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1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense. 4 Then the kings assembled, they came on together. 5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight; 6 trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor, 7 as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish. 8 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. 9 We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. 10 Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory. 11 Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers, 13 consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation 14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever. (Psalm 48 New Revised Standard Version)
Welcome a tremendous Thursday to your life Friend, and may wonderful blessings be upon all of the ConCafe Family is my prayer for you all today. We are a people of prayer and I call on all of us to do our part to reclaim the power of prayer for the blessings of healing, wholeness, restoration, reconciliation, peace, and general wellbeing be with all who have called upon the Lord.
Psalms are songs and prayers of celebration. Some might even call them open love letters to God for all to see and by which to be blessed into deeper relationship with God and a stronger walk with Him in our daily lives. How better to explain it than to compare David with a lovesick young man? Nellie has quite a collection of letters that I handwrote (she was a teacher so she could decipher most of them!) to her when we first started our courtship. It wasn't enough to chat on the phone, I found it necessary to write out my thoughts about and for her. If any of my daughters are reading this I know what they're saying or thinking; "Dad! This is a family devotional!" In the same way, David's love and appreication for God is shared in this way. He could not stop telling others about God. I could not stop telling my future wife how I felt about her and how blessed I was to have found her! My letters in now way compete with the psalms; the psalms are God's holy word meant to inspire, instruct and guide us. David shares what he has found in God in hopes that we might also see what he see in God.
This is a psalm all about the strength and security we find in God. Our words and our thoughts can join those of the psalmists in our praise to the Lord. David saw in his surroundings evidence of God's greatness, and so can we. His city, the mountains around it, the buildings, all spoke to him about God. The enemies of God's people trembled and ran when they saw evidence of God's power and might; as do our enemies be they real people or challenges that come against us as disease, trouble, setbacks, whatever; they are no match for our God! Our God, as the psalmist writes, "God's right hand is filled with victory," and as he closes the psalm, "This is our God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever."
PRAYER: Loving Father, in Your hands we place ourselves and our faith. We seek to be those who truly see You and Your hand in all things, especially our lives. We have seen You at work and we have been the recipients of so many things, and for that we join the psalmist and others who proclaim Your greatness and strength. As we face the enemies of life, we trust in You; and we pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share your faith in God with someone today.
Receive my blessings of grace and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
