Psalm
48 reminds me of a family trip we once took to the beach on the
Florida Panhandle. Our room had a slight view of the ocean (if you
leaned out a little), but mostly faced the bay side. I opened the
drapes and said, “Look, the Gulf of Mexico”. My daughter, who
was about 10 at the time, glanced out the balcony and said simply, “I
thought it would be bigger”. We sometimes confuse the physical
world around us with the Spiritual world because that is all we can
see. The Jews of Jesus day were expecting Jesus to be an earthly
king that would rule for eternity. Even His disciples were confused
and argued regularly about their rank in His kingdom. They were
devastated by His death because they did not understand Jesus when He
explained, “He
must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and
chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third
day”
(Matthew 16:21). Lots of people today look around and say “Is that
all there is?”. Folks, we are just passing through on the way to
our eternal home in heaven. We have a “bay-side” view of each
other and of the works of God. The psalm begins, “Great
is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, His
holy mountain“.
It continues describing “the
joy of the whole earth… Mount Zion, the city of the Great
King“.
Of course, Mount Zion is a small mountain adjacent to the Temple
mount in Jerusalem, but I believe the psalmist is also talking about
the dwelling place of God in Heaven. He continues, “God
is in her citadels; He has shown Himself to be her fortress… we
seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God: God
makes her secure forever“.
James 4:14 helps put things in perspective, “For
what is
your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then
vanishes away“.
Are you disappointed by life? Maybe you are not looking in the
right direction?
The
psalm continues, “Within
Your temple, O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love… Your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is filled with
righteousness“.
I am certain of one thing, once we get our perspective lined up with
God’s we cannot help but be overcome with joy. Experiencing God’s
unfailing love, even for a brief moment is incomparable. It seems
most of us get just snippets of that experience and that is enough to
change our lives. “Mount
Zion rejoices“.
Jesus said, “There
will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than
over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent”
(Luke 15:7). And what is our role? “Walk
about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her
ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next
generation“.
We are to share our story, our testimony of what God has done in our
life. The psalm concludes, “For
this God is our God for ever and ever;
He
will be our guide even to the end“.
Have you experienced the love of God?
Psalm
49 explains in simple terms that we need a Savior. It begins,
“listen,
all who live in this world… rich and poor alike…
No
man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him“.
Roman 3:23 explains, the reason is that all of us owe a debt, “for
all
have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God“.
We are all imperfect, so “no
payment is ever enough“.
Here is the point, God is perfect and Holy and Righteous, we are
not. Compared to God’s perfection, our best efforts to be good are
nothing but “filthy rags”. So
how do we, who are imperfect, become worthy of God’s love?
He explains, “For
all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike
perish“.
And he also warns, “This
is the fate of those who trust in themselves“.
Everyone who tries to be good enough on their own to earn salvation
will be frustrated. The Law is a tutor, given to show that we cannot
achieve God’s standard of perfection. Romans 7:7 says, “I
would not have known sin except through the law“.
The psalmist offers this hope to all, “But
God will redeem my life from the grave; He will surely take me to
Himself“.
According to the Law, “the
wages of sin is death“.
That is what we deserve. Romans 5:8 explains, “Christ
died for the ungodly… God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us“.
Jesus willingly paid the debt of my sin, so that I could be forgiven
completely. “Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me
free from the law of sin and death“.
Now all we need to do is believe His promise. Do you believe?