Psalm 48

 Psalm 48

As Christians, what are we to make of this Psalm and all the others that express such deep emotions and loyalty to Jerusalem and/or the temple?  Most of us have never been to Jerusalem, fewer have lived there, and none have seen the temple.  We must remember that the temple was a type or a tangible prophecy of what was to come.  Christ fulfilled the Law and the prophecies, and now, rather than a city or a temple on earth, there is the Church.  Not the local congregation but all the elect from every nation.  We are the temple on earth.

With that in mind, we see a marvel and beauty that surpasses mere architecture.  We see the unassailability of the Church, protected and indwelled by God.  We saw the safety and the power of God’s people with God living in them.  “But the church today is such a mess,” we might say.  That is only partially true.  The Church has been counterfeited, and the mess we see is the result of the counterfeit.

Read carefully and slowly, and as you read about the city or the temple, think of the holy universal church.  Then we can line our lives up to being part of the body of Christ. 

“Lord, thank you for the new temple, the Church, and for calling me to be a part. AMEN.”