Year 2, Day 193: Psalm 48

Psalm 48

Psalm 48 is a song of praise and triumph to God.  The psalmist’s overarching point is that God has chosen to dwell in Jerusalem and because of it Jerusalem has become strong and a renowned city.  God’s presence has made Jerusalem strong.

As we read this psalm, we need to make sure that we get the order right.  Is God great because Jerusalem is great or is Jerusalem great because God is great?  It might seem like word play at first, but it really is a significant point to ponder.

If we believe that God is great because Jerusalem is great, then the theology to which we are essentially ascribing is a theology that states that I will love God only if He is good to me.  It’s a theology that says that I will only recognize God’s greatness because He does great things to the things that concern me.  The danger of this is that should I experience some times in my life where things aren’t going all that well then I am likely to also lose some of the esteem that I give to God.  It’s like being a “fair-weather friend” to God.  We love Him so long as the stuff in our life that we also love is taken care of by Him.

The flip-side of this line of thinking is also significant.  Is Jerusalem great because God is great?  To this we should sound out a resounding “Yes!”  The greatness of God impacts the things of God.  God is great because God is great, not because He makes the stuff we care about succeed.  The people, places, and things in this world that involve a great God will become great because of His presence.

So we return to the psalm.  Is God great because the psalmist can see all the fortified towers and ramparts and citadels?  No.  But does Jerusalem have great towers and ramparts and citadels because God is a part of her?  Absolutely!  Is God great because Jerusalem’s enemies were destroyed and turned back?  No.  But are the enemies of Jerusalem destroyed because they rose up against a great God who dwells within her?  Absolutely!

In many respects, this is the point of the psalm.  God’s name generates praise because of God’s character.  The fact that the things that have God within them also turn great generates more praise because of God’s character.  We do not increase the greatness of God; we benefit from the greatness of God.  We do not increase the greatness of God; we see the greatness of God and sing praises to Him because of His greatness.

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