July 5th~The City of God

Psalm 47-49

Psalm 84, 85, 87

We looked at six psalms. While the selection may have seemed random, there was a bow that bound them together — the Great King and His city of Jerusalem. Though the psalmists were extolling the earthly city, they were, in a way, describing the heavenly city. Consider these passages:

“Shout to God with joyful praise! For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth... He reigns above the nations sitting on His holy throne... For all the kings of the earth belong to God. He is highly honored everywhere” (Psalm 47:2, 7-9).

“How great is the Lord, and how much we should praise Him in the City of our God which is on His holy mountain. It is magnificent in elevation. The whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:1, 2).

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty. I long to enter the courts of the Lord... How happy are those who live in your house, always singing your praises... A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else” (Psalm 84:1, 2 ,4, 10).

“On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you! At all the festivals, the people will sing, ‘The source of my life is in Jerusalem’” (Psalm 87:1, 2, 7).

The New Testament describes heaven in a multitude of terms, including the Holy City, the City of God, Mount Zion, and the New Jerusalem. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “We have no lasting city, so we seek the city to come” (13:14). We will one day march to Zion, our new home.

But who gets to ascend that holy hill? Who will get to inherit the streets of gold? Tickets cannot be earned, traded for, or purchased. “No one can redeem himself from death. No one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave... For when we die, we carry nothing with us. Our wealth will not follow us” in the after life (Psalm 49:6-9).

However, those who have surrendered their lives to Christ, who boast in nothing that they have acquired and nothing that they have done but who only boast in the blood of Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, they are the ones who will see the City of God. “As for me,” the psalmist said, “God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of death” (49:15).

Daily Reflection

What about you? Will you see the City of God, Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem? How do you know? If the Lord were to stop you at the gates and ask you, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” What will be your answer?

Because of Christ, you have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). Praise the Lord that your best days are ahead of you, joining the throngs of other Christ-followers in the City of God!

BiAY.org | Day 186 — 179 Days to Go