Scripture reading: Mark 6:1-13.

Sermon text: Psalm 48.

Last year, I stood on a hillside overlooking Jerusalem, the capital city of David and holy city of God’s people, the Jews. As I looked at Jerusalem for the first time in my life, it occurred to me that I’ve seen higher mountains; I’ve seen more beautiful scenery. However, nothing I’ve ever seen can compare to the joy of seeing the holy city where Jesus died for my sins and rose again to conquer death for me. Nothing compared to the sheer joy of seeing the city where God’s shekinah glory dwelled among His people in the Temple of Solomon, the place where God’s physical presence blessed earth for centuries.

The Jews in the time of this psalm knew God dwelled in the Temple. They knew that God heard their prayers, accepted their sacrifices, forgave their sins, and blessed His people in their obedience to His covenant. They also knew God protected His people in times of trial and persecution, delivering their lives and nation from oppression from mightier nations and preserving them wherever God took them.

As we read this psalm today, we’re reminded of God’s protection of His people today and of His blessings in our lives. We’re also reminded that God’s blessings go beyond what we experience in this life and into the eternal life purchased for us by the blood of His Son, Jesus our Lord.

The psalmist began by praising God’s presence “in the city of our God.” Within the city of Jerusalem, the kings of David ruled over God’s chosen nation, the nation of Israel. On the “holy mountain,” “Mount Zion,” the Temple housed God’s physical presence on earth.

Because of God’s presence and His promise to David, God protected the people of Jerusalem. History records numerous occasions where foreign armies clashed against her walls, only to meet death and destruction rather than victory. God Himself made Jerusalem a “fortress” for His people.

Verse 4 reminds us of Psalm 2, where the “kings of the earth” set themselves “against the LORD and against his Anointed.” The powers of the earth have always set themselves against God’s righteous rule, beginning with the Garden of Eden. Pride has always led humanity to oppose God’s rule in our lives. However, when faced with the reality of God’s power and righteousness, those who oppose God “were astounded; they were in panic; they took to flight.” The nations around Israel remembered God’s powerful redemption of His people from Egypt; they remembered God’s deliverance of the land of Canaan to His people.

As the psalmist proceeded with his meditation, he pondered the “steadfast love” in the Temple. He remembered that God’s love reached beyond the walls of the Temple to all people. The experience of this steadfast love, the covenantal unconditional love of God for His people, leads God’s people to praise God “to the ends of the earth.”

The blessing of God in the lives of Israel carried a responsibility: To tell “the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” In his last words to the people of Israel, Moses had instructed Israel, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 32:46). Israel kept the covenant of God when the generations passed it to their children, but the nation fell because of their failure to keep the covenant and teach it to succeeding generations.

This psalm may remind some people of God’s physical protection of Jerusalem in the time of the kingdom. While God protected Jerusalem during the time of the Davidic monarchy, this protection existed only while Israel kept the covenant. God supernaturally repelled the Assyrians in 701 B.C. at the cost of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19; Isaiah 37) because of Hezekiah’s faithfulness to the covenant. When Israel’s sin finally outweighed God’s patience, He withdrew His glory from the Temple (Ezekiel 10) and left Jerusalem to its punishment. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C., leading to exile for the Jews.

Today, we know God’s protection extends far beyond a physical city. Six centuries after the Babylonian destruction of the city, Jesus, the divine eternal Son of God, suffered crucifixion at the hands of the Jewish authorities and Roman government. Most people thought Jesus, who was also a descendant of David, had come to the city to restore David’s kingdom and throw the Romans out of Jerusalem; instead, He died at their hands. His death may have seemed like a major injustice, but in His divine plan, God transformed Jesus’ death into a conquest. In Jerusalem, the city conquered by the Gentiles, Jesus conquered sin with His death and death with His resurrection.

Jesus not only conquered sin and death; He established His eternal kingdom, a kingdom in which He reigns in His people, the Church. The protection of God extends to the Church today as it extended to Jerusalem during the time of David. Kings and powers have clashed with the Church for millennia now, and the Church has constantly triumphed. We do not triumph because of our own power, but because of God’s power through us. We know that God’s steadfast love extends to all who believe in Jesus, confessing Him as Lord and believing God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).

When we believe in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit, who indwells us and guides us through life. The presence of the Holy Spirit directs us as we proclaim the greatness of God in our lives, both with our actions and our words.

Like the Jews of the psalmist’s time, we have a responsibility to tell the succeeding generations of God’s protection and love. We have a responsibility to pass our faith to our children, through our example, our teachings, and through our participation in the Church in worship and fellowship.

This psalm has another eternal dimension. In Revelation, St. John the Apostle saw another mighty army surround Jerusalem and face annihilation (Revelation 20:7-10). Then, St. John saw a new Jerusalem in a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21). This new city will possess a beauty beyond anything Jerusalem has ever known in this creation, with gates of pearl, walls of jasper, and foundations of precious stones. In this Jerusalem, God’s presence will dwell forever with His people (Revelation 21:3). Unlike the Jerusalem of the psalmist’s time, God’s presence will not dwell in a temple but directly with His people (Revelation 21:22).

The Jews saw the greatness of God in Jerusalem; we see the greatness of God in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Jews saw the greatness of God in God’s protection and extension of their kingdom; we see the greatness of God in His love for us and His Church. If you want to experience the greatness of God, believe in Jesus, confessing Him as Lord and believing in His resurrection. Let the Holy Spirit work in you and guide others to proclaim the greatness of God.