Taking a Tour of Zion (Psalm 48)
We are used to the practice of
visiting cities to see important locations within them. Of course, some cities
have lots of places to visit whereas other cities don’t require the same amount
of time to go around them. A decent city guide will tell you what places you
should go and see. Psalm 48 is a suitable guide for how to visit the city of
Zion.
A good city guide will also tell
travellers the best time of year to visit the city. There may be special events
in certain months that those in charge of promoting the city’s tourism will
imagine to be of interest to visitors. Psalm 48 tells readers that the best
time to visit the city of Zion is after it has faced a severe attack from
powerful enemies. We can see from the psalm that it was written after a time of
trouble for Zion in which it had been under threat from a variety of kings
determined to destroy it. This kind of assault is a frequent experience for the
citizens of Zion.
The Lord had come to the rescue the
city by sending a storm that had shattered the boats of the enemy, probably
cutting off their supply chain or maybe destroying some of its troops. The
kings had been forced to retreat and once again the people of God had
experienced his power exercised on their behalf. We might say that the enemy
had shown up the weakness of God’s people, but God had shown up the weakness of
the enemy. They had imagined that it would be easy to defeat Zion, but the
reality was far different. As long as the Lord was with his people, they would
be given divine help, no matter how strong the enemy is. Since this victory was
present in their minds of the residents, it would be a good time to visit them
and hear from them what had taken place.
This victory caused the psalmist,
who was a member of one of the temple choirs, to write this psalm to encourage
God’s people to consider what they had been through and also what they should
do as they faced the future. So he is inviting his readers to come and sing his
song. I wonder how it was first sung. There would be gratitude to God, faith in
God and confidence in God in their hearts. They would have sung his words with
real understanding. And the author wants people to come to Zion and join in the
singing of the song.
We can deduce from what this
composer does that it is very important that we have meaningful words to sing.
He wanted the people of God to be intelligent, indeed specific as they sang
together about the great things done by the Lord. When we visit a city, we
usually sing its praises. Here we are given words to use when we visit the city
of the great King.
There is a third type of person
that we can imagine would benefit from a tour of the city. One of the strange
features of many residents is that they have never visited the important sites
in their own city. The residents of Zion, those who have been delivered by God,
are here being encouraged to take a tour of their city. So we can say that
there are three type of people invited to go around the city: those from far
away, those who want to hear the
We have an opportunity tonight to have
a look at what Zion has to offer and also to consider what we should do in
response. We can call them our privileges and our purposes. In one sense, the
privileges and the purposes will be the same in every church because they are
all expressions of the family of God and the kingdom of God. So we can think
briefly about some of them for the next few minutes.
Privileges
The first privilege is that the
church has a special presence, the presence of God. Zion was the place where he
had chosen to dwell in a special way. Although he is omnipresent, he did reveal
himself in a saving way in Israel. The sacrificial system in the temple pointed
to how salvation had been provided. Similarly, the New Testament Church enjoys
the presence of God. Jesus assured his disciples that he would be where two or
three had gathered together. I think the benediction is a reminder that we have
been in the presence of the triune God when we meet, and we leave our services
to enjoy more of their roles in our lives.
The second privilege of the church
is that it is composed of a special people. That was obviously true of Israel
in Old Testament times and Peter reminds us that the church is ‘a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you
may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy’ (1 Peter
2:9-10).
In what ways are we a special
people? The psalm reminds us that they are like a city, and a city implies
togetherness. It is a common imagery of God’s people in the Bible. Moreover, a
city implies rules and regulations, and the laws given to govern the church by
God are all based on love and all designed for our good. Further, we could say
that a city implies stability, and the psalm reminds us that the city of God
has been established forever (v. 8). A city usually had security, with high
walls. Zion may have had them, but she also had a far greater security because
God was her defence. We should remember the specialness of God’s people.
Without them, there is no church.
A third privilege was that
providence was on their side. The obvious detail mentioned in the psalm is the
destruction of the ships of Tarshish and the inner terror that gripped the
invading armies. They discovered that the Lord could easily deal with them in
his providence. We are told amazing things about providence in the New
Testament. It is everywhere. We could take the example of Priscilla and Aquila.
Why should they be in Corinth at the very time Paul arrived there? Because God
arranged for the emperor in Rome to expel the Jews from the city and they went
to Corinth, probably because they had part of their business there. We can look
up the various references to them in the New Testament and think on the
incredible ways that they were used in providence.
The fourth privilege that is
stressed in the psalm is the prominence of Zion. It was prominent
geographically, historically and in experience. Geographically, it was
elevated; historically, it was lasting; and experientially, it was unique.
Those details are true of the church as well. Geographically, it is everywhere.
Isaiah predicted a day when Zion would be so exalted that all the nations would
flow into it. That day has come and we can observe it both from the inside and
the outside. Historically, the church has lasted for two thousand years,
despite past and present attempts to get rid of it. Experientially, the church
is unique – it is the joy of the whole earth because of what is known within
it. What we have is far better than what the world has. We are designed to be a
happy people because we are pardoned, liberated, adopted and one day we will be
glorified.
Of course, all this is fulfilled
in Jesus. It is his presence that makes Zion significant, secure, and sweet. We
can think about those details briefly. In Psalm 132, the Lord says that Zion is
his rest forever. Basically he is saying that the church will be his eternal
Sabbath, that forever he will be satisfied with his people. Believers are those
whom Jesus wants to be with. It is true that a mark of spirituality in a person
is that he wants to be with Jesus. Yet what is that in comparison to the desire
of Jesus to be with his people. This is what he prayed for in John 17, when he
requested that they would be where he is, to see his glory.
In the psalm, we are encouraged to
look at the ramparts or the defensive walls of Zion. What makes believers
secure? Here are some suggestions. They are hidden with Christ in God – the
Lord himself is their wall. They are the sheep whom no-one can pluck out from
the hands of Jesus the Shepherd or from the hands of the Father. They are the
recipients of innumerable promises concerning their future experience of grace
and of glory. They have the Holy Spirit indwelling them according to an
arrangement made between the Father and the Son. They are assured of the
ongoing forgiveness of their sins.
Life in the city is sweet because
of Jesus. He is the prophet, priest and king of each of his people. Each of
these roles is performed by him perfectly. As our prophet he teaches us about
God and his great plans, and he teaches us so plainly and patiently. We have
all had teachers who spoiled their competence by their attitude. Not so with
Jesus. His competence enables him to teach each of his people perfectly
according to where they are.
As our priest, he sympathises with
the sufferings and weaknesses of his people. Often, we find ourselves in circumstances
in which people kindly express their sympathy. Yet no matter how good their
intentions, they cannot climb into our hearts and convey their sympathy
inwardly to us. In contrast, Jesus can and does because of the work of the Holy
Spirit in our hearts. One of the most precious experiences of the Christian
life is to know that Jesus cares.
As our king, he governs and
protects his people. We might say that the point of government is to provide
health, harmony, happiness and hope for its subjects. Jesus does this for his
subjects in a spiritual sense. Health is the cure for our illness (sins),
harmony reconciles us with God and one another, happiness is given in the sense
that we have peace with God and the peace of God, and hope is connected to our
certain future.
Purposes
The first purpose of the church is
described in the first verse of the psalm, and it is that it should be a
community of praise. There are many reasons for praising God and we have
thought about some of them earlier. We praise God for who he is – the Holy One
– and for what he has done in his great plan of salvation. And we should follow
the advice of the psalmist and walk around the city and listen to its praise.
The church exists in two states –
some of the inhabitants are in heaven and some are on earth. But praise marks
both parts of the city. The Book of Revelation encourages us to focus on the
praise of heaven and we can listen in to their songs. Of course, the praise of
Zion was not limited to the official events at the temple. Instead, its inhabitants
were to rejoice wherever they went in the city as they thought of the goodness
of God to them.
The other purpose of citizens of
Zion was to pass on to others what they had experienced of divine grace. In
verses 13 and 14, the communication is inter-generational. I don’t think the
psalmist is merely saying that adults should tell children, although that is
part of what he is saying. Instead he is saying that all generations should
have the same message, and they should share it with those coming after them.
The implication is that the older the generation, the more they should have to
say about God.
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What is the message we pass one?
It is that God is faithful, that he is ours for ever, and that he will guide us
forever. His guidance is not limited to this life, but will also include being
guided throughout the endless ages to the fountains of the waters of life (Rev.
7:17).