Revering the Word
Psalm 48 God’s blessing on Jerusalem and you.
Good morning, everyone. This morning we're in Psalm 48. We call that these are songs that were sung to praise God sometimes to songs of lament, but all songs with musical instruments. This one is of the sons of Chora. We've seen a lot of those songs lately from the sons of Chora. There was a Chora rebellion in the past in the family line of Chora, but now one of the sons who survived and later, you know, had children, they are now worship leaders and songwriters, and it's a beautiful thing to see how we can each of us turn to the Lord and then use our lives for Him no matter what's happened in the past. So in this psalm, the Israelites are in Jerusalem. They have conquered the Promised Land and we don't know what attack, but it appears that a army has come to try to take them over, but God has provided for them. Let's take a look at this psalm. "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and the city of our God, his holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, in Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the Great King, God in her palaces, has made himself known as a stronghold." You know, it's really interesting taking a look at some of the names used for Jerusalem, Mount Zion, you know, did you know that this is also Mount Moriah, the same place that Abraham took Isaac and God provided a substitute in the thicket, is the same place where they built the temple, and it's also the same place where God provided a substitute for us in Jesus Christ, Hallelujah, and God has plans for Jerusalem, had plans for Jerusalem, and still does today, and in fact God's going to come back his son to rule and reign for a thousand years from Jerusalem, and then he's going to bring a new Jerusalem out of heaven, a heavenly Jerusalem, that's going to come down out of heaven one day, when God ushers in, the eternal home. Verse 4, "For lo, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together, they saw it," I'm assuming Jerusalem, "then they were amazed, they were terrified, they fled in alarm." Panic sees them there, anguish as of a woman and childbirth, with the East wind, you break the ships of Tarsus. So apparently an army came up against Israel, but then they were terrified and fled, and you know, the psalmist here is giving praise for how God has protected and provided for Israel. You break the ships of Tarsus, 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 her forever, and that's true. You know, God has plans for her for Israel, for Jerusalem, and yet, you know, the psalmist may not be knowing or aware of some of the hardships that Israel and Jerusalem would go through because of their waywardness, but yet, even despite their waywardness, God had future plans. I mean, the Jerusalem got taken over by the Assyrian Empire, and then ultimately, not in full, but they were attacked, and then under Nebuchadnezzar and King Babylon came and destroyed Jerusalem, and deported the people, but eventually they came back through Ezra and Nehemiah, and they rebuilt the walls and rebuilt the temple, and they were, you know, had a temple in Jesus' day, but they weren't a country anymore. Interestingly enough, you know, from about 500-ish BC, you know, all the way until 1948, Israel was not a country. Think about that. A country that was a country was not a country for 24 hundred years. They were not a country, and then after World War II, with the world being sympathetic to the Jewish people for the Holocaust, as part of the reason, Israel was allowed to come back into their land and to be a country again. That's quite remarkable. There's not a time in history that a country was a country, wasn't a country for 24 hundred years, and then became a country again, and that's a sign of God's hand and provision for Israel and for that city, and it does say here God will establish her forever, and again, not only now, but in the future, God has future plans for that land. It's a land that he promised future plans for through Abraham, all the way back, you know, in the early parts of our Bible. We have thought on your loving kindness, O God, in the midst of your temple, as is your name, O God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad. Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. Walk about Zion and go around her. Count her towers. Consider her ramparts. Go through her palaces that you might tell it to the next generation. For such is God, our God forever and ever, he will guide us until death, and he will guide us until death. You know, I was talking with some friends recently. One thing that's sure though, without the rapture, we're all going to die, and he does guide us to death, and then he guides us into eternal life, but I think it's really important to know that we're going to die. He says he's going to guide us to death. You know, everyone's died. Sometimes people look at death as some kind of knock on God, like someone died young, or maybe they're parents, and you know, with compassion, someone in your family close to you dies younger than you think. And some people hold God responsible, like God must not be loving or good because someone died. Well, we've all died. Everybody's died. Everybody from Jesus till now has died. But you know what? Those who believe in him, Hallelujah, when it's 10th of this body destroyed, they're going to be with the Lord in heaven. And you know what? It's sad for us when someone dies, but if they're a believer in Jesus, they're going to be just fine, Hallelujah. They're no longer groaning in this body. They're with the Lord in heaven. They get to be with him immediately after death. Those who believe in him, Hallelujah. So don't think of death as such a bad thing, because it's something that's going to happen to every one of us. But God has promises for those who are His. And I think that's one of the things that I marvel at, even in reading this Psalm, as much as God had a land that He promised Abraham, and as much as God loves Jerusalem and has future plans for Jerusalem, here I am, we are, wherever you are, on a different side of the planet and the different side of the world. But we have become children of God. We've become part of the Abraham's family now through faith in Jesus. We've been accredited righteousness. God sent His Son to die not only for mankind, but He sent His Son to die for me. And Hallelujah, isn't that a wonderful thing that although, you know, God was focused on this region in this time of history, God now has a family all over the world. And wherever you sit today, if you're a believer in Jesus, God has made you part of His family. Hallelujah. And that we can celebrate. And God will be with us all the way until our dying day. And that gives us great comfort and joy as we live at our days here on earth. What a wonderful Psalm. God bless you all. [BLANK_AUDIO]