Psalm 48
About thirteen years ago, the band Dishwalla (which is the worst band name in the history of mankind) released their only hit, “Counting Blue Cars.” I didn’t care for the song at first. I remember walking in to a movie theater in Virginia Beach one Sunday for the second ever Sunday service for Forefront Christian Church, and that song was blasting out of the speakers. I remember thinking how crazy they were for playing that song. Now, with nearly a decade of ministry experience behind me, I now know how ingenious it was for those guys to do that (and they still are). Not only was it a huge hit that people could identify with (wow–I heard that song on the radio as I was pulling into the parking lot to go to church!), but it asks a life-defining question: “Tell me all your thoughts on God? Tell me am I very far?”
Everyone has thoughts on God–even those who claim He doesn’t exist (which, for me, is a small proof that He actually does). A lot of those thoughts are way off base; some are close. Without using up tons of space on dozens of posts, the evidence (especially the resurrection of Jesus) points to the God of the Bible as being the God of the universe (if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you may have concluded that I believe that already).
Psalm 48 is about the greatness of God and how He was Jerusalem’s stronghold. He was Jerusalem’s protector. Look what the authors wrote in Psalm 48:9, “We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Your temple.” For the original readers of this Psalm, this would have meant thinking about God’s mercy as protector of Jerusalem. They could look back on all the times He had delivered them and remember His mercy on them.
When was the last time you really thought about God’s mercy, love, and grace–and in more than an academic way? When was the last time you really took time to reflect on God’s mercy on you–that, if you’re a Christian, He doesn’t give you what you deserve for your sin because Jesus already got it on the cross? When was the last time you thought about God’s mercy on His temple, the church? Think about it–a community of messed up, messy, sinful people that God loves in spite of their messiness. A community of imperfect people that God uses to proclaim the good news of Jesus. A community of spiritually sick people who’ve been healed and forgiven by God, and who are to be an emergency room for other spiritually sick people.
That’s not what we deserve. That’s mercy.
I want to do a better job of, as Brother Lawrence said so long ago, to practice the presence of God–to be aware of God’s presence at all times. Part of that is taking time to think about His mercy. Something I’m going to try to use to spur that thinking is repeating a line I heard from the movie “Amazing Grace”, which was uttered by Albert Finney’s character John Newton (who wrote the song Amazing Grace). He said this, “I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.” That’s mercy. That’s not what I deserve. That helps me think of God’s mercy for me.
Do that today. Think about this line over and over, when ever it comes to mind…
I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.
I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.
I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.
I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.
Here’s my thoughts on God: I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior. Because of His mercy, I am no longer far from God. He has drawn me close to Himself.