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PSALM 48

A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1. Great is jehovah, and greatly to he praised, in the city of our God, the mountain of his holiness.
2. Beautifully elevated, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion; on the sides of the north is the city of the great king.
3. god is known in her palaces as a refuge.
4. For lo! the kings were assembled, they passed by together;
5. They saw it, then they marvelled; they were troubled, they hastened away.
6. Terror seized upon them there, even pain as of a woman in travail.
7. You break in pieces the ships of Tarshish by an east-wind.
8. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of jehovah of hosts, in the city of our god; god will establish it for ever.
9. We considered your mercy, O god, in the midst of your temple.
10. According to your name, O God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth; your right hand is full of justice.
11. Mount Zion shall be glad, the daughters of Judah shall exult, because of your judgements.
12. Walk about Zion, go round about her, number her towers.
13. Set your heart to her bulwarks, observe distinctly her palaces, that you may tell it to the generation following.
14. Truly, this god is our god for ever and ever; he shall lead us even to death.

Verses 1, 2, 3. Great is jehovah, and greatly to be praised in the city of our god, the mountain of his holiness. Beautifully elevated, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion, on the sides of the north is the city of the great king. god is known in her palaces as a refuge. By these words is described the worship of the lord from truths derived from good; the worship of him from spiritual truths and goods, and the pleasantness thence derived to the soul, is signified by great is jehovah, and greatly to he praised in, the city of our god, the mountain of his holiness, beautifully elevated is mount Zion; worship is meant by being great, and greatly to be praised; spiritual truth from spiritual good by in the city of our God, the Mountain of his holiness, and the pleasantness of soul thence derived by beautifully elevated; the worship of the lord from celestial goods and truths is described by the joy of the whole earth, mount Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great king; worship from celestial good is meant by the joy of the whole earth, the mountain of Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great king; the sides of the north are truths from celestial good, and the city of the great king is the doctrine of truth thence derived; that truths are inscribed on those who are in celestial good, is signified by god is known in her palaces. The reason why the sides of the north signify truths from celestial good, is because they who are in the lord's celestial kingdom, dwell in the east in heaven, and they who are in truths from that good dwell towards the north there. AE 405.

Verse 7. You break in pieces the ships of Tarshish by an east wind. The winds, which exist in the spiritual world, appear to arise there from different quarters, some from the south, some from the north, and some from the east; those from the south disperse truths with those who are in falses, and those from the east disperse goods with those who are in evils; the reason why winds disperse them is because they exist from a powerful and strong influx of the Divine [principle] through the heavens into things inferior, and where this influx has place, it fills truths and goods, that is the minds [mentes] and the minds [animos] of those who are in truths and goods with the Divine [principle], wherefore they, with whom the interiors of the mind [mens] and of the mind [animus] are mere falses and evils, and exteriorly truths are mixed with falses and goods with evils, do not endure such influx from the Divine [being or principle], consequently they take themselves to their own falses and evils which they love, and reject the truths and goods which they do not love except for themselves and for the sake of appearance: from these considerations it is evident what effect is produced by a wind coming from the east; which is called an east wind, namely that with the evil it disperses all goods and truths, which they have exhibited in an external form before the world, and which they have spoken for the sake of appearance. AE 219.

The ships of Tarshish denote rituals or doctrinals, AC 1156.

That wind, specifically an east wind, signifies nothing else but the dispersion of falses and evils, or, what is the same thing, of evil spirits and genii, and afterwards arrangement into order, may be manifest from the word, as in Isaiah, "You will disperse them, and the wind will take them away, and the storm will dissipate them," Is 41:16; and in David, "Lo! the kings gathered themselves together, they passed together, they saw, then they marvelled, they were troubled, they hastened away, terror seized upon them there, even pain as of a woman in travail; you break in pieces as by an east wind the ships of Tarshish." Here is described the terror and confusion occasioned by an east wind. This description is taken from those things which occur in the world of spirits, for the internal sense of the Word involves it. AC 482.

By an east wind is signified devastation and desolation, for by wind, which comes from the east in the spiritual world, the habitations of the wicked are entirely overthrown, and themselves with the treasures, on which they have set their hearts, are cast into hell; by the ships of Tarshish are here signified false doctrinals. AE 514.

Verse 9. We have considered your mercy, O god, in the midst of your temple; as is your name, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. By temple is signified the church which is in truths derived from good; in the midst of it means in its inmost principle and thence in the whole of it: wherefore it is said, as is your praise so is your name to the ends of the earth, to the ends of the earth means to the ultimates of the church, the earth denoting the church. AE 313.

Verse 10. Your right hand is full of justice. By the right hand is signified omnipotence and omniscience, which appertain to the lord from divine good by divine truth. AE 298.

Verses 11, 12, 13. Mount Zion shall be glad, and the daughters of Judah shall exult because of your judgements. Walk about Zion, go round about her, number her towers, set your heart to her bulwarks, observe distinctly her palaces, that you may tell it to the generation following. By Mount Zion which shall be glad is signified the celestial church, in which are those who are principled in love to the lord; by the daughters of Judah, who shall exult, are signified the affections of good and of truth in which they are principled who are of that church; because of your judgements signifies by reason of Divine Truths which they have from the lord; to walk about Zion, and to go round about her, signifies to embrace from love those things which are of that church; to number her towers, signifies to consider well the superior or interior truths which are of that church, to number signifying to see and consider well their quality, and towers signifying superior or interior truths; to set the heart to her bulwarks signifies to love the exterior truths which defend that church against falses; to observe distinctly her palaces signifies to perceive the goods of truth, for houses denote goods, and palaces are the more noble goods of truth; that you may tell it to the generation following signifies their permanence to eternity. AE 453.

Verse 8. As we have heard, so have we seen. It is plain from these words that there is a secret connection between seeing and hearing, which may easily be accounted for on this principle, that seeing has more relation to the under-standing, and hearing more relation to the will, seeing therefore has more relation to knowledge, and hearing more relation to obedience; as therefore the understanding is connected with the will, and knowledge with obedience, it is plain that the seeing of the eye will depend on the hearing of the ear, when spiritually understood, and thus that it is eternally true that as we have heard, so have we seen.

The intelligent reader will not fail to note the divine and heavenly marriage of the good and the true in the two expressions the city of jehovah, and the city of our god, as they recur at verse 8.