“Truth for Truckers” *March 18, 2014* Psalm 48 “The
City of Our God”
The City of Our God is the dominating theme of
this fourteen verse Psalm that provides seven different titles for the ‘Holy
city’ (Daniel 9:24) of the Jews, Jerusalem. This Psalm was given to ‘The
sons of Korah’ who were of the tribe of Levi, the priestly family of
Israel. In (v.1-8) Zion’s or Jerusalem’s characteristics are set forth. Then in
(v.9-11) Praising God in the Temple on Mount Zion is recorded with (v.12-14)
emphasizing Four Exhortations of Zion. ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be
praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.’ (v.1)
This brief but powerful exaltation of the
LORD shows the heightened emphasis of praise when accomplished in Jerusalem
with the dominating focus on His holiness, which is God’s essence, regulating
all of His other attributes. ‘Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole
earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.’
(v.2). This expression of the Psalmist describes Jerusalem’s glorious
elevation, its impact upon the people of the world, identified as the venerable
peak of Zion, with ‘The sides of the north’ indicating the abode of God
(Isaiah 14:13), and finally looking forward to the coming ‘King of kings and
Lord of lords’ (Revelation 19:16) the Lord Jesus Christ.
‘God
is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they
passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled and hasted
away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Thou
break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. As we have heard so have we seen
in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish it
for ever. Selah.’
This most lengthy division of the Psalm
sheds much light on how Jerusalem was viewed in its glory days by those who
passed through its streets. The marveling, troubling, hasty, fearful and pained
responses indicate the awe this great city inspired. The title ‘LORD of
hosts’ always refers to the God of the armies of heaven verifying Who it
was that elicited these kind of responses in those who viewed His earthly
dwelling place. Again, the title is given, The City of Our God, and the promise
follows of the eternal existence of this ‘The great city’ of the
Revelation.
This brings us to the second major section
of this Psalm (v.9-11) Praising God in the Temple of Zion:
‘We
have thought of Thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple.
According to Thy name, O God, so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy
right hand is full of righteousness. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters
of Judah be glad because of Thy judgments.’
The emphasis here is on the God of heaven
as He is brought to mind ‘In the midst of Thy temple.’ His name brings
forth universal praise, His ‘Right hand’ the position of rule and
authority ‘Is full of righteousness’ setting off a powerful chorus of
rejoicing from the temple mount, with the ‘Daughters of Judah’, one of
the two tribes connected to the city of our God with the other being ‘Little
Benjamin’. Judah is the chosen tribe of royalty encouraged to ‘Be glad
because of Thy judgments’. Today we know that the Messiah the Lord Jesus
Christ is the most beloved Hebrew of the tribe of Judah!
Then in (v.12-14) Four Exhortations of
Zion are given: ‘Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers
thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it
to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will
be our Guide even unto death.’ These commands to those who are listening
focus upon close examination of the different segments of the city of Jerusalem
so that the information concerning The City of Our God can be passed on to the
next generation. The towers, the bulwarks, her palaces are mentioned referring
to the military prowess and the great splendor of this renown city of its day. The
old city of Jerusalem and the Temple mount still reflect much of what the city
of Jerusalem was like in that day. The Lord blessed me with a ministry visit to
Jerusalem in 2012.
The closing statement draws the parallel
of this magnificent city to our great and powerful God Who also is glorious,
and of great power, and eternal Who will continue to be our Good Shepherd and
will direct our paths all the way into the doorway of heaven. Drivers, let us
keep our eyes on Jesus the great King, for Jesus is coming again to His holy city!
No comments:
Post a Comment