Psalm 48

Is this life all that there is? That seems to be such a natural thought for so many, even a peaceful thought. According to this idea, just as there was a time when you did not exist, there is coming a time when you will once again not exist. There is no need to trouble yourself about what happens to you after you die. After you die you are nothing.

Yet there is a testimony within mankind that longs for more than non-existence. There is a presence within your soul that seeks eternal life, and even eternal joy. But just desiring something does not make it true. It is in the life, death, and resurrection of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, that we have a firm foundation for a present experience in this world that includes a solid and secure hope of a life to come.

This life that is ours in Christ is testified to throughout the psalms. When we read of a world of glory, and look around ourselves at the present difficulties, we know that the Lord caused His servants who wrote the psalms to speak of an age that would one day be revealed. That age has begun in the resurrection f Jesus Christ, and it is even now reserved for us in the heavens, where Christ lives at the right hand of the Father. Even today, there is a heavenly Zion, and it is the city of our God.

That city is great because the God of the city is great, and He rules and reigns there. During the time of Israel's preparation for the coming of the Messiah, the Lord established a city below, and within that Jerusalem was a temple at a high point of elevation. Within that temple, especially within the holy of holies, the most sacred place in the temple, the Lord Almighty dwelt.

But there is a Zion above in the heavens where God dwells forever. That city will descend from heaven upon the earth. It will be the joy of all the earth, and will be the city of the Lord, the King, who is the fortress of this eternal city.

When Christ returns, the kings of the earth that will not submit to God, will take their final stand against the Lord, and against His Anointed. Yet when they see Zion descend upon the earth from the heavens, they will be astounded. They will be in panic, and they will perish.

The Lord will destroy His enemies. The God who knows the number of hairs on your head, and who saved you through the life and death of His Son has no intention that you should face His wrath forever, or that your life should be utterly extinguished when your mortal body breathes its last. He will make the earth a place of perfect peace, shattering enemies who would distress you. He has a place for you even now in that land that will one day come down upon this earth when the Lord makes all things new.

We hear about the Lord's great city even now in the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And as we worship the Lord our God, we see that promised Zion with the eyes of faith. We hear the word of the King, we have communion with Him at His table, and we believe His ancient promise, that the Lord of heavenly hosts will establish His city on earth forever.

For centuries before the coming of the Messianic Lamb of God, the people of Israel congregated in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Like the church today throughout the world, they listened to the proclamation of God's steadfast love in their synagogues and they saw that love displayed in the sacrificial offerings and festivals that brought so many thousands into the Jerusalem of their day. But now a new day has come, and the message of the love of God stretches far beyond the borders of Israel. The synagogues of the diaspora have now given way to the worshiping assemblies of Jesus Christ, not only in the Mediterranean region of the first century, but into all the continents of the earth, just as the Lord promised.

Now the praise of Israel's God truly reaches to the ends of the earth. Yet presently the church lives in an era of trial and faith. The Zion of the Lord's assemblies here face many dangers and setbacks, not only from outside oppressors, but from internal troubles, and from those whose love has grown cold. Yet our God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, and He will fully accomplish His eternal purpose. His right hand is still filled with righteousness. Therefore, we can rejoice in Him even now.

Through the exercise of faithful hearts, we can hear the Word of the Zion to come, and we can believe. We can even explore the wonder of the heavenly Jerusalem. We can get up from our bed of sickness, despair, or apathy. We can take in the fresh air of the heavenly Zion, and find our souls revived.

May the Lord grant to His church a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, the Son of God. By that Spirit may we know the hope to which we have been called, may we see the church throughout the world as the true temple of the Lord, and may we believe in the resurrection power of God displayed in the miracles of Jesus, and in His own coming forth from the grave.

Walk around the coming Zion today through this Word proclaimed to you. See her towers and her walls. Pass on to the next generation the message of eternal life in a renewed world won for us by the blood of the Lamb of God. Speak the Lord's joy forward to the next generation. The city of God has been secured for you by the great God of the city. He is the eternal God and your eternal life. He will guide you forever. He will guide you beyond death.