Our scripture reading this evening is Psalm 48. As you're turning there, you may have noticed in the outline that is part of our bulletin that I make reference to the various directions, north, south, east, and west. Now, north and east are mentioned in the first two stanzas of this psalm, but since the orientation of an Israeli is to face the east, then the reference to the right in the third stanza is a reference to the south, and then anything that isn't behind you is the west. You face the east, the left is north, the right is south, and behind you is west. The very center of this psalm really furnishes the theme, which is verse 8. As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. Psalm 48, beginning at verse 1. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth. Mount Zion and the far north, the city of the great king. Within her citadels, God has made himself known as a fortress. For behold, the kings assembled. They came on together. As soon as they saw it, they were astounded. They were in panic. They took to flight. Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor. By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish, as we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. It has your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad. Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. Walk about Zion. Go around her. Number her towers. Consider well her ramparts. Go through her citadels that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. This truly is the word of God. And I encourage you to keep the passage open as we look at it together this evening. Let us pray. Father, we thank you that you have established a city, not just the city physically of Jerusalem in the Middle East, but a heavenly Zion, a Jerusalem that is above, And as the Apostle Paul says, and that is our mother. We thank you, Father, for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ that is built together, that is established by your grace. And we pray, Father, that your spirit will also instruct us in the teaching, in the revelation that Psalm 48 gives us tonight. Hear us, we pray for Christ's sake. Amen. Congregation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it is rather remarkable that the Mount, called Zion, should receive such high praise in the Bible. If you look at the end of verse one, verse two, it's described as having, it's beautiful in its elevation. And if you've ever been to Jerusalem, and if you've ever gone down to Mount Zion, it's not really that impressive in its elevation. In fact, if you cross Kidron Valley and then go up to the Mount of Olives to the east, the Mount of Olives is actually 200 feet higher than Mount Zion, which led one observer to say that Mount Zion is more like a pimple of a hill. It's not all that impressive and that it's not very complimentary, is it, to say that Zion is a pimple of a hill. And so what's going on here? Well, Psalm 48 is one of those so-called Zion Psalms. Psalms written about this very central city. Like Psalm 46 verse 4, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. Or Psalm 76 verse 2, God's abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. Or Psalm 87, on the holy mount stands the city he founded, The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken." Or Psalm 122, Jerusalem, built as a city that is compacted together. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Now these are all inspired songs that recall the very central place that this city had in the life of the community of God's people. For here was the temple, that glorious shrine built by David, where God lived, the holy cloud moved into the Most Holy Place at its dedication. Here is where the Davidic kings had their thrones, over which they ruled the tribes of Israel and any other nation that came under the rule of a Davidic king. Here is where the tribes of God's people would go on pilgrimage to observe the great feasts of God, Passover, Pentecost, and Booths. So this city has a very central place in the life of God's people. And the theme of this psalm can be best summarized in this way. The Lord is the true strength of His city. Verse 8 is the thematic center of Psalm 48. As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. So God's people have heard this truth, but they've also seen it demonstrated. The city that belongs to God is the city that God has established forever. Why? because He is its true strength. Now, the psalm divides nicely in four stanzas, verses 1 through 3, 4 through 7, 9 through 11, and then 12 to 14. First then, verses 1 through 3. Great is the Lord. That's how the psalm begins. Great is the Lord in the city of God. Praise arises for God in this city. Even Jesus would, in the Sermon on the Mount, call Jerusalem the city of the Great King. Now, it was actually conquered rather late in the conquest. Jebusites held on to this city for the longest time, boasting that even the blind and the lame could defend it. And so David and his men capture it. And then David makes it a very central city in his rule. It becomes known as the City of David. So David moves the Ark of the Covenant there. Here, David's great son Solomon will build the beautiful temple, and God will move into it. God will be with his people. You know, we call that Immanuel. We often think of that name when Jesus is born, don't we? God is with us. God is with his people. But the idea behind the word Immanuel goes right back into the Old Testament. God had a home. He had an address in Jerusalem. This is where he lived, the city of Jerusalem, Mount Zion. This is why Zion is beautiful in its elevation. Not because the physical height of the mount is so great. It's beautiful in elevation because Yahweh, the Lord, lives here. It is the joy of all the earth. Because the great and holy God, the God who cannot be contained in a temple, even the heavens of the heavens cannot contain him. has chosen to come down and dwell in the midst of his people. Truly, Emmanuel, God is with us. And more than that, as verse three says, he has made himself known as a fortress, shown himself to be a fortress, a refuge. Great is the Lord. He is with us, not in any kind of weakness, He's not a spineless deity that has no muscle, but he is with us in his great power and in his strength. He is the fortress for Zion, the city of the great king. And that leads us then to the second stanza, verses four through seven. And there we learn that the city of the great king has enemies. Not everybody in this world is a friend of grace. God and his people are not universally loved in the world today. Imagine that. Imagine that. What did we do to wrong them? What have we done to hurt them? And yet God's people are not loved. This makes us think of Psalm 2. Why do the nations rage? Why do the peoples imagine a vain thing? They gather together and they say, this rule by the Lord and His Christ is slavery. But let's get together. Wicked of the world, unite. And let's break their bonds. Let's break their chains. Because living under the rule of Christ is like living in slavery. You think of the Jews when Jesus was on trial. For Pilate asked the crowd, well, what do you want me to do with your king? We have no king except Caesar. The liars. They hated Caesar. But they would rather have a hated Roman Caesar rule over them than Christ. And how had he wronged them? This is the insanity that sin is. We don't want Jesus to be king. Psalm 2 reveals that God responds to that first by laughing and then he gets very angry. His decree is this, he has established his son on his holy hill of Zion. If the kings of the earth would be wise, then they would kiss the sun, lest he become angry and they perish in the way. True wisdom, real wisdom is submitting to Christ as Lord. And so the kings of the earth are not as smart as they think they are. They assemble, verse four, they gather their forces. They make their moves against the city. But when they see the city, verse five, They are astounded. They're panicked. They run away in flight and in fright. They tremble and shake in fear. Their response when they come to Jerusalem is not the same response that Caesar describes when he describes his own victories. Now, if you remember your high school Latin, weenie, weenie, weekie. I came, I saw, I conquered. So Caesar. But that's not the experience of these royal enemies of the great king Yahweh. They come, they see, they panic, they run, they're afraid. Now the psalmist here, the inspired psalmist, doesn't tell us which historical incidents that he has in mind when he describes these reactions of these frightened kings. But if we know the Old Testament, at least three stories come to mind. You think of Israel leaving Egypt. There the pharaoh sees his workforce leaving the job site. What does he do? He sends his troops, his chariots after the Israelites. His best tanks are going to press those Israelites back into work and servitude. But what happens? Well, you know the story. The Egyptian chariots go into the Red Sea, and the water comes back and drowns them all. And the Israelites saw the Egyptian dead on the shore. And they believed in the Lord, and they believed in Moses. Later on, King Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem hears of an unholy alliance of Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites advancing on the city of Jerusalem. Now, he's afraid. Three powerful neighbors are moving up from the south. What's he going to do? So what does he do? He calls for a prayer meeting in Jerusalem. And they put the case before the Lord in prayer. And then revelation comes to them. And they learn this. The battle is not yours, Jehoshaphat. The battle is the Lord's. Stand by and watch the great victory of the Lord. And then what happens? These enemies of God's people turn on each other. So that when the Judean troops came to the place where the enemy were, they just saw the enemy dead. And plunder that took three days to gather. Later on, one other occasion, the Assyrians wanted to bring Judea and King Hezekiah under heel. They come, they surround, they besiege the city. And the high official, Rabshakeh, comes in and gives this impressive speech to the soldiers on the wall. And this is, in essence, what he says, don't trust Yahweh. He's abandoned you. Don't trust Hezekiah. He's nothing. Just surrender to us Assyrians. We're kind and gentle. We'll deal nicely with you. What happens? The Lord sends his angel. 185,000 Assyrian troops die. King Sennacherib has nothing left to do but to pack up his bag, get on his camel, and head back to Assyria, where he will be assassinated by its own sons. They came, they saw, they panic and flee. You see, the kings of the earth can assemble their armies. They may do that. They amass their fleets, but then God sends them running in terror. He destroys their ships. The city remains. You know, the story is told during the Russian Revolution. Vladimir Lenin went with one of his associates into an Orthodox church, and he said, do you see that babushka over there praying, that grandma? Do you see her praying? Once she's dead, the church in Russia will be dead. Well, brothers and sisters, you can go to many, many churches throughout Russia, and there is a babushka still praying. She's still there, but she's now been joined by her children and her grandchildren. Lenin is dead, but the church is not dead. When I teach in Latvia, I have on the TV screen many Russian pastors. who minister in the most difficult of circumstances, if you can imagine. They hate this war against Ukraine, but they dare not speak out loudly because they know that it is against the law to criticize the Russian army. Some of these Russian pastors have had to flee the country. I know some of them in Turkey, in Romania, in Poland, and elsewhere, ministering to other Russians who have fled. But I want you to know this. The Church of Jesus Christ is not dead in Russia. There are many young people who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior in Russia, and they pray for the advance of the kingdom of God also there. We have brothers and sisters in Russia, in Ukraine, in Armenia, and many, many other places. Yes, persecution is never pleasant. But remember what Tertullian said, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Why? Why is that true? Because the Lord is the true strength of his city, not its pastors. not its teachings as such, not its financial wealth, not its buildings. Yahweh, the Lord, lives as a fortress in our midst. And you and I need to be reminded of that all the time, namely this. that even before he was arrested and goes to the cross, Jesus Christ said to his disciples, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. You know, in the days of the Protestant Reformation, things didn't always go so well for the Protestants. No, not at all. And Luther had, as his right-hand man, Philip Melanchthon, a very able theologian, but Melanchthon would become very distressed and discouraged from time to time. And when Melanchthon was discouraged, Luther would come to him and say, come, Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm. God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. The defeat of the enemies of God is not because the city walls are so thick and strong. is because the Lord has shown himself to be the true fortress, the actual strength of his people. And this leads us then to the third stanza, verses nine through 11. And here's where the psalm says that we all contemplate the unfailing, steadfast love of God. Well, what are God's people thinking about these days? God's unfailing love, His commitment to His plan, His saving plan, His electing plan, in His loyalty to His own people. You know, history shows what that means. God makes a sure promise to His people, to us, sinners though we are, and His promise is that He will be our God as we will be His people. We are sinners, deserving of His wrath and punishment. And though we were once dead in sins, once rebels, God has made a commitment that He fulfills in His own Son, Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to remove the barrier of our guilt. He conquers death by His glorious resurrection on Resurrection morning. And more than that, He pours out His Holy Spirit so that that Spirit might take the things of Christ and then work them into our hearts and lives. To this cause, God is committed to you, to you, and that you might receive that through the power of His Spirit and receive it in faith. Do you know this? And do you embrace this? Do you love this? Do you believe this? Do you trust that Jesus Christ will accomplish all of this for you? Such unfailing love. This is what God's people contemplate. You know, back in the older covenant era, God's people could have gone to temple and there, according to the Torah, the priests were to instruct and teach the people in the ways of God. That was their calling, not just sacrificing animals, that was part of it, but more importantly, it was to teach the Torah. And if the priests of the older covenant era were faithful and doing their job properly, then they would have taught God's people these things. But they didn't teach faithfully. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their own discretion, said Jeremiah. And my people love to have it so. But what will you do when the end comes? You see, because these priests and prophets with them were not teaching the truth, this led the people of God to have a superstitious attitude towards the temple. So that Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah stands in the gateway as people come and leave the temple. And he says, do not say, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is this. And then you go out from the temple and you commit sorcery, superstition, you lie, you cheat, you commit adultery, you steal. But you think you're okay because the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord is here. As long as that physical structure is here, we are safe. Such superstition. As long as a Davidic descendant is on the throne, we are okay and we can live like we choose. And so the Temple of the Old Jerusalem is gone, isn't it? It's gone. There are some bricks standing there, but the temple as such is gone. What replaces it? A living temple! Living stones, united to Christ the Great Living Stone, now stands and is being built by His Word and Spirit. On the foundation of what? The prophets and the apostles. Christ the Cornerstone. Here is where you learn, Sunday after Sunday, of the unfailing, steadfast love of God. During your Bible studies, during your personal devotions and meditation on the Word, during family devotions, that contemplation, that meditation, leads then to doxology. Verse 11, let the daughters of Judah rejoice Let the villages, the suburbs around Jerusalem join in praise that Jerusalem brings to the Lord. This all leads then to the fourth stanza. This final stanza, verses 12 through 14, tells us to go on a walkabout. That's not a common North American word, is it? Australians talk about a walkabout, but Psalm 48 says go on a walkabout. Not in the outback, but in the city. And you know what's interesting about this psalm? It's not until you get to this fourth stanza, verses 12 to 14, before the psalm tells us to do something. The earlier verses, earlier stanzas are descriptive, but now we are told to do something. Go on a walkabout and take notice. Do you see the towers? Do you see the citadels? Do you notice the palaces that are here? We note that Yahweh is great in the city, that Mount Zion is lofty and it's beautiful in its elevation. We learn that the kings that have tried to take over the city are constantly shattered at their approach because the Lord has proved himself to be a fortress. But now the psalmist tells us to go on that walkabout and then concludes in verse 14, or last part of 13 into 14, that you may tell the next generation, the generation after you, that this is God. And immediately we stop and say, what? We're Protestants. We don't go through the city, notice its strong and beautiful citadels, and then say, and this is God. This is not God. These are palaces. These are citadels. worship created things, we don't turn them into idols. Or would we? Or have we? Now please keep in mind that everything God has created potentially could become an idol in our mind. and practice. Read Romans 1, when man holds down the truth in unrighteousness and is not thankful, he then turns to the creature and worships the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. So anything created potentially could become an idol. Let me flesh this out a little bit. What are the strengths that you see in the church today? Great pastors? Sound doctrine? Oh, those are so important. Those are so important. We need more, not less, catechetical instruction in the teachings of God's word. But will the doctrine, by itself, Save us. No. Think of James 2. You believe that God is one? You do well. Even the demons believe that, and they tremble. In other words, the demons have taken Theology 101. They understand the doctrine of God. But that doesn't save them. They remain hostile to God and His Son. Or how about this? When we come to the Lord's table, we see bread and wine. Bread is a sign and seal of the body of Christ. The wine is a sign and seal of the blood of Christ. This is what our eyes see. These visible signs and seals. That's what a sacrament is. But if we trust the bread and wine, If we believe that eating and drinking, these elements, that this is a way that we receive Christ, we would be sadly mistaken. That would be idolatry. Because the mouth that receives Christ is faith. It's faith. We commune with Christ, who is really present. He's really present at every Lord's Supper. but faith is the mouth that receives him. Our teeth do not press the physical body of Christ in communion. So how do we stay far away from idolatry? Well, ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see that idolatry around us. to see Christ. He is the true strength of the church. He is the ultimate victor over all enemies. Christ always sends his enemies away in defeat. I've always been puzzled and a little bit amused by that incident in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus is arrested. I don't know, maybe you have the answer to it. They come with their weapons and Jesus says, whom are you seeking? Jesus and he says that's me. I am Jesus and then the text says and they fell over backwards Strange they came they saw they fell over Do the walkabout Take note of the many strengths that are visible in this church, in the world, even beyond the church, but then give prayerful, careful instruction to those who come after you that these visible manifestations of strength are pointing beyond themselves to the Lord. For if this truth was self-evident, there would be no need for the psalmist to tell us to teach the next generation. Verses 13 and 14, yes, consider all that you see, but then you must learn that what you see reminds you of the real strength of the church. The Lord is the true strength of his city. The real fortress for his church is people. Because if Christ, if the Lord ever leaves the church, then you and I have nothing, nothing except exposure to enemies who want to see us dead at worst. At best, locked up in the closet in the ghettos. You don't have to tell people to be ignorant. They can do that quite well on their own. You don't have to tell them to be ignorant. You teach them. That's why scripture is so insistent that the next generation, our boys and girls, our young people, our children, learn the truth. Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78, and elsewhere. They will not get it on their own. Show them, tell them, explain it to them that we have a God who will lead us forever, even to death, even beyond death. You see, Psalm 48 brings it all together. Temple, city, mountain. But more than that, it tells us to take a good look at those city towers, ramparts and citadels. For all these structures are important parts of the Old Covenant city of Jerusalem. But they point beyond what our eyes see to the truth that Yahweh is our true strength. If the Lord does not guard the city, then the best trained troops will keep watch in vain. If the Lord is not the real fortress of his people, then the best soldiers will not be able to stop the enemy from storming the walls and taking that city captive. But all of this requires faith, faith, faith in the Lord, faith in his word, not in what our physical eyes see, but what the eyes of faith can see and take in. It calls for you who are trusting in anything in addition to your faith in Christ. as your road to righteousness, to abandon those idols and focus only on Christ. God is with His people in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus. God is the fortress for His people in the presence of His Holy Spirit, a comforter who has great strength, who actually loves His people, and takes his residence within our hearts and lives. Believe on the promises that are yes and amen in Jesus Christ, for he has promised you this. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He will be with us to the end of the age. Amen. Let us pray. Lord our God, comfort us. with the truth that you are strong and you are with us in our midst. For we face many enemies, and sometimes they are the fears and tremors within our own soul. And so, Lord, give us those eyes of faith to always cling to Christ, to trust him no matter what, and that this truth might be something that strengthens your people throughout the whole world for Jesus' sake. Amen.