The Gospel of Psalm
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain.
Fair and beautiful in elevation, the joy of all the earth, Is Mount Zion [the City of David] in the far north, The city of the great King.
God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold.
For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They [came and] passed by together.
They saw it, then they were amazed; They were stricken with terror, they fled in alarm.
Panic seized them there, And pain, as that of a woman in childbirth.
With the east wind You shattered the ships of Tarshish.
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 her forever. Selah.
We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple.
As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness (rightness, justice).
Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your [righteous] judgments.
Walk about Zion, go all around her; Count her towers,
Consider her ramparts, Go through her palaces, That you may tell the next generation [about her glory].
For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even until death.
Content source: Amplified Version of the Holy Bible.
Image source: Our media Team
This psalm exalts the glory of God in Zion. The city of Sion, which was the center of Jewish worship, prefigures the NT church established throughout the land. This psalm is frequently read on Sunday when the birth of the church is celebrated. Jesus declared that the great King was God. Here we also highlight the use of the metaphor commonly used in Hebrew literature and that expresses a sudden calamity.
It also highlights the strength of God, whose walls protect us in all periods of life.