The Indefensible City Text: Psalm 48:1-3
Introduction: A Tale of Two Cities
The history of the world, as Augustine taught us so many centuries ago, is the history of two cities. There is the City of Man, built on the love of self to the contempt of God, and there is the City of God, built on the love of God to the contempt of self. These two cities are engaged in a war that spans all of history, and every man, woman, and child is a citizen of one or the other. You are either building Babel or you are a living stone in the New Jerusalem. There is no neutral territory, no Switzerland in this conflict.
Our modern secular age is desperately trying to convince us that the City of Man is the only one that exists. It is a city of gleaming towers, of technological prowess, of autonomous man as the measure of all things. It promises safety in its regulations, prosperity in its materialism, and salvation in its politics. But it is a city with no foundation, a city built on the shifting sands of human opinion, and its end is ruin. It is a city that is, at bottom, terrified. It is a city that must defend itself with an ever-increasing array of laws, surveillance, and bureaucratic machinery because it knows, deep down, that it is vulnerable. It has no king but Caesar, and Caesar is a frightened little man.
Into this context, Psalm 48 arrives like a thunderclap. It is a song about the other city, the City of God. And the central theme of this psalm is the absolute security of that city. It is a song of triumph, a song of confidence, a song that tells us that the City of God is impregnable, not because of its high walls or its mighty armies, but because of the God who dwells within her. This psalm is not just about ancient Jerusalem, a city of stone and mortar. The New Testament teaches us to see the fulfillment of all that Jerusalem represented in the Christian Church (Gal. 4:26, Heb. 12:22). We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are citizens of the heavenly Zion. This psalm, therefore, is about us. It is about our identity, our security, and our joy.
The world looks at the church and sees weakness. It sees a scattered people, a divided institution, a relic of a bygone era. But God looks at the church and sees the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great King, a fortress that cannot be breached. We must learn to see the church as God sees her, and this psalm is our tutor.
The Text
Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised,
In the city of our God, His holy mountain.
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The city of the great King.
God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a stronghold.
(Psalm 48:1-3)
The Greatness of God and His Geographic Praise (v. 1)
The psalm begins where all true theology must begin, not with man and his needs, but with God and His glory.
"Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain." (Psalm 48:1)
The first declaration is an objective reality: "Great is Yahweh." This is not a statement of personal feeling or subjective experience. It is a declaration of fact, as solid as the laws of physics. Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel, is great. His greatness is not contingent on our recognition of it. He is great whether men praise Him or curse Him. But the proper response to this objective greatness is praise. Because He is great, He is "greatly to be praised."
Notice the connection. His greatness is the foundation, and our praise is the superstructure. Our worship is not what makes God great; it is the fitting, appropriate, and necessary response to the greatness that is already inherent in Him. A generation that has been taught to think of worship as something that serves our emotional needs must relearn this fundamental truth. We do not praise God to feel better; we praise God because He is worthy.
But this praise is not a disembodied, abstract affair. It has a location. It is to happen "in the city of our God, His holy mountain." In the Old Covenant, this was a specific geographical spot: Jerusalem. This was the place where God chose to put His name. It was the center of the world, the place where heaven and earth met in the temple. This was not a matter of indifference. God cares about place. He commands His worship to be embodied, corporate, and located. This strikes at the heart of that modern, gnostic notion of a "personal" faith that has no public or corporate expression. The Bible knows nothing of a solitary Christian faith. Our faith is civic. We are citizens of a city, and our praise is the public life of that city.
For us, under the New Covenant, that city is the Church. We gather on the Lord's Day, and when we do, we ascend to the heavenly Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22). Our praise is located in the assembly of the saints. The greatness of God is to be declared and celebrated when His people gather together as the visible manifestation of His city on earth. This is where God has promised to be, and this is where our praise must be centered.
The Beauty and Joy of Zion (v. 2)
The psalmist then turns to describe the city itself, and he does so in glorious terms.
"Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King." (Psalm 48:2)
The city is described as "beautiful in elevation." This is not just about aesthetics or a nice view. The elevation signifies its prominence and its security. But more than that, in Scripture, mountains are places of divine revelation and authority. God gave the law on a mountain. Jesus preached His great sermon on a mountain. The city of God is set on a hill, and it cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14). The church's beauty is her high calling, her divine authority, her elevated status as the embassy of the kingdom of heaven.
This city is also "the joy of the whole earth." This is a staggering, postmillennial claim. The psalmist is not saying it is the joy of Israel only, but of the entire planet. This was a prophecy that could only find its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The earthly Jerusalem was never the joy of the whole earth; it was often despised and attacked. But the Church, the new and true Jerusalem, is the instrument through which God is bringing His saving joy to every tribe, tongue, and nation. The gospel that goes out from the church is the only true source of lasting joy for this fallen world. As the church fulfills her commission, the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea, and with it, true joy.
The reference to "the far north" is fascinating. Geographically, Mount Zion was not in the far north of Israel. This is theological geography. In ancient pagan mythologies, particularly among the Canaanites, the gods were thought to dwell on a great mountain in the far north. The psalmist here is engaging in polemics. He is hijacking the address of the pagan gods and declaring that the true King, Yahweh, has established His capital there. He is saying, "Your gods are squatters. The real King has taken His throne." This is a declaration of cosmic victory. Christ has ascended, and He has dispossessed all rival lords.
And finally, it is "the city of the great King." A city is defined by its ruler. The glory of Jerusalem was not in its stones but in its King. The glory of the church is not in her programs, her buildings, or her people, but in her King, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not a petty tribal chieftain; He is the great King, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. His presence is what makes the city beautiful, joyful, and secure.
The Known Refuge (v. 3)
The source of the city's security is made explicit in the third verse.
"God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold." (Psalm 48:3)
The security of the city is not found in its fortifications, but in its God. Notice where God is: "in her palaces." He is not a distant, absentee landlord. He dwells in the midst of His people, in the halls of power, in the center of their civic life. For the church, this means Christ is present with His people, ruling and reigning in their midst. The palaces represent the leadership and authority structures of the city. The elders and rulers of God's people are to be those who know, firsthand, that God is their only true defense.
And what is He known as? "A stronghold." The Hebrew word suggests a high place, a secure refuge, a place inaccessible to the enemy. This is not a theoretical knowledge. God has "made Himself known" as this. This implies a history of deliverance. The people of God know He is a stronghold because they have a record of His saving acts. They have seen Him scatter their enemies. They have run to Him for safety and have never been disappointed.
This is a crucial lesson for the church today. Our security does not lie in political maneuvering, in cultural accommodation, or in financial strength. Our security lies in the demonstrated, historical reality of God's faithfulness. He has made Himself known. The cross and the empty tomb are the ultimate demonstration that God is our stronghold. The gates of Hell cannot prevail against the church because the God who conquered sin, death, and Hell has taken up residence within her.
Conclusion: Citizens of an Unshakeable Kingdom
These three verses lay the foundation for our identity as Christians. We are not isolated individuals trying to live a good life in a hostile world. We are citizens of a great city. We belong to a kingdom.
This city is centered on the greatness of God, and our primary civic duty is praise. It is a city that is beautiful, destined to be the joy of the whole earth as the gospel goes forth in victory. It is the capital city of the great King, Jesus Christ. And it is an utterly secure city, a stronghold, because God Himself is our defense.
Therefore, we are not to live with a siege mentality, cowering behind our walls, hoping the world will leave us alone. We are to live with the confidence of those who inhabit an indefensible city, a city that cannot fall. The world may rage against it, as the rest of the psalm describes, but they will be confounded. Their attacks will come to nothing.
We are citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). Our task is to live like it. We are to be filled with joy, not fear. We are to be bold in our proclamation, not timid. We are to engage in the public life of this city through faithful worship and obedience. We must know our God, not just as a theological concept, but as He has made Himself known, as our stronghold. Let us, therefore, praise Him greatly in the city of our God, for He is our God forever and ever, and He will be our guide even to the end.