Psalm 48:4-8 Boasting over the Lord's Victory

The scripture plainly teaches believers a simple truth: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17; cf Jeremiah 9:23-24). The Sons of Korah give us a great example of this in Psalm 48. If you missed the first lesson yesterday, please check that out before continuing. Otherwise…

Please read Psalm 48:4-8.

The title “Sons of Korah” does not refer to a specific set of siblings, but to a group of poets in the service of the king. It is impossible to know the actual author of this psalm, just as it is impossible to know exactly when it was written. As he wrote these verses, the psalmist was surely describing a recent event in his history. However, we cannot know for certain to which event he was referring. Some have suggested one Old Testament battle, and others another, but we cannot know for sure.

What we do know is that multiple kings “assembled; they came on together” in order to attack God’s Holy City. For whatever reason, these powerful men thought that, united, they could overpower God's people and take His treasures for their own.

However, they were not victorious. God routed His enemies on the battlefield. They came with confidence, ready to lay a brief siege to a city, before conquering their enemies. But they left “astounded,” “in a panic,” “trembling,” and in “anguish as of a woman in labor.”

What caused this massive shift in their demeanor? The psalmist says that these kings “saw it,” referring to the city. But why should this surprise them? They knew what the city looked like. It’s not like they came ready for battle, expecting a small fort, and were astounded when they saw fortified walls filled with soldiers.

No, they came ready for a fight against human soldiers, and were not deterred by Jerusalem’s human defenses. As the psalmist makes clear about Jerusalem in verse 8, “God will establish [it] forever.” It was God who caused a panic; God who caused His enemies to tremble; God who made them scream and suffer like a woman in labor. Except their labor will not bear a child; their labor will end in death. They came ready to defeat God's people, but they were not prepared to take on God Himself, who fights on behalf of His chosen people.

The psalmist pauses after making this point with a “selah” to soak in what he has just written. God has deterred his enemies from their wicked plot, and God deserves all the glory. There were surely soldiers who fought for Jerusalem—maybe even some brave soldiers who died in the battle—but God was the ultimate source of their victory. As God has defeated their enemies, Jerusalem should give God all the glory.

When our enemies are defeated, we must also remember that it is not through our own strength. Our enemies may attack us again and again. They may even be stronger than us, more cunning, and more capable to win the fight. But greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world! Let him who boasts boast in the Lord!