The City of God

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms 

September 8, 2022

The City of God

 

How great is the Lord,

how deserving of praise,

in the city of our God,

which sits on his holy mountain!

Psalm 48:1

As I read Psalm 48, I remember my visit to the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall, in Jerusalem. It was a Sabbath evening and the wall glistened like a pearl; she was exceedingly beautiful. Even today, after Jerusalem has been destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed to be rebuilt again and again, she is beautiful as the City of God.

For the followers of Christ, the City of God is the church: “You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”

(Ephesians 2:19b-22)

The church is not a denomination, and it is not a building. The church, the bride of Christ, is the people of God when they assemble and ask God to: “Transfigure us to be your presence in the world, even as we are redeemed and reclaimed by your great love. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at the heavenly banquet.”

On our visit to Jerusalem, we gathered on the steps leading to the Temple. We could imagine Jesus teaching his disciples as he sat with them on these same steps. We could imagine the people of God gathering in the Temple as we read Psalm 122, “Let us go to the House of the Lord.” Today, as I read Psalm 48, I envision the time when all of God’s people will gather together in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21: 9-11) to sing praises to our redeeming God.

My Takeaway: Today, my prayer is a paraphrase of verses 9 and 14. Perhaps you will join me in this prayer. “O God, I meditate on your unfailing love as I worship in your Temple. You are my God forever and ever, and you will guide me until I die.” 

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.