Theological Commentary: Click Here
On the
surface, Psalm 48 seems to be about lifting up Jerusalem and giving its
praise. After all, it is a very
defensible place. The city has thick
walls and high ramparts. Its soldiers
can see the surrounding area and warn of invaders. Who can stand? Even the kings of the area, when they gather
to fight against Jerusalem, have to turn away from their pursuit.
We need to
be careful with this kind of thinking, though.
If this is really what the psalm is about, then our theology is all
wrong. Is God great because Jerusalem is
great? Is the psalmist really saying
that we should worship God more because of the greatness of Jerusalem?
This is a
crucial theological point to make sure we get right. Do we worship God more when things go the way
we want or need? Are we closer to God
when our life is good? If so, isn’t that
a bit of a theology of glory coming through?
Isn’t that like saying because my life is good, I’ll worship God. The problem with that isn’t that we worship
God, it’s what happens when life isn’t good!
Or even what happens when we get so accustomed to the good that we no
longer appreciate it as good and now see it as mundane! If our worship of God is based on the
circumstances around us, we are always in trouble!
If we go
back and read through the psalm carefully, we see that the real point of the
psalm is that Jerusalem is great because God is great. The psalmist isn’t telling us to worship God
because Jerusalem is such a wonderful and impenetrable stronghold. The psalmist is telling us that Jerusalem’s
magnificence and strength is evidence of God’s presence. It should not cause us to worship Him more,
it should draw us to Him who is already there.
This brings us
to a theology of the cross instead of the theology of glory. Rather than worshipping God because He treats
us well and our life is good, we worship God because He’s already there and
among us. We worship Him because we
desire relationship with Him. We worship
Him because we understand that it is through Him and His ways that we really
find peace and wholeness. Only when our
position is moved from the theology of glory to a theology of the cross will we
be able to worship God both in the good and the bad.
Let’s go
back to Jerusalem. What happens several
hundred years after this psalm is written?
Jerusalem falls to Babylon, the temple is destroyed, and its inhabitants
are dragged of into servitude. Many of
the Hebrew people, people who lived a theology of glory instead of a theology
of the cross, saw the destruction of Jerusalem as a reason to fall away from
God and live according to the world. For
them, the destruction of Jerusalem was a sign that God wasn’t the God they
thought Him to be.
However, we
know that a remnant remained. There were
people who lived a theology of the cross, which means that we look for God because
of the relationship. They were able to
see God in the destruction of Jerusalem.
They were able to understand the refinement that God was trying to do
among the people. They were able to
worship Him even when a generation experienced pain and suffering. For these people, the glory of Jerusalem is
not greater opportunity to see God than its destruction. God is present at all times.
Returning to
the psalm, this now brings greater depth.
Yes, Jerusalem was a powerful and mighty city. Yes, it is evidence of God’s power and
might. In that moment in time for
Jerusalem, it is a lesson we can earn and admire! Just remember that it is Jerusalem made great
because of God and not God made great because of Jerusalem.
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