Passage To Study:

Psalm 48:1-14

[1] Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
[2] Beautiful in elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
[3] God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
[4] For behold, the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
[5] They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
[6] Fear took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
[7] As when You break the ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
[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

[9] We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
[10] According to Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
[11] Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.
[12] Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
[13] Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.
[14] For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death.

Flow of the Passage:

(Verse 1-3) - God is to be praised because of the beauty of Mount Zion. Mt. Zion is beautiful because of God's presence in her.
(Verse 4-8) - The presence of God in His city instills real and profound fear in the Kings round about because of what God has done in the past.
(Verse 9-10) - When we think of God's mercy, we realise that God is worthy of the highest degree and quality of praise.
(Verse 11-14) - We should rejoice in what Mt. Zion is and mark it well so that we can tell the next generation because this is our God.

What Do I Think About It?

(Verse 1-3) - I love the concept that Zion is beautiful because of the presence of God. What was it that made Zion beautiful and comely? It is certain that there was nothing innate or natural about Zion that made her beautiful. In fact, the Word is clear that they were undesireable in and of themselves. Anything that is beautiful about her is beautiful because of the presence of God and for no other reason.

The same is true of anyone who is redeemed. We are unlovely and undesireable apart from the presence of God in us. It us only Christ in us that makes any difference to our condition.

(Verse 9-10) - Oh that verse 10 would be the reality in my life and in the lives of all believers! That His praise would be as full and as grand as His Name! Just imagine how wondrous that would be!

(Verse 11-14) - How often are we exhorted in the Word of God to be mindful of the present for a reason that has to do with the future? That is something that can easily relate to. We understand investing in the future. Here it is especially important that we do so with regard to telling the next generation about what God has done in this generation. How often, I wonder, is our conversation with young people about what God has done that we have seen with our own eyes? It just might be that this is a serious lack in our lives.

What Difference Does This Make To Me?

The combination of the three points makes for an interesting point. God is to be praised because of the beauty, due to His presence, in His people. It is that presence, in Zion, that struck fear into the hearts of those around her. Because of that, God is worthy of the highest praise we can offer. We should mark well the lessons of Zion and be sure that we communicate those lessons to the next generation. In this way we can honor God as God and give Him proper place in our lives.

Is There Anything For Me To Do?

I have no children, but I still am responsible to be communicating these great truths to the next generation. I need to look for opportunities to do that. I need to make opportunities to do that.

Psalm

48:1-14