Psalms 48:9
in Psalms 48Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of thy temple.
KJV
We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
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This verse in Psalms 48
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Ambrose of MilanCommentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms, On Psalm 48 · Written before 397.
God's true temple is the body of Christ, and in that body lies the purification of all our sins. Truly, that flesh is God's temple, and in it there is no contagion of sin. On the contrary, it was itself the sacrifice that takes away the sin of all the world. That flesh is indeed God's temple, and in it shone God's image.
This site's exposition
Within Your temple, O God
on Psalms 48:9-11
Within Your temple, O God, the worshippers turn from the deliverance to His loving devotion. His name and His praise reach the ends of the earth, and His right hand is full of righteousness. Zion and the daughters of Judah are glad at His judgments.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy people" (ver. 8). Who have received, and where received? Hath not the same Thy people received Thy mercy. If Thy people hath received Thy mercy, how then, "in the midst of Thy people"? As if they who received were one party, they in the midst of whom they received another. A great mystery, but yet well known. When hence also, that is, out of these verses, hath been extracted and brought forth what ye know; it will be not ruder, but sweeter. Now forsooth all are reckoned the people of God, who carry His Sacraments, but not all belong to His Mercy. All forsooth receiving the Sacrament of the Baptism of Christ, are called Christians, but not all live worthily of that Sacrament. There are some of whom saith the Apostle, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." Yet on account of this form of godliness they are named among God's people. As to the floor, until the corn is threshed, belongs not the wheat only, but the chaff. But will it also belong to the garner? In the midst then of an evil people is a good people, which hath received the Mercy of God. He liveth worthily of the Mercy of God who heareth, and holdeth, and doeth what the Apostle saith, "We beseech you that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain." Whoso then receiveth not the Grace of God in vain, the same receiveth not only the Sacrament, but also the Mercy of God as well....So those who have the Sacraments, and have not good manners, are both said to be of God, and not of God; are both said to be His, and to be strangers: His because of His own Sacraments, strangers because of their own vice. So also strange daughters: daughters, because of the form of godliness; strange, because of their loss of virtue. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
"We have received." Above, the Psalmist set forth the great things of the city; here, however, he sets forth the thanksgiving. And concerning this he does two things. First, the thanksgiving is set forth. Second, people are invited to consider still further the great things …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God,.... Jarchi interprets it, "we have waited for thy lovingkindness"; to see thy salvation; and some, as Ben Melech observes, explain it of hope and expectation; as if the sense was, "we have hoped for thy lovingkindness"; so the Syriac version renders it, and the word used has the signification of tarrying, 1Sa 14:9. God has his set time to favour his Zion, and till that time comes it is right in them to be hoping, expecting, and waiting for it.
All the streams of mercy that flow down to us must be traced up to the fountain of God's lovingkindness. It is not owing to any merit of ours, but purely to his mercy, and the peculiar favour he bears to his people.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
We have thought. Holy men are thoughtful men; they do not suffer God's wonders to pass before their eyes and melt into forgetfulness, but they meditate deeply upon them. Of thy lovingkindness, O God. What a delightful subject! Devout minds never tire of so divine a theme. It is well to think of past lovingkindness in times of trial, and equally profitable to remember it in seasons of prosperity. Grateful memories sweeten sorrows and sober joys. In the midst of thy temple. Fit place for so devout a meditation. Where God is most seen he is best loved.
6 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2783: “A Worthy Theme for Thought” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
WHO were these people who declared to the Lord that they had thought of His loving kindness in the midst of His Temple? According to the title of the Psalm, they were the sons of Korah. And who were the sons of Korah? They were the singers in the house of the Lord, those who took the principal part in sounding forth the praises of Jehovah. I think it is suggestive that they did not say, "We have sung of Your loving kindness." They had done that and it was their constant employment, but they said, "We have thought."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thought of--literally, "compared," or considered, in respect of former dealings. in the . . . temple--in acts of solemn worship (compare 2Ch 20:28).
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A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2783: “A Worthy Theme for Thought” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHO were these people who declared to the Lord that they had thought of His loving kindness in the midst of His Temple? According to the title of the Psalm, they were the sons of Korah. And who were the sons of Korah? They were the singers in the house of the Lord, those who took the principal part in sounding forth the praises of Jehovah. I think it is suggestive that they did not say, "We have sung of Your loving kindness." They had done that and it was their constant employment, but they said, "We have thought." And there are some singers who have not done that, for they have sung solemn words thoughtlessly, caring only for the music and not for the meaning. One who is not a skilled musician, or trained vocalist, can tell when his ear is pleased with what he hears and I think that such a person will say that the very sweetest music he has ever heard has come from sincere hearts, even if the voices have not been in complete harmony. If you hear Christians sing when they are in the spirit and sing what they really feel, their singing may not be artistic and it may not be accurate, but, if your own heart is right with God, it will have such an effect upon you as no other music can have. Singing from the heart is the noblest form of praise to God! Some people would not shout so loudly where the words should be uttered softly, or sing so harshly where pathos is required, if they were thinking while they were singing. But it is quite possible for us to be uttering sweet sounds without our mind and heart being really occupied in the exercise.
We have thought. Holy men are thoughtful men; they do not suffer God's wonders to pass before their eyes and melt into forgetfulness, but they meditate deeply upon them. Of thy lovingkindness, O God. What a delightful subject! Devout minds never tire of so divine a theme. It is well to think of past lovingkindness in times of trial, and equally profitable to remember it in seasons of prosperity. Grateful memories sweeten sorrows and sober joys. In the midst of thy temple. Fit place for so devout a meditation. Where God is most seen he is best loved. The assembled saints constitute a living temple, and our deepest musings when so gathered together should have regard to the lovingkindness of the Lord, exhibited in the varied experiences of each of the living stones. Memories of mercy should be associated with continuance of praise. Hard by the table of show bread commemorating his bounty, should stand the altar of incense denoting our praise.
We have thought of thy loving-kindness - We went to thy temple to worship thee; we meditated on thy goodness; we waited for a display of it; and the panic that in the first instance struck us, was transferred to our enemies; and fear took hold upon them, they marvelled, were troubled, and hasted away.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God - We have reflected on, or meditated on. The word used here literally means “to compare, to liken;” and this idea is perhaps always implied when it is used in the sense of thinking on, or meditating on. Perhaps the meaning here is, that they had “compared” in their own minds what they had heard from their fathers with what they had now seen; they had called all these things up to their remembrance, and had compared the one with the other. In the midst of thy temple - See the notes at Psa 5:7. The allusion here most probably is to the “temple,” properly so called, as these transactions are supposed to have occurred after the building of the temple by Solomon. The expression here also would make it probable that the psalm was composed after the defeat and overthrow of the armies referred to, in order that it might be used in the temple in celebrating the deliverance.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
We have hoped, O Lord, for Your kindness The prophet repeatedly prays to the Holy One, blessed be He, and says, “We hoped and waited for Your kindness, to see this Your salvation in the midst of Your Temple. Menachem (p.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
5 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דִּמִּ֣ינוּ | diminu | we have reflected on | H1819 → | 30 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | O God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ | chasdekha | covenant loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| בְּ֝קֶ֗רֶב | bekerev | in [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| הֵיכָלֶֽךָ׃ | heikhalekha | temple your | H1964 → | 80 times |
דִּמִּ֣ינוּwe have reflected on
diminuH1819 →30 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםO God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
חַסְדֶּ֑ךָcovenant loyalty your
chasdekhaH2617 →247 times
בְּ֝קֶ֗רֶבin [the] midst of
bekerevH7130 →227 times
הֵיכָלֶֽךָ׃temple your
heikhalekhaH1964 →80 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 40:10I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation; I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness from the great assembly.
it leads to
- Romans 1:16–17
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
- Acts 20:20–21
I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house,
- 1 Timothy 1:15
This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
- Romans 1:16–17
Through
Psalms 26:3For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.
it leads to
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- 2 Kings 20:3
“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- 2 John 1:4
I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us.
- 1 John 1:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms, On Psalm 48; Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 48; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2783: “A Worthy Theme for Thought” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.