10.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The church is God’s “city on a hill.”
• Every church is “God’s people, in this place, at this time.”
• It is God’s presence that makes the church so special.
• The church can trust in God for protection against all its enemies.
• The church enjoys God’s blessing forever.

10.2 Psalm 48←⤒🔗

^48:1 The LORD is great and certainly worthy of praise in the city of our God, his holy hill.

^48:2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at, a source of joy to the whole earth. Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon; it is the city of the great king.

^48:3 God is in its fortresses; he reveals himself as its defender.

^48:4 For look, the kings assemble; they advance together.

^48:5 As soon as they see, they are shocked they are terrified, they quickly retreat.

^48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, like a woman writhing in childbirth.

^48:7 With an east wind you shatter the large ships.

^48:8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds, now we have seen them, in the city of the LORD, the invincible Warrior, in the city of our God. God makes it permanently secure. (Selah)

^48:9 We reflect on your loyal love, O God, within your temple.

^48:10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth is worthy of your reputation, O God. You execute justice!

^48:11 Mount Zion rejoices; the towns of Judah are happy, because of your acts of judgment.

^48:12 Walk around Zion! Encircle it! Count its towers!

^48:13 Consider its defenses! Walk through its fortresses, so you can tell the next generation about it!

^48:14 For God, our God, is our defender forever! He guides us!

© NET Bible

10.3 The Church: A city on a hill←⤒🔗

Psalm 48 is a song about the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was built on Mount Zion. This made the city stand out. It could be seen from far away.

But what made the city so special was that God was in it (verse 3). His temple was there. Jerusalem was the city of the living God!

Today, Jerusalem is not the city of God anymore. Today God has a new “city on a hill.” God’s city is the church (Matthew 5:14). The church does not have a temple building. Jesus Christ is the temple. Through faith in Jesus, we can meet with God in any place, at any time.

This is what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman. He told her, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…. A time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:21, 23).

If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you are part of the worldwide church. But you are also part of the church in your area, the church that meets together every Sunday. It does not matter if it is a small church or a big church. If that church preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, then God is there! He is the one who brought the specific people of your church together. He is the one who put you in this place, at this time.

God loves his church! From Psalm 48 we see that every church of God enjoys God’s presence, God’s protection, and God’s blessing.

10.4 God’s presence←⤒🔗

What makes the church so special? Is it the building? No. Jesus said that it does not matter where people worship God, as long as they worship him in spirit and truth. Is it the people? No. People in the church are not perfect. All of us have many sins and many weaknesses. Is it the size of the church? No. There are many large churches that do not preach the true gospel. There are also many small churches where the true gospel is preached.

Psalm 48:1 shows us what makes the church so special: “Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.” The church is special because God is in it! It is not the church that is great. It is not the church that must be praised. It is the God of the church who is great! He must be praised.

In verse 2, we see that God is the “Great King” of the church. He is the One who deserves all the praise and all the glory.

When the church praises and serves her King, then other people will see it. People will see that the church is different from the world. They will say, “God is really among you!” (1 Corinthians 14:25). That is how the church can be a city on a hill.

10.5 God’s protection←⤒🔗

In this world, the church has many enemies. The world is still under Satan’s power. Satan hates God and he hates God’s church. He will always make plans to destroy the church. This was true even in the time of the Old Testament. The “kings joined forces” to attack God’s city, Jerusalem (Psalm 48:4).

But when the kings arrived, they became very scared and they fled (Psalm 48:5–6). God destroyed them with his mighty power (Psalm 48:7). No one can do anything against God’s church!

As God’s church, we can trust in God’s protection. Even if God allows some of his people to be killed, it is not the end. God’s people have eternal life. When Jesus comes again, his enemies will shake with fear. It will be the end of them.

But if we stop trusting in God’s protection, then it is the end of us. This is what happened to the city of Jerusalem. In the time of Ezekiel, God left the city of Jerusalem. Why? Because God’s people had turned away from him. For years and years, they had worshipped false gods. Jerusalem was destroyed by a strong nation: the Babylonians. It would never be the same beautiful city again.

God can do the same today, when a church stops trusting in him. Jesus warned the church in Ephesus: “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5). If the church in Ephesus did not turn back to Jesus, then Jesus would bring the church in Ephesus to an end.

In our churches, let us trust God for his protection. He is our “fortress” (verse 3). In other words: he is our wall of protection.

10.6 God’s blessing←⤒🔗

God’s church does not have to fear anything. We can rather use our time to think about God’s “unfailing love” (verse 9). We can “rejoice” in him and praise him (verse 11). We can tell “the next generation” about all his deeds (verse 13). In this way, our children will also know God. They will be his church on earth, one day when we are gone.

One day, God’s whole church will be together. The new Jerusalem will come down from heaven. God will come to live with us! He will wipe every tear from our eyes. We will never have to face any enemies again (Revelation 21). That is the day which the church is looking forward to.

Until then, God has blessed us with his greatest gift: his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us and comforts us. He makes us God’s “city on a hill.”

If you are part of God’s church, then you can rejoice! “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end” (Psalm 48:14).