XLVIII.
Jerusalem has been in great peril from some coalition either of neighbouring monarchs or of the tributary princes of one of the great world-powers, and has been delivered through some unexplained sudden panic. With this event the poet of this psalm is contemporary. So much is clear from Psalms 48:4-8 (see Notes); but on what precise event we are to fix is not so clear. There are resemblances to the deliverance of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:25), resemblances to the fate of Sennacherib’s host (2 Kings 19), resemblances to other signal changes of fortune in later times of Israel’s history.
But if we can enter into the spirit of blended piety and patriotism which makes the poem so expressive of the whole better feeling of the best times of the nation, the recovery of the precise date of its production is immaterial.
The rhythm is remarkable. In no poem is the rapid lyric movement more striking.
Title. See Psalms 41