A psalm of the Korahites. A song.
I
Great is the Lord and highly praised
in the city of our God;
His holy mountain,
fairest of heights,
the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, the heights of Zaphon,
the city of the great king.
II
God is in its citadel,
renowned as a stronghold.
See! The kings assembled,
together they advanced.
When they looked they were astounded;
terrified, they were put to flight!
Trembling seized them there,
anguish, like a woman’s labor,
As when the east wind wrecks
the ships of Tarshish!
III
What we had heard we have now seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God
which God establishes forever.
We ponder, O God, your mercy
within your temple
Like your name, O God,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is fully victorious.
Mount Zion is glad!
The daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
IV
Go about Zion, walk all around it,
note the number of its towers.
Consider the ramparts, examine its citadels,
that you may tell future generations;
That this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
He will lead us until death.
Psalms 48:1-15
This time the psalm of praise is all about recognizing the power and glory of God. Certainly, the psalmist has complete faith that God will protect the people of Israel and put down their enemies. That’s a fairly remarkable faith!
Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta, had that kind of faith. She took
very seriously the order from God to serve the poor,. She adopted a life of poverty herself, and dedicated her life to serving others.
She was a small woman and didn’t have a bunch of money to throw around, but she had so much power in the world. That is completely because of her faith. She was known to walk right into a war zone to rescue orphans, and the fighters wouldn’t think of shooting near her – the battle paused.
Who has that kind of bravery? It certainly rested on her faith. She believed in the power and glory of God, much like this psalmist. How can we find that kind of confidence?
I don’t know about you, but I really struggle with it. I would love to just surrender all my fear and walk confidently with the Lord. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I say a prayer and go into a situation feeling better prepared, but quite often, the evils of the world still make me want to hide. Do you ever feel that way, too?
“Like your name, O God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is fully victorious.” Lord, help us to remember that, and to believe it more deeply.!