1. God and Their City (vv. 1-3). In this first section, the people of Jerusalem speak about their city with pride and gratitude. David took Mount Zion from the Jebusites (2 Sam. 5:6-9; 2 Chron. 11:4-7) and made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom. Ideally situated twenty-five hundred feet above sea level, the city was almost impregnable. Not far away was the juncture of the north-south and east-west trade routes, important for the economy and for communications. David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, and this made Zion a “holy mountain,” for the Lord dwelled there (2:6; 3:4; 15:1; 43:3; 99:9). Jerusalem thus became “the city of our God” (vv. 1, 8) and the “city of the great King” (v. 2; 47:2; see Matt. 5:35). The greatness belongs to the Lord and not to the city (47:9), for in His grace, the Lord chose Zion (78:68; 132:13). The Jews saw Jerusalem as a beautiful city (50:2), a safe fortress, and “the joy of the whole earth” (but see Lam. 2:15). Spiritually speaking, the city has brought joy to all the earth because outside its walls Jesus died for the sins of the world, and from Jerusalem first sounded out the gospel of Jesus Christ. One day in the future, Jerusalem will be the center of Christ’s glorious kingdom (Isa. 2:2ff.; 60:1ff.). Zaphon (niv) refers to the north, a mountain in northern Syria where the god Baal was supposed to dwell. (See Ex. 14:2, 9; Num. 33:7.) The safety of Jerusalem was not in her location or her walls but in her God; for He was their fortress (v. 3; see 46:1, 7). It was in the defeat of Sennacherib’s army that God “made Himself known as a stronghold” (v. 3 nasb).