Weekly Devotional 8th of March, 2024
by Bruce Billington
Sunday Devotional – 8th March 2024
We are continuing to explore the knowledge of God as expressed in the Psalms. This week we look at some verses from Psalm 87 – a prayer of the sons of Korah.
Psalm 87:1-3 “His foundation is in the holy mountains. The LORD loves the gates of Zion, more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.”
The Scriptures will often describe sudden passion or anger, as evil, but bursts of holy joy are so different. They are described as the most precious. And how rare it is to hear them. We should use them so much more.
God describes what seems to be his favourite earthly place (a temple) upon the mountains in Zion. His election made the mountains holy, they were by His determination, ordained and set apart for His use. The foundation of the church, which is the mystical Jerusalem, is laid in the eternal, immutable, and invincible decrees of Jehovah. I am trying to refrain from injecting my own bias here as someone who has spent so much time in my earlier life in the mountains. But this is not His final choice.
We need to remember what foundation this temple is built on. It is not built on anything human-like rocks, sand, or solid earth. It is built on His power – the godhead, which reflects His holiness, righteousness, integrity, grace, and mercy itself. For this reason, it is unshakeable.
So why is it placed here? The answer is for His beloved church – you and me – which is to Him the chief of all His works. How often do we consider that? That in Christ we are His great prize – the beauty and most highly loved from all that He has ever done!! We are the chief of all His works.
Much is made of the fact that Rome stands on seven hills, however it has nothing to compare with this. His heart cries out in worship for one place only – the place where His holy spirit of God dwells.
Today, of course, this majestic wonder goes even another step forward. From the death, resurrection, coming of the Holy Spirit, and the ascension of Christ, it has pleased God to make our very own living being, the place where His Spirit dwells. Paul says,
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Wow – what an amazing miracle, privilege, and statement of life. Of all the places in the world God could have chosen, He chose us as the place where the precious inhabitation of His Holy Spirit would be. This should honestly, make us the most beautiful people in the world.
Also, our bodies are so important that the Lord calls them temples of God (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19–20). Our bodies are holy. Because our bodies are holy and cherished by God, He wants us to take good care of them.
Our bodies are to be a living sacrifice, sanctified by His power, His presence, and His redeeming grace, sanctified so that we are holy and without blame as we give the praise to the Lord.
Remember – this doesn’t just demand we live in a certain way – it also empowers us to live that way.
What a mighty God we serve!!
God bless you.
Bruce Billington