The City of God
Psalm 48: 1-14
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
The Sons of Korah are at worship in this psalm. And in their temple worship the locality of Jerusalem and Zion are transcended by the presence of our Holy God in heaven. Even as we read of the earthly beauties of the City of God we are made to realize that it is not the architecture but the Architect who must be praised. How many people admire paintings for the subject matter alone? Are prices made outrageous at Southbys just because a painting shows a lovely sunset? Isn't it more true in the art world that the name of the artist commands the price? Once I read that a cloth used by Picasso to clean his brushes sold for more than the paintings of ordinary painters!
So it is with the glory of Zion. The City of God is glorious because the Lord our God graced Jerusalem with His presence. To the common clay, stone and wood of worldly Jerusalem was given an uncommon glory because of the loftiness of God's presence. This glory must have been like the presence of the Spirit during the great Welsh revival. Rumors had spread all over Britain about what God was doing in the midst of Wales. A traveler boarded a train in London and asked the conductor where to go specifically in Wales. The conductor answered when you get there you can feel the presence of the revival. And it was so the thoroughness of the revival was so great that almost all of the bars closed for lack of customers. Lives and habits of generations were affected and changed overnight because God poured out His Holy Spirit in abundance.
So it must have been in the Holy City when God Himself made His presence well known. The psalmists continue their talk about a mountain top experience! The psalmist here likens Mount Zion to the highest peaks in the area. Zion soars not because of geography but because of the presence of God Himself. The hints are clarified in verse three. God is in Zion's citadels, He has become her fortress. On more than one occasion foreign kings came to conquer Zion. Several times they and their armies fled for no apparent military reason. The fear of the Lord came in like an unexpected east wind and literally blew God's enemies away. The enemies of our King of Kings trembled and fled in terror.
In verse eight the Sons of Korah testify that what they have heard they have also experienced. The truths of Scripture had been fulfilled in their own time. In Zion's happy hill these psalmist sons feel eternally secure. Their security lies not in the armed guards standing in the watch towers. Their security lies not in the strength of the fortress foundations. No, their security does not lie in the thick walls of fortress Jerusalem. Their security even as ours lies in the faithfulness of God in heaven. Him they would worship in the precincts of the temple. In that temple they would meditate on the unfailing love of God in heaven. And that love they tell us reaches to the ends of the earth. Of course we well note that most of the world has become pagan. But, if we look backwards in the literature and legends of the scattered tribes and peoples we may usually note a primitive religious element which at one time honored the only true God. Only in time was the Name of God corrupted with tales of half-gods and mere human heroes. Into those pagan corrupt cultures God's righteousness will one day reach again to claim a people for Himself.
Because of His righteousness, mercy and unfailing love even the heaped up stone and dirt of Mount Zion might cry out in praise to the God of Heaven. And not only the ramparts and cliffs of the Holy City, but all of the surrounding villages will be glad for God's witness there in Jerusalem. Years ago when I was in Dubuque, Iowa the local media gloried in the necklace of villages that surrounded their city set upon a hill. It was a Catholic town and a popular rumor in the city had it that when the Pope considered evacuating Rome during World War Two, little Dubuque, Iowa was supposedly considered as a place for refuge. Well, Jerusalem is a little larger, you can still see ruins of the ancient walls, but you can no longer count Zion's towers, nor consider her ramparts and view her citadels as these Sons of Korah could. In our time we would like to be able to appreciate the beauties of an architectural Jerusalem, but it is not for us to have. Yes, the Sons of Korah had the right emphasis, they had Jerusalem and God was in their City.
But, the glory eventually departed. How many congregations do you know who have their sacred sanctuaries, their hallowed halls, the foundations laid by their fathers; but have not God in their midst? I know of at least one Church that destroyed itself in its love for the building, and many others remain in paganized denominations because they cannot bear the thought of leaving behind the building programs of their ancestors. Like the Sons of Korah we must carefully consider the proper glories of the City or Church of God. Several denominations believe that their use of the words "Church of God" guarantees the fact of His presence. One of these sects up our way even attracts people from Columbus. I probably pass some of them on the way into worship. Of course that particular sect believes that they have an exclusive claim upon being the true Church!
In such a same manner, the Jews of Jesus time misunderstood the glories of Zion's Holy Hill. Their Temple which was but a shadow of Solomon's held their fascination so much that they missed the whole object of their worship when Jesus appeared in their very midst. The Sons of Korah would challenge God's people in all times to consider the focus of their praise and worship. Walk about the Church we might paraphrase the ending challenge of this psalm, consider the true nature of spiritual Zion. Is God praised and given thanks for His love, mercy and faithfulness in sending Christ to save His people?
If we would be faithful to our Pilgrim Fathers and Mothers who founded this country of ours we would do well to remember the God and Father whom they worshipped. One of the great mistakes of the Christian Church in this century is that we are living on the spiritual energy of the past. We all remember when! Unfortunately we do not regularly hope to realize that spiritual energy of God's presence in our own time. We gather together to give thanks and praise and as our hymn says to ask the Lord's blessing in this Thanksgiving season. Do we earnestly desire that the God of Heaven might make His awesome holy Presence known? Christian worship when it is properly focused intends to make His presence known. And yet, we cannot succeed unless He blesses us with the knowledge of the presence of His Holy Spirit. It is this present God whom we would worship and know today.
He it is and no other who we should share with our children's children from this time forward. This precious God who reveals Himself is our very own God who promises in the words of this psalm to be our Guide for ever and ever even to the end of this world. May we know Him, may we praise Him and this week may we give Him thanks. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Kidner, Derek. |
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. | |
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The Holy
Bible, New King James
Version. | ||
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048a |
24 November 91 & 19 November 99 | |