As preached by John Keller. We behold God...
1) In awe for our hearts.
2) In terror for our souls.
3) In praise of our King.
4) In detail for our kids.
Psalm 48
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
[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 her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
[4] For behold, 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,
anguish as of a woman in labor.
[7] By the east wind, you shattered
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 will establish forever. Selah
[9] We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
[10] As your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
[11] Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
[12] Walk about Zion, go around her,
number her towers,
[13] consider well her ramparts,
go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
[14] that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
He will guide us forever.
Let’s pray. Father, you are so magnificent and beautiful. Your works are seen in the sky and mountains above and in the depths of the earth below. You are just and mighty. How wonderful are your ways! Jesus, we praise you as our king. Your rule is just and full of righteousness. May the nations come to you in worship. Help us to make disciples as you have called us. Holy Spirit, guide us in our worship. Help us to behold and respond rightly. Teach us your righteousness. Give us wisdom. Aid us as we teach our children who you are and what you have done for us. Guide my words this morning. Convict us of the sins we need to repent of. Encourage us where we need to obey and grow.
Imagine with me that you have just finished hiking with a friend. This is a hike they have hyped up for months, saying that there is just one day a year you can do this “sunrise hike.” The 30-minute trek ended up being a 60-minute hike with much more steep inclines than you expected. The trees and bushes have scratched up your legs and you have aches all over your body. As you look out over this final viewpoint at the top of this small mountain, you see nothing but deep, dark gray. The seasonal fog has clouded almost everything below you. This is not exactly what you were expecting to see after all the talking and planning before this trip. Your friend smiles, sits, and looks out expectantly, waiting for some big moment that has yet to happen. You move over next to them, drenched in sweat, and try to make the best of the experience. As you think through how to gently bring up the fact that this trip was not the life-changing experience you were promised, it happens. Suddenly out in the gray sea of clouds, you see a magnificent ball of light emerge and cast wonder throughout the valley below. A part of you knows it is just the sun, but another part is amazed by how real and tangible it is. It is as if you could reach out and touch this perfect yellow sphere piercing the clouds. Your breath is caught in your chest as you take in the beautiful greens and blues shining around you. Trees, flowers, and the sun paint the land stretching above the clouds before you. Birds begin to sing as they wake to the morning light. You realize that tears have fallen on your cheeks as your body and soul process the glory and majesty of what you are witnessing. You catch your friend looking up at you with a certain look in their eyes that clearly says “I told ya” but you can only smile back. This moment, this experience with such great beauty is an example of what we call awe.
There are millions of wonders in this world that can give us these emotions, but the greatest of these is God and his kingdom. God and his domain should invoke awe and many other emotions in us just as this picturesque sunrise adventure on the mountaintop. Psalm 48 is here to help us to see God and his everlasting city and respond appropriately, just as with gazing at the starry night or seeing a firefighter rescue a child from a burning house, beholding God should affect us to our core. It should evoke certain emotions in us and we should take action from these emotions.
In Psalm 48 we have 4 main ways we can respond to beholding God and his city. These responses are not in the abstract but should be directed to our good and the good of those around us. In other words, there is purpose behind how we behold God and respond to him. These four responses will be our four points this morning and follow the four main sections of Psalm 48.
We Behold God:
In Awe for our hearts
In Terror for Our Souls
In Praise of our King
In Detail for our kids
In Awe for Our Hearts (1-3)
V.1 Begins our Psalm by declaring the greatness of our Lord and how greatly he is to be praised. Our creator, our sustainer, our king, our deliverer, our redeemer, this is our God. The vast skies above and the rich depths below reveal how great our Lord is.
Have you considered the scale of creation? Within your body are millions upon millions of microscopic cells, each working together harmoniously in purpose and function so you can live right now. These cells are invisible to our naked eyes but through diligent study, we have learned more and more about the beauty of God’s design. Likewise, have you gazed upon the stars and contemplated the far reaches of the galaxy? With telescopes we have sent into space we have identified billions of stars in God’s universe. We have identified thousands upon thousands of planets orbiting other stars in other galaxies. The scope of our universe should make you feel awe, but many instead feel just mere insignificance as with studying molecular biology. We are so small and simple compared to the riches of everything else God has made. And yet, Earth is where God has placed his people, his image bearers. Genesis 1:14 frames the creation of the galaxies as for the service of his people he was preparing to create. The vastness of our skies in the night displays how great our God is and how much he loves us to give us these to measure our days, seasons, and years. The universe, from the smallest cell to the biggest star, sings God’s glory and God’s greatness.
Psalm 48 does not praise the greatness of God specifically as creator, however. Its focus is on God’s city, Zion, which is described as God’s holy mountain, beautiful, and the joy of all the earth. Just as a sport’s fan is proud and full of joy over his team’s success, so is the earth towards God and his city. This is the city of the great king in v. 2 and God himself has revealed himself as a fortress in this city in v. 3. Just as the fine details of the human body or the beauties in the starry night can give us wonder, so should God’s city. This does not mean we need to purchase paintings of Jerusalem or images of Zion. It means we are to look to God for our hope, our joy, and our refuge.
The joy in v. 2 is clearly future-focused because of the enemy kings assembling against God’s city in v.4. This is a song that points us to the final consummation of God’s kingdom upon the whole earth. Christ came and preached that the kingdom of heaven, God’s kingdom, was at hand. He taught that this kingdom would be like a small mustard seed that would grow to be larger than any plant in the garden, providing refuge to those in need (Matt 13:31). Daniel 2:35 describes the falling of the nations being the work of God as he establishes His kingdom in the form of a mountain which fills the whole earth.
This is why God’s city can be the joy of the earth, because it is not centered around a single, geographical place but on God and his reign. We experience this today through God’s church. The kingdom of heaven is experienced by the gathering of the saints under the Lordship of Christ. Is this not beautiful? How we, who have been displaced from our own meeting space for months, still gather and worship the same Lord. We do so because God is our king and he is not tied to a singular location for us to worship. Commentators note that the phrase “in the far north” in v. 2 suggests that the physical location of Zion is not what is in focus, but rather that it is where God reigns through his anointed king. This city is the same one as in Psalm 2:4 where God says “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill”. It is the same city where the Lord consecrates the Messiah and calls him to sit as His right hand until he makes his enemies a footstool for his feet in Psalm 110:1-2. While our Psalm does not explicitly speak of the promised Messiah directly, its themes of Zion, the thwarted plots of kings, and the worship of the whole earth point us in his direction.
But why do we need to look to God and his city? Why do we need to look towards God and his kingdom in awe specifically? We need to for our hearts. We are creatures of worship. We go to things to refresh our souls. We should turn to God and his city, that his rule and reign over all things. However, we do not. We often go to other things to fill us with what only God can give.
The prophet Jeremiah says in Jer 2:13, “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” He ends this proclamation against Israel by saying “Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you,” (Jer 2:19).
Is the fear of the Lord in you? Do you experience awe when you consider God and his kingdom? When you think about what he has done for you, does it fill you with wonder? Let us look at what Paul says in Colossians 3:1-4 in response to combating the indulgences of our flesh as was the problem in Jeremiah’s day and our own.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.“
We are to Behold God’s City in Awe for our hearts. Seeing the marvelous deeds of God in his kingdom should fill us with wonder and refresh us to worship and live. But this is not the only emotion and response we should have when behold God and his city. This leads to our second point.
In Terror for Our Souls (4-8)
We noted earlier that Psalm 48 has a forward outlook in v. 2 by talking about God’s city being the joy of the whole earth. A similar case can be made for vv. 4-8. A key clue is the ships of Tarshish being scattered by the east wind in v. 7. There is no recorded team-up of the armies of nations against Jerusalem that involved the ships of Tarshish. Particularly ones that leave and are shattered. The closest we come to something like this is in 2 Chronicles 32 with Hezekiah and Assyria but that was a singular king and involved no ships. If this reaction of terror from the assembled kings is forward-looking, then what is it pointing to? Why is it that they are terrified and that God is destroying their ships? To answer this we need to realize that this section of Psalm 48 is referencing and quoting the Song of the Sea from Exodus 15.
After crossing the Red Sea and witnessing God’s judgment upon Pharaoh and his army, Moses leads the Israelites in the first recorded corporate worship song. Vv. 1-12 praise God for his mighty deeds and wonders and conquest over their enemies. VV. 13-18 continue the song in a future-oriented fashion. Let us hear these verses and you will pick up the parallels to Psalm 48:
“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
The people have heard; they tremble;
pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O LORD, pass by,
till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
The LORD will reign forever and ever.” (ESV)
We see terror, birth pangs, tremblings, panic, God’s steadfast love, God’s guidance, God’s kingship, and God’s mountain as repeated words and themes between these two songs. Another key connection is the east wind in Psa 48:7 which God uses to shatter the ships of Tarshish. Look at Exodus 14:21, “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.” The same wind by which God drove back the waters of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:21 to give salvation is the same wind he is using to judge the nations assembling to oppose him in Psalm 48:7. But as these kings and armies oppose God, they flee in terror as we see in Psa 48:5.
Such is the fate of all who are enemies of God as these kings are and as Pharaoh was. All who stand opposed to the king of the Universe will be shattered and destroyed. If you do not know Christ as Lord of your life, you should feel terror as these rebellious kings feel terror. Judgment is upon you right now! This very second! If Pharaoh, with all his might and power, was wiped away in an instant, what hope do you have against the one true, living God? Make no mistake, God will not overlook your transgressions and all will give an account on the last day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. If you are not in Christ, if you do not profess faith in him, you should feel agony like a woman in childbirth. You should feel terror for your soul when you behold God and his kingdom because you have been living a life in rebellion against him. The fear of the Lord is not within you and so you only feel terror. That is the right response to behold God and his city.
But there is hope. You see we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all enemies of God, but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Listen to Paul in Ephesians 2:1-10:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:1-10)
We no longer need to look at God and his kingdom in terror, for we have been purchased and redeemed. You no longer behold God in terror but in wonder, awe, and a healthy fear of the Lord. It is from God’s love and kindness towards us that we respond to God and his city in a third way.
In Praise for Our King (9-11)
When we gather together, what do you think about? Where does your mind wander when we assemble on Sundays? Do you think about how God has saved you? Do you give praise for how he has saved your brothers and sisters here? God’s steadfast love should be at the forefront of our minds every Sunday. That is what v. 9 of Psalm 48 is describing for us. We should gather and reflect on God and his never-changing love. It is from this love that we know that all the families of the earth will be blessed through the promised one from Abraham, the seed of the woman who crushes the snake, who is Jesus Christ. We see this victory of God’s love in Psa 48:10 where the psalmist proclaims that God’s praise will reach the ends of the earth. Again, we see the forward focus and outlook of Psalm 48. Yet, we can see this reality unfolding today. Christ right now is seated at the right hand of the Father as we saw earlier in Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Col 3, and Eph 2. Christ is our king and he will reign until all his enemies, that is these rebellious kings and nations, are put under his feet.
As God’s kingdom spreads throughout the earth, we see families, communities, and even nations praise the Lord. What are they praising in Psalm 48? They are praising his righteousness and justice. They make God’s people rejoice and be glad.
What are the things that make you rejoice? Is it when you get your dream job or a great raise? Is it when your kids finally obey without complaining? Is it when your neighbor asks you to teach him about Jesus and why you worship him differently? Or just the fact that this day is a gift from God himself and that his grace is sufficient?
There was a day when I felt such joy and rejoicing over just a simple gift from my parents as a kid. Through clever trickery, I was led to believe that the one gift I wanted for Christmas, a Nintendo 64, was not going to happen that year. After going through all the presents I was struggling to be grateful and content with the other gifts I received. It was then that I was told to look back under the tree. Somehow, a present had swapped labels and what was once a wrapped present to my uncle was now mine! I tore through the paper and wept tears of joy as the box was indeed the Nintendo 64. I felt a lot of emotions at this surprise but I remember the phrase I kept shouting was thank you, thank you. That is a picture of how we should praise God. Public gratitude is a great way to rejoice in the Lord.
In vv. 10-11 we see righteousness and judgments coming from God and making his people rejoice. When was the last time you rejoiced over a judgment? When was the last time you saw a leader do a righteous deed and it made your heart sing? If we are not careful, we can let the world around us make us jaded and cynical about leaders, justice, and even righteous deeds. Justice is not dead and righteousness is not forgotten. God reigns now, Christ is reigning now. God’s kingdom is growing, putting all enemies under Christ’s feet, now. Yes Psalm 48 points towards the day when God’s kingdom is fully consummated and every knee bows and every tongue professes Christ as Lord. But do not think that God and his city will be inactive until Christ’s return. Even now in Utah, God’s kingdom is growing through his true church. It is not because of how great we are but how great our king is. It is because of who he is and what has done and is still doing that we praise our King. This leads us to our final point.
In Detail for Our Kids (12-14)
Psalm 48 ends with its lone exhortation. It calls us to walk around and inspect Zion in three different aspects in vv. 12-13. The reason for these investigative and contemplative efforts is to inform the next generation who God is and always will be. In other words, we behold God to tell others, specifically our children. This is a serious task and not something we can or should do quickly or simply. It takes effort, time, and intentionality. It will not happen by accident and often requires thoughtful planning and focus.
How do the kids in our church see your faith? Do they know your testimony? Do they know of how the Lord has been your refuge? Have you taken the time to explain why you worship Jesus to these little ones? These stories and experiences can help them in understanding who God has been, is, and always will be. If your children don’t know your testimony, when are you planning on telling them?
As a church, we are a family. Baptismal waters and thicker than blood. We have a lot of kids in this church and they need to hear your stories about the mighty and marvelous things God has done in your life. I know my kids do.
And don’t be generic! Just as the Psalmist calls us to number, consider, and go through the city of Zion, we should be thoughtful and reflective on all the ways God has saved and redeemed us. These stories are not about us but about God. We should not be shy about God, especially with the kids whom God has entrusted to us in our church.
My father shaped my faith in a lot of ways, but there were several other men in my church who took it upon themselves to invest in boys like me. They talked about God and his word but they also shared their own lives and how God had shaped them. They shared how they did not know the Lord as a kid and failed even as a Christian adult. They shared how God had renewed and redeemed them and given them a purpose to serve God and his kingdom just by being a faithful church member. Their vulnerability helped me to see God for who he is and what he is about.
Another reason we behold God in detail for our kids is that we will see them again in the resurrection. The final line of the Psalm has a footnote in v. 14. God will guide us forever, or beyond death. In light of the future focus in the other sections of this Psalm, it again seems that the Psalmist has in mind the day when all the nations see and tremble before God and his established kingdom throughout the earth. He knows he will die before the arrival of God’s anointed king, but he trusts that God shall guide him beyond death into this hope. As such, he exhorts us to be faithful to do what the Lord asks of us. To praise him, to think about his steadfast love, and to teach the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever.
Conclusion
We have a great God! The maker and sustainer of this universe is not distant or far off. He is deeply interested and invested in both this world and our lives. We can know God and see God through his city, that is, his kingdom and reign.
Behold God and his city in awe for your heart. Our hearts need to be refreshed, if you are not turning to God, you are turning to something else. Are you using a broken jar that can hold no water to rejuvenate your heart? If so, repent and turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Behold God and his city in terror for your soul. As Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13 “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” If you do not fear the Lord in submission to Him in this life, you will only have terror of the Lord in eternity.
Behold God and his city for the praise of your King. Praise the Lord! Think of how rich and beautiful His love is to save people like us! Think of his righteousness and justice growing as the church goes forth and makes disciples of the nations.
Behold God and his city for your kids. As members of Christ Fellowship, we are covenanted together. We are family. You have a responsibility and duty to my kids as I do with yours. How will you recount God’s vivid mercy to these little ones? How can you tell your testimony in a way a 5 or 6-year-old can understand? What about a 3-year-old? Be diligent to remember how God has blessed you in detail so that those details teach the next generation who God is and how he loves his people. Don’t let God’s story in your life be a private affair, but boldly share how God has redeemed you and how beautiful and magnificent God is for that.
Just as this sermon began with that friend taking you on that life-changing hike to see this glorious sunrise, I will end by telling you that you can do the same, right now. We all have the capacity to take someone on a journey to see something that will change them for the rest of their lives. Yes, some may refuse to go with us at first, but some will hear us out. Others may say that they have seen that sunrise before and love that sunrise but are talking about something else entirely. But a few will take us up on our offer and ask to see this God and city for themselves. We take them to Christ and the cross where he took our sin, our brokenness, our shame, and our death and buried it in the tomb. And just as the dawning sun gives light and warmth to our world, so does the ascending Messiah who God raised on the third day give love and peace to those who trust in him. That is our life-changing sunrise and it gives awe to those who have ears to hear. Let us now go this week and behold our God.
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