerusalems in the Scriptures, and if you aren’t “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), you will end up a destructive critic of the Bible instead of a “workman that needeth not to be ashamed.”

3. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

4. For, lo, the kings were assembled, [a] they passed by together.

[a] Second Advent (Psa. 2:2; Rev. 16:12-14).

5. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.

6. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

7. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

8. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

9. We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

10. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.

11. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

12. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.

13. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

14. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

 RRB notes on Psalm 17

Psalms 17 KJV

A Prayer of David.

1. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.

3. Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

4. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

7. Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

8. Keep me as the apple [1] of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, [a]

[1] “The apple” (אִישׁוֹן) is literally “the little man.” “The little man of the eye” is a reference to the pupil. Cases like this are called “dynamic equivalents.”

[a] Figurative expressions (see App. 104 and note on Psa. 6:6).

9. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

10. They are inclosed in their own fat: [b] with their mouth they speak proudly.

[b] See Judg. 3:17; Job 15:27.

11. They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;

12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. [c] 

[c] The Antichrist (1 Pet. 5:8; Job 10:16; Psa. 91:13; Jer. 25:38).

13. Arise, O LORD, [d] disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

[d] Second Advent (Psa. 44:23, 7:6, 9:19, 10:12, 74:22, 82:8, 132:8, etc.).

14. From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, [e] and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

[e] Cf. Job 10:18.

15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. [2]

[2] These were the last words that George Whitfield breathed before he died in Newburyport, Massachusetts (1770). After repeating the verse several times, he finished with a sigh and the words “I shall be satisfied.” Then after a pause, “satisfied.” That’s how he ended his life.

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Appendix 104 – Figurative Expressions

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Note on Psa. 6:6 KJV I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; [1] I water my couch with my tears. [a]

[1] Notice the figurative language (see note on Job 21:24). Figurative speech is very common in the Bible, and our language is rich with it (see App. 104). The hermeneutical rule is solid: always take the Bible absolutely literally if it’s possible to take it literally; if a passage is absolutely impossible to take literally, then and only then can you take it figuratively (Matt. 26:27-28).

[a] Like Job (Job 7:3-4, 13-15, 16:16, 20, 23:2).