THURSDAY 8th
Psalm 48
NIV (v1-2) – ‘Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.’
ESV (v1-2) – ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.’
This psalm continues with the theme as to why the LORD should be praised, that is because he is great!
It continues with where he should be praised – in the city of our God. For us this would be in the place where we come to worship him together—the house of God.
Let’s consider the greatness of God, he is great in every way, he is as we see first in Scripture the great Creator, as we contemplate the beauty and wonder of all that has been created, ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is great in his ongoing provision and in his sustaining of all that he has created. As we see the resources that are continually available to this world for food, sustenance, and the ongoing management of life, ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is great in who he is in himself, as the triune God, the Eternal One, the Great I Am, ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is great in his lovingkindness toward mankind, despite man’s rebellion, God has loved with an everlasting love, his love is great, his mercy is great. We see how he has aided mankind down through the generations. ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is great in Calvary, he loved us enough to give himself for us, ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is great in the abundance of blessing he has made available to us through Christ Jesus. ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is great in all that he has done and continues to do for each one of us as individuals. ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
He is greater than all the gods of this world put together – Psalm 96:4-6 ‘For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ ‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised’.
I could continue, but today stop and think of all that God has done for you personally, and all that he is to you and begin to praise him, for great is the LORD and greatly to be praised.
‘Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.’