YOU ARe God's TEMPLE

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
    in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,
    is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
    the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

4 For behold, the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
6 Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish as of a woman in labor.
7 By the east wind you shattered
    the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the LORD of hosts,
in the city of our God,
    which God will establish forever. Selah

9 We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
10 As your name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11     Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
14     that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will guide us forever.^{1

48:14
Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death}

Footnotes

[1] 48:14 Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death

Throughout Psalm 48, the psalmist describes Mount Zion, the holy city of the Lord. Within its walls, the holy people would continually meditate on the Lord’s unfailing love. They called this city God’s temple. Day after day, the people in Zion shouted praises to the Lord, reminding themselves that God would be their defender forever (Psalm 48:14), and that their enemies would flee (Psalm 48:5).
Just as God's holy city and temple in David's and Solomon's time was called Zion, you and I have the chance to be His temple today. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, "[D]o you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" Within your temple, you have the wonderful opportunity to meditate on God's unfailing love day and night. This is beautiful—to have a perfect God live within you and reign over you forever and ever. Your enemies will flee from you because they can see God's almighty strength within you. He can be your guide even to the ends of the earth.
Sometimes in school, the world throws challenges from every direction that could cause me to turn away from the Lord. My choice of friends comes up a lot. They could make my life wonderful or miserable. Usually, it seems to lean towards miserable. What can be harder than that? Yet, I still have those certain friends (for instance, my small group) that help me daily in my walk with Christ. In good times and bad, I have continued to stay focused on the Lord every morning and every night, and He has helped me to become a temple for Him. God is my best friend, and I draw my strength from Him.

1. Day in and day out, do you continually act as a temple of the Lord? Do you treat your body as a sacred city?

2. Do you praise the Lord for the work He has accomplished in your life, or do you come to Him only when you are in a time of need?

3. What are some ways you can act as a sacred temple to the Lord?