Image from new.goisrael.com
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense. Then the kings assembled, they came on together. As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight; trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor, as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. (Selah) We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory. Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers, consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever. (Psalm 48)
Let the celebrations still continue! Dear friend, may our celebrations of the greatness of God never end! I trust you had a safe and happy Fourth of July, and as the work week continues may it be one that blesses God, us, and those who can be blessed by our thoughts, words, and actions.
Yesterday, we read where David was asked to be king of Judah, later of both Judah and Israel, and how he moved his capital to Jerusalem from Hebron. This is a psalm he wrote about that beautiful and significant city. I have to confess that I never felt the need to go to Israel, but a blessing allowed Nellie and I to be there in the first part of March. I have shared how Jerusalem so blessed us, that Nellie said she wanted to live there. It is a beautiful city, filled with people from all over the world. It is the center of three of the world's major religions; Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. It is a city that allows one to feel secure; never once did we feel we were in danger. Yes, it is a big city, so like big cities, there are places where one may not be safe; but the tourist areas are the most secure, for the residents and officials of the city recognize the impact the tourist money brings in to them and blesses them-they will take care of their tourists. And they seek to take care of their residents.
The city is a reminder of God's presence. To walk along its streets is to emotionally be stirred by all that happened in that city as recorded in the pages of our Bible. To see the City of David, a small section within the city that has the remnants of David's palace is enough to make your mouth gape with wonder as to the place where this great king lived and died. And the place where many of the psalms were written. Jerusalem, as David wrote, "is the city of the great King," meaning God. It is the "city of the Lord of hosts," "the city of our God, which God establishes forever." A steady and constant reminder of God's love, and a call to worship the Lord as often as we can. And it serves to remind our children and their children about God; who serves to guide us forever."
The photograph in today's devotional is the rebuilt wall of the old city. It is precisely the place we took on our first and subsequent days when we walked from out hotel to the university and to begin our tours of that famous city. One can never see it again as a place never visited, for we visited it and it blessed and touched our lives; and we praise God for that blessing, for the ones who made possible that blessing, and for all God has, is, and will do, for us. What remains is to ask what we will do to bless the Lord in our lives?
PRAYER: Loving God, we rejoice in the knowledge that You are everywhere; and we love that You reside in our hearts. May our glad hearts praise You today and all days. May You guide us to faithfulness and fruitfulness is our prayer, which we lift up in faith, and in the name of Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! May you be a source of motivation for someone to praise God today!
Eradio Valverde
