Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

Where he is to be praised- “ …in the city of our God, which is on his holy mountain!”

The ‘city of God’ has three simultaneous locations:

1. It is first the dwelling of God in heaven- “ And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven…” (Rev. 21:2) The praise in heaven is continuous and powerful.

2. The second is the earthly city of Jerusalem- “ And their bodies will lie in the main street of the great city (Jerusalem) which is called ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ the city where their Lord was crucified.” (Rev. 11:8) The present day city of Jerusalem has suffered vastly because of its rejection of Christ. It’s future will be filled with worship according to the ancient Hebrew prophets. 3. The church is called the ‘city of God’- “ …you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels in joyful assembly.” (Heb. 12:22) Praise is a sign that the ‘Great King’ is in his church. Praise in the life of the believer is not exclusively for the gath- ering of the church but the meeting of his people should amplify and encourage this vital spiritual activ- ity. “ It is magnificent in elevation¬–the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, (in the far north) is the city of the great King! God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers. He reveals himself as her defender.” (2,3) Spurgeon says of this passage: ‘The elevation of the church is her beauty. The more she is above the world the fairer she is 1 .” Jerusalem sits impressively upon a hill in Palestine yet it is to be seen by the whole earth as their source of joy. The good news of Christ is for every land and every people and the church is for all nations. “ In the far north ”… refers to the preferred position of the church. It is to be in the most prominent spiritual place of every city in the world. God is revealed as a present, not a past citizen of the city. He is defending his church against all attacks of the enemy.

II THE INVASION OF THE CITY - 4-7

“ The kings of the earth joined forces and advanced against the city. But when they saw it, they were stunned; they were terrified and ran away.”(4,5)

The attack of Moab/Ammon/Mount Seir upon Jehoshaphat and Jerusalem best fits this descrip- tion. The battle took place in wilderness of Tekoa about 3 hours journey from the city. From there, the walls and towers of Jerusalem can be seen and the praises of the great King were used to defeat the massive armies. “ At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other.” (2 Chron. 20:23)

“ They were gripped with terror, like a woman writhing in the pain of childbirth or like the mighty ships of Tarshish being shattered by a powerful east wind.”(6,7)

Both childbirth and the east winds of the Mediterranean Sea come suddenly without warning and there are no alternatives to their demands. A pregnant woman must deliver the baby and sailors cannot ig- nore the storm that is shattering the fleet of ships. Because of God’s intervention, the invasion is stopped. The imagery of the ships being destroyed fits an unfortunate event in the life of Jehoshaphat: “ But near the end of his life, King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who was a very wicked man. Together they built a fleet of ships that could go to Tarshish at the port of Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer…prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your work.’ So the ships met with disaster and never set sail for Tarshish.” (2 Chron. 20:35-37)

III THE INVINCIBLE CITY - (8)

“ We had heard of the city’s glory, but now we have seen it ourselves–the city of the Lord Almighty. It is the city of our God; he will make it safe forever.” Interlude (8)

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