Psalm 48
The City of
Intro
√ The city
of
Psalm 48 is a song about
"The City of
…
We find the psalmist praising God who loves
Many Bible students see Psalm 48 as a companion to Psalm 46
and believe that it too was written to celebrate the Lord's deliverance of
Ap. The prophetic promise
For believers Psalm 48 has a prophetic tone, a promise concerning the "New Jerusalem" in heaven.
The author of Hebrews writes…
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Heb. 12:23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
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Reminding us that this world is not our home! Our home is in heaven, in the New Jerusalem, where our King waits for us. As believers we're called to keep our eyes toward the sky and our hearts on the things of heaven.
Perhaps you've heard someone warn…
"Don't be so heavenly minded that you're of no earthly good"
…I would suggest that a person is truly heavenly minded has a greater influence on the earth today precisely because they recognize that heaven is their home and therefore live their life on this earth with heaven's priorities.
C.S. Lewis said…
"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."
So, let's join the psalmist as he sings about the City of
Look at the city (vs. 1-8)
Ps. 48:1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain.
Ps. 48:2 Beautiful
in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is
Ps. 48:3 God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.
√ Look at the city - vs. 1-2
The psalmist begins by calling our attention to the beauty of the City of
"Beautiful in elevation" - vs. 2
"The joy of the whole earth" - vs. 2
And in fact the ancient city of
Situated atop a mountain
High walls made of massive stones
Beautiful palaces and homes made of white stone
Solomon's
Surrounded by green valleys & hills filled with olive groves
…all of which made it a postcard perfect picture!
To the Jews there was (and is) no more beautiful city in all the world.
So, for the child of
God Jerusalem was a city beautiful to look upon!
√ Awesome to behold - vs. 4-8
As beautiful as the city was to her friends, to her enemies it was awesome to behold! The walls which were beautiful to the believer, spoke of God's judgement to the unbeliever!
Ps. 48:4 For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together.
Ps. 48:5 They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away.
Ps. 48:6 Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
Ps. 48:7 As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind.
Ps. 48:8 As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah
Bible students suggest that the psalmist had in mind the Assyrian king Sennacherib who beat a hasty retreat from Jerusalem after the Lord wiped out 185,00 of his troops in one night!
Whether or not it was Sennacherib, as a city, Jerusalem posed an awesome and daunting challenge to any attacking army.
The steep terrain and high walls of the city made it near impregnable.
The people within the city had fresh water supplies and large stores of food by which they could resist a siege for many years.
So, we find in the history of the wars in the Middle East that often invading armies went around Jerusalem rather than attack it!
√ God lives there! - vs. 3
However, it was not just the physical attributes of the city, which made it both beautiful and awesome to behold…
…it was Who lived there and protected it that made Jerusalem so marvelous!
Ps. 48:3 God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.
The psalmist reminds us that the city's most prominent feature is the presence of God within.
As Solomon proclaimed in Ps. 127:1…
"Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain."
As long the Lord Himself made Zion His City - the city would shine with an heavenly beauty and be beyond the power of any army to take!
Ex. An interesting historical note is found in the writings of Josephus. In his "Antiquities of the Jews" he records that Alexander the Great did not destroy Jerusalem because he recognized that God's Temple was there!
'I did not adore him, but that God who has honored him with his highpriesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dion in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; whence it is that, having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the Divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind.'
And when he had said this to Parmenion, and had given the high-priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high-priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high-priest and the priests. And when the Book of Daniel was showed him wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended. [3] And as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present.
So, we find the psalmist calling all people to look at the City of God!
Ap. Looking unto the City of God
For us as Christians we're reminded that we will be both happier and holier if we think often on our heavenly home.
Remember the instruction of Jesus…
Mat. 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
Mat. 6:20 “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat. 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Enjoy the city (vs. 9-11)
Ps. 48:9 We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple.
Ps. 48:10 According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.
Ps. 48:11 Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments.
√ Enjoy the city
Here we find the psalmist calling the people to rejoice and enjoy the many blessings of God, which He has bestowed upon His City.
For the Jews, coming to Jerusalem was at least an annual trek which they always looked forward to.
3 times a year the people would come to celebrate what God had done for them.
Passover
Pentecost
Tabernacles
Each was a week long celebration marked by great joy, feasting, dancing, singing, & worship.
Because, those who came found Jerusalem to be a place where one could experience God's lovingkindness and righteousness.
Ex. Even today the Jews will say at the end of their Passover meal…
"Next year, Jerusalem!"
Ap. Enjoy His presence now
As Christians we are not yet living in that heavenly city! But, we can still enjoy the "powers of the age to come" (Heb. 6:5) by faith in Christ.
Charles Spurgeon once said…
"Little faith will take your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul!"
We can enjoy all that God has for us now if we will apprehend the promises of God for ourselves! Christians aren't meant to go through life with a frown!
God has promised us joy, peace, and satisfaction right now if we will but turn our hearts to Him rather than seek the empty promises of this world.
Ex. Tex Watson and the joy he has in prison
So, enjoy the
blessings of the City of God today and in eternity!
Celebrate the city (vs. 12-13)
Ps. 48:12 Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers;
Ps. 48:13 Mark
well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That
you may tell it to the generation
following.
Ps. 48:14 For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.
√ Celebrate the city
This is great! The psalmist is so excited about Zion that he invites others to come and check the city out!
"Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces" vs. 12-13
Next he encourages others to do the same!
"That you may tell it to the generation following."
Ex. Telling our family & friends about NW Arkansas!
√ Our guide
The psalmist closes by acknowledging again that it is God Who makes Zion a place of celebration!
He makes the city beautiful
He protects the city from harm
He will be there forever
And, He will be the One Who guides us there! Note the end of verse 14…
"He will be our guide Even to death."
Obviously the psalmist has in mind something more than the physical city of Jerusalem in which he lived (that is, he didn't need a guide to find Jerusalem - he lived there!).
Rather, inspired by the Holy Spirit he must have had in mind that heavenly city…
…the place where God has dwelt for all eternity and to which God has called His children to one day live with Him.
Yet, we cannot get there on our own - we need someone to take us there!
Note the context of Thomas' question…
John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:4 “And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Only Jesus can guide us to heaven!
Close
√ The city of God
We have so much to be excited about when we think of our heavenly destination - the City of God!
Let's be faithful to tell others about the heavenly city of God that is open to any would desire to become a citizen!
Not just with our lips, but with our life!
May the world see that our hearts and minds are bent on heaven, not on the treasures of this world.