SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 2/22/2012 8:26:34 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Jerusalem (Peace)”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
48:1-3
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, #2
Sa 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 comes 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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