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Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion.
Psalms 48:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the middle of your temple.
  • KJV We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
  • NKJV We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple.
  • NASB ¶We have thought over Your goodness, God, In the midst of Your temple.
  • NLT O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In the temple the people meditate on God's steadfast love. True worship dwells on His covenant faithfulness.

Overview

Gathered in the sanctuary, the worshipers do not merely perform rituals but ponder God's 'loving kindness' (hesed), His committed covenant love. Worship here is reflective and grateful, centered on who God is toward His people. This points forward to the believer's communion with God, now grounded in the once-for-all love displayed at the cross.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Ps 26:3For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.
  • Ps 77:10–14So I said, “I am grieved that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
  • Ps 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.
  • 2 Chr 20:5–13Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD in front of the new courtyard
  • Ps 63:2–3So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory.
  • Luke 22:19–20And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
  • Ps 104:34May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
  • Song 1:4Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.
  • Isa 26:8Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
  • Ps 105:5–6Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 48:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 48:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.