Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Reflection - The glories of the church of Christ (Psalm 48)

Source Website: http://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=19&c=48
By Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary


The city of our God that God dwell with man upon the earth, is beautified with holiness.
PHOTO: The city of our God that God dwell with man upon the earth, is beautified with holiness. Happy is the kingdom, the city, the family and the heart in which God is present. All the streams of mercy that flow down to us, must be traced to the fountain of His loving-kindness. The psalmist urged us give to God the glory of the great things he has done for us. All the members of the church can take comfort from what the Lord does for his church - the beauty, strength, and safety of the church. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
Fresco by Luca Rossetti da Orta (1708-1770) - The Holy Trinity
A painting done rapidly in watercolour on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colours penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries.
Picture posted by John Soran on 9 December 2014
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgob8rBvJI8EBFRLIjNIB1ZW2a6aTFBfyip8vaB06KlyuDNyNKBg6xQAF6pHdB5RG5orhRb9LfyqlXed7kbJdymv7VKzzSeM1UmhoVCSod_opLnUxg4EHuET10VC-LFzx1yVjlkt5ZTGzA0/s1600/14_sf_treime_1_luca.jpg
https://ioansoran.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/14_sf_treime_1_luca.jpg
https://ioansoran.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/reprezentari-ale-sfintei-treimi-in-arta-2/


Psalm 48 [1], A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

2 Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon [2] is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.

3 God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.


Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon [2] is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.
PHOTO: "Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon [2] is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King." (Psalm 48:2)
The daffodils, birds, flowers, grass, clouds and rainbow shows the glory in the city of our God and his holy mountain.
Posted by Digger on 1 September 2014
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqRYkM-A8ThhzDa5HQjDTQ9R1qRBOEHX7vdkeQK1YKWlFarZKGNMo1ovLqIbKcrdmZEfhoEbqldMvURpIOOuvbdiTlMA7QTz7M2iHHOhNhw7pzvZW995DeSLtD0yASL8U0kOCPnUuh4yK/s1600/ilty.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nUngSzTOjjRqzGxx75bFL-MudtocUDqqCt2h8R5cfhmtnk6gSCzm38xqPLL6XPm2vIYb1KKzeLZz-HdeJtEOJ5jtP7JPgMTz83BP7UyTb5Be1JcUfobmBRqpHkOVzIKjr59cjLWCl4bO/s1600/ilty.jpg
http://grumpymanwithtoomuchtimeonhishands.blogspot.sg/2014/09/stairways-to-heaven-16.html


4 When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,

5 they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.

6 Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.

7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.

8 As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever. [3]


As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.
PHOTO: "As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever." (Psalm 48:8)
Picture posted by Vicki C
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IUr0ReeEHHC3u7SL6tAbLQTcpdD8CB3_-YXH2e8Oc7NmBCMZnqVOEU_gFrCyVa89XQuYqD1kzF24pvRnccSbU9JC5JX21Ms5Y1nKmQyyeoYassFtC_TJFM3GJdL0TVmFSmuqLlHhPhP3/s1600/heavenly-union.jpg
https://rapturewatcher.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/heavenly-union.jpg
https://rapturewatcher.wordpress.com/are-you-born-again-ready-for-glorious-rapture/


9 Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

10 Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11 Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.


Mount Zion rejoices
PHOTO: Mount Zion rejoices
"Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness." (Psalm 48:10)
Mt. Sinai says “Do this and you will live.” Yet Mt. Zion shouts “It is finished!” Mt. Zion is a mountain for those to come to who have nothing to offer but instead trust in Jesus Christ who perfectly kept the Law on their behalf. He promises to save those who come from the penalty and power of their sins.
Posted by Tim Conway, Grace Community Church on 7 April 2014 - Two Mountains: Mt. Zion & Mt. Sinai
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZh_FDnZLkpWJOV2LU-pKRKyaE69C1pCx6_DaRYJ_NYCDESJ_zFnK1lFphgD7KWE5oL1yde-N-14JssinMCKhkgKMUpw1km7tXIdBjeHpraOQe-nCpcQ_rAEwOhoPEH3LS0-06kMGBKAF/s1600/Two-Mountains-Mt-Zion-Mt-Sinai.jpg
http://illbehonest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Two-Mountains-Mt-Zion-Mt-Sinai.jpg
http://illbehonest.com/two-mountains-mt-zion-mt-sinai-tim-conway


12 Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,

13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.


Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts (a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, fortification), view her citadels (a fortress, typically one on high ground above a city), that you may tell of them to the next generation.
Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts (a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, fortification), view her citadels (a fortress, typically one on high ground above a city), that you may tell of them to the next generation.
PHOTO: "Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts (a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, fortification), view her citadels (a fortress, typically one on high ground above a city), that you may tell of them to the next generation." (Psalm 48:12-13)
Picture posted by Wallpapers on 7 February 2013
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6LNuOSemBJNZAnHGADWWirY0of-jgoGS1jN5jX_tyUefJ_k74yzqMA_vGvXPFb3DBfm9XHClF-6lD-08k9wS9lnWBLqwov_BgFeTITbPVrFfB7RfmslhSjhZQZahZPpZzvYq1uS5JEO0/s1600/sufi-art-fantasy-scenery-nature-javor-animated-sfondi-hd-387514.jpg
http://www.wallpapersxl.com/wallpapers/2560x1600/sufi-art-fantasy-scenery/387514/sufi-art-fantasy-scenery-nature-javor-animated-sfondi-hd-387514.jpg
http://www.wallpapersxl.com/wallpaper/2560x1600/sufi-art-fantasy-scenery-nature-javor-animated-sfondi-hd-387514.html


Psalm 48:1-7
Jerusalem is the city of our God: none on earth render him due honour except the citizens of the spiritual Jerusalem. Happy the kingdom, the city, the family, the heart, in which God is great, in which he is all. There God is known. The clearer discoveries are made to us of the Lord and his greatness, the more it is expected that we should abound in his praises. The earth is, by sin, covered with deformity, therefore justly might that spot of ground, which was beautified with holiness, be called the joy of the whole earth; that which the whole earth has reason to rejoice in, that God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth. The kings of the earth were afraid of it. Nothing in nature can more fitly represent the overthrow of heathenism by the Spirit of the gospel, than the wreck of a fleet in a storm. Both are by the mighty power of the Lord.


The clearer discoveries are made to us of the Lord and his greatness, the more it is expected that we should abound in his praises.
PHOTO: The clearer discoveries are made to us of the Lord and his greatness, the more it is expected that we should abound in his praises. The earth is, by sin, covered with deformity, therefore justly might that spot of ground, which was beautified with holiness, be called the joy of the whole earth.
Picture posted by Michael Young on 23 July 2011
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd5FMbQxQcZ9cPhCm8GrmikGvY0aIEt0bAQgRwvpyXfFLnKhKTNW4v2dSogFhBwQx2AEqOwuPKgG7WS5GEkcRjG8zOWJ4z-Qw6MWeVdQ_d2M9LKfptOrTt23CM6dPrcOw4kI3zoJWf7IT/s1600/heaven_gate_jpg-magnum.jpg
http://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/a-man-who-hates-hate/u/zoom/1872659/heaven_gate_jpg-magnum.jpg
http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/a-man-who-hates-hate/Profile?oid=1872647


Psalm 48:8-14
We have here the improvement which the people of God are to make of his glorious and gracious appearances for them. Let our faith in the word of God be hereby confirmed. Let our hope of the stability of the church be encouraged. Let our minds be filled with good thoughts of God. All the streams of mercy that flow down to us, must be traced to the fountain of His loving-kindness. Let us give to God the glory of the great things he has done for us. Let all the members of the church take comfort from what the Lord does for his church. Let us observe the beauty, strength, and safety of the church. Consider its strength; see it founded on Christ the Rock, fortified by the Divine power, guarded by Him who neither slumbers nor sleeps.


Let all the members of the church take comfort from what the Lord does for his church.

PHOTO:  Let all the members of the church take comfort from what the Lord does for his church. Let us observe the beauty, strength, and safety of the church. Consider its strength; see it founded on Christ the Rock, fortified by the Divine power, guarded by Him who neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Pictrure posted by OLUWATUNBI STEPHEN AKINDAYOMI (IF NOT FOR GOD) on Sunday, 28 February 2016 at 06:48:00
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQvA0QEe6lmhVIVFW8YW7cpj-bHru99xJyTTzo2W5kARgJ0DOQmxg-9PX-CEdzMpXyg50R_CJDrS1DCfECNrO2Rk7_6bIYReD1qEk_5n8-_wYQub59_OG8VFjWbya8gbd4TzBhh5K8tgu/s1600/Council_in_Heaven.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgtMaZOAwiWRCxgYg07HCtf8-8jZTfsuFqaBhXDogoNs3f5YSrQom19_dXbtEa0t86_c4Wyf7gf2bRZr5AFdOTBNn-mgIWc6xyb4mrodvANgEW12Fylg7GSxTh8TFwsS0zaTOEKIgDgKI/s1600/Council_in_Heaven.jpg
http://www.ifnotforgod.com/2016/02/we-are-offspring-of-god-in-jesus.html


See what precious ordinances are its palaces, what precious promises are its bulwarks (defensive wall), that you may be encouraged to join yourselves to it: and tell this to others. This God, who has now done such great things for us, is unchangeable in his love to us, and his care for us. If he is our God, he will lead and keep us even to the last. He will so guide us, as to set us above the reach of death, so that it shall not do us any real hurt. He will lead us to a life in which there shall be no more death.


The precious ordinances are its palaces, precious bulwarks (defensive wall), that we are encouraged to join and tell others.

PHOTO: The precious ordinances are its palaces, precious bulwarks (defensive wall), that we are encouraged to join and tell others.
Picture posted by Ачулла Тасачена
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http://channelingvsem.com/category/kniga-o-telose/


For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end
PHOTO: "For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end" (Psalm 48:14).
"Dear Lord, We pray that we live in your city with you, with all the beauty, strength, and safety. The palace will be fortified by your Divine power, guarded by you who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Happy is the kingdom, the city, the family and the heart in which you are present. Through Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!"
Picture posted by Carrie Daws on 28 July 2015
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOG0_bebxEfIFpTaifBmKAHLiImeWSZ-sbh3x9eJVbZPkqF_DWxSOXDG6SEXLcQ3N9AtrsFhApERR13H8bJbr8M_G6sp2Od7GpcWyvia5YiBKBUCcp1IpQ8gdMO8wRQvFrgb1yG3A21rt8/s1600/Psalm-C48-V14-FB.jpg
http://carriedaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Psalm-C48-V14-FB.jpg
http://carriedaws.com/youre-not-alone/
http://veryfatoldman.blogspot.sg/2016/10/reflection-thoughts-at-end-of-life.html

By Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary



Reference
[1] Psalm 48 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15

[2] Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites

[3] Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

NIV, New International Version, Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Psalm 48 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48&version=NIV

Psalm 48:1-7 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A1-7&version=NIV

Psalm 48:2 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A2&version=NIV

Psalm 48:8 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A8&version=NIV

Psalm 48:8-14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A8-14&version=NIV

Psalm 48:10 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A10&version=NIV

Psalm 48:12-13 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A12-13&version=NIV

Psalm 48:14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+48%3A14&version=NIV
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