Once again, we notice two Hebrew words here.
The first word chesed emphasizes the faithfulness and loyalty
that are put into practice.
It can be illustrated with Deuteronomy 7:9, where we read, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” The Lord shows his covenant faithfulness to his people. This is how much he loves his people.
The second word emuna underscores this. In this Hebrew word our amen
is nestled.
In the Heidelberg Catechism, this word, the last word of the Lord’s Prayer, is explained as, Amen means: It is true and certain. For God has much more certainly heard my prayer than I feel in my heart that I desire this of him
(Lord’s Day 52, q/a 129).
God is faithful (compare 2 Thessalonians 3:3). The people of Israel first experienced this faithfulness, but the Lord is eager to let this faithfulness shine to the ends of the earth. Jesus himself has made this very clear, by saying, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life
(John 3:16).
What comes through very strongly in this verse is God’s hearty love for us people. One cannot think of a stronger encouragement for thanking this God with enthusiasm in our songs.
That is why there is a strong ending in Psalm 48:14: “This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.”
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.