Psalm 48 ~ God is our fortress

Windsor Castle, in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle (or fort) in the world and oldest in continuous occupation, since William the Conqueror more than 1,000 years ago.

Listen - He is Exalted Great is the Lord - Maranatha Singers

Psalm 48 (Today's New International Version)

¹ Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

² Beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King.

³ God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.

⁴ When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,

⁵ they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror.

⁶ Trembling seized them there,
pain like that of a woman in labor.

⁷ You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
shattered by an east wind.

⁸ As we have heard,
so we have seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
forever.

⁹ Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.

¹⁰ Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.

¹¹ Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.

¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,

¹³ consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
to the next generation.

¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.

~ God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.

Being part of the internet age has benefits, we just shouldn't overlook. Encyclopedias age and become relics. If your Water Oak suddenly looses its leaves, you can see what the probable causes are. A lot of Scripture for today blogspot is reflections on 30 + years of bible reading and bible studies, but so very much is looking at internet sermons & commentary on today's reading.

Psalm 48 doesn't have a lot of exposure, isn't made into famous hymns and songs. Why? This is a beautiful Psalm! Matthew Henry says we should consider Jerusalem as unique, because we are all spiritual citizens of Jerusalem.

Let's look today towards gratitude. We don't live behind walls and we don't see citadels, fortresses, forces advancing, feel astounding terror, ships, ramparts and wonder if we will live until tomorrow. Psalm 48 expresses a great truth, a historical truth. Until about 400 years ago, we would have lived surrounded by walls, great fortresses. Through the Church, the people felt free to build the Church outside of the walls and to begin to come out. Most of the old castles and fortresses are torn down and the Churches survive today.

When you face something serious in life, this hope shouldn't be forgotten. When we have the Lord, the Lord is our guide. Great is the Lord, worthy of praise! Joy on this earth to be a citizen of Jerusalem, God is our fortress, the Lord God Almighty will make us secure!

God tells us that when we have Jesus Christ invited to be part of our lives, we are His temple and have His unfailing love. His love reaches to the ends of the earth. Rejoice, be glad and feel secure, for He is our God forever and ever.

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