2/22/2012 8:26:34 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Jerusalem (Peace)
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 48
Message of the verses: “«A Song [and] Psalm for the sons of Korah». This psalm is entitled a "song psalm," a psalm to be sung vocally; or "a song and psalm" to be sung both vocally and instrumentally; and is one of the spiritual songs the apostle speaks of, #Eph 5:19; It was occasioned, as some think, by David’s spoiling the Philistines, #2Sa 5:17-21; or, as others, by the deliverance of the people from the Moabites and Ammonites in the times of Jehoshaphat, #2Ch 20:27,28; or, as others, by the deliverance of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from Sennacherib in the times of Hezekiah, #2Ki 19:34,35; though as Kimchi, a celebrated Jewish commentator, owns, it belongs to the times of the Messiah, as the other preceding psalms; and treats of his greatness, and of the praise and glory due to him, and gives large encomiums of his church.” (John Gill)
“In Ps. 48, it often appears that Zion itself is the object of praise. While referring to Zion, this hymn of confidence (cf. Pss. 46-47) contains several checks and balances showing that it is ultimately God, who dwells in Zion, who is to be praised. Therefore, this perspective must be kept in mind as the lines of Ps. 48 flow back and forth with respective emphases on the city and the great God of that city. This psalm, sung with orchestral accompaniment, therefore contrasts two different responses to the God of Zion and the Zion of God.” (John MacArthur’s Study Bible)
“This is the third of the psalms celebrating Jehovah’s victory in delivering Jerusalem from the Assyrians (see 46 and 47). The emphasis is on the Lord and Mount Zion. Other psalms about Zion are 76, 84, 87, 122, and 132. Believers today are citizens of the Zion that is above (Gal. 4:21-31; Heb. 12:18-24; Phil 3:20) and rejoice that the Lord cares for us even as He cared for His ancient people Israel. The various speakers in this psalm deal with four important topics.” (Warren Wiersbe)
God and Their City (vv. 1-3): “1 ¶ «A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.» Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain. 2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King. 3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold.”
We see in these three verses that the people of Jerusalem spoke highly of their city and it is no wonder that they do this.
When Israel came into the Promised Land they were instructed by Moses and Joshua who were told by God that Israel was to destroy the inhabitants of this land that the Lord was giving them. The reason for the destruction of these different peoples is because of their sin and that is one reason why God is helping Israel destroy them. Of course God loves Israel and will use Israel to write the Scriptures and to bring into the world the Messiah. At the end of the book of Joshua Israel had not conquered all of the land, and it would be up to the children of Israel to have faith in God to remove the rest of the peoples from the land. After Joshua died the children of Israel served the Lord until all of the elders of the tribes of Israel died and then they stopped serving the Lord as one can see by reading the book of Judges. In the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, David come on the scene and it is David who finally defeats the Jebusites, (a difficult job) and then makes Jerusalem Israel’s capital city. 2/22/2012 9:03:18 AM
2/22/2012 1:29:50 PM
Just one more point on David and Jerusalem and that is that David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and this made Zion a “holy mountain,” for the Lord dwelt there. I believe that it is in the book of Deuteronomy that the Lord told Moses that there would one day be a city that He would pick out where Israel would go to worship Him, and we know that the city is Jerusalem.
Now we must be reminded that the greatness belongs to the Lord and not to the city as seen in Psalm 47:9, “The rulers of the world have gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham. For all the kings of the earth belong to God. He is highly honored everywhere.”
The city of Jerusalem has brought joy to all the earth and that is because it was outside the gates of Jerusalem that Jesus Christ was crucified and died for the sins of the world. It was also inside the gates of Jerusalem that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was first heard. We also know that Jerusalem will be the center of the 1000 year kingdom age where Jesus Christ will reign from (See Isa. 2:2ff and also 60:1ff).
One note on verse two as it appears in the NIV, “It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.” Dr. Wiersbe points out that the word “Zaphon” refers to the north, a mountain in northern Syria where the god Baal was supposed to dwell.
The prophet Jeremiah who is called the “weeping prophet” wrote in Lam. 2:15 these words that will show that Jerusalem would not always be the joy of the world, “All who pass along the way Clap their hands in derision at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem, "Is this the city of which they said, ’The perfection of beauty, A joy to all the earth’?’” Jeremiah was alive when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: When we look at the word Jerusalem we can figure that the word has to do with peace because of how it is constructed having the word “Salem” in it which means peace. There is one verse in the NT that has the words blood and peace in it, “Col 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” It is because of Jesus Christ’s death outside the city walls of Jerusalem, which means peace that we can have peace through the blood of His cross. This is something that we all need to remember and not only remember but to praise the Lord for this.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Remember to be thankful for the salvation that was given to me because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, a death that brought peace to me.
2. Continue to seek the Lord that He will teach me contentment.
2/22/2012 1:56:30 PM
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