Tuesday January, 5 2021 Devotional
"Glorious things of you are spoken, O City of God.
Selah" - Psalm 87:3
Usually when we quote a verse from the Psalms that includes the word “Selah,” we leave that word out. Selah means “a pause, crescendo, or musical interlude.” It was an instruction to the musicians.
Essentially it meant that when singing the Psalm in the Temple, at this point there should be a pause in the singing, to allow the people to meditate on the words they had just sung. In other words, “Now stop and think about that!” “Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. (Stop and think about that!)” Jerusalem, like any other city, had its share of crime, injustice, and corruption. It was made up of sinful people. But it was the city of God, the Holy City, established by God as a dwelling place for His people and where the Holy Temple was built to meet with Him. The first verse of this Psalm says, “On the holy mount stands the city He founded.” The Church is the Holy City, the New Testament fulfillment of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the type and shadow of the reality to be revealed when Christ came. The Church was established by God as a dwelling place for His children, the place where He would meet with us together, the place for us to minister to each other in love. But it’s made up of sinners, and so it will have its troubles, too. Egos and disagreements will sometimes be on display and even instances of abuse and injustice will be found, to our shame. But still it is the Holy City, the City of God, and glorious things are spoken of it. God says glorious things about it in His Word. People say glorious things about it, too! (You should hear the wonderful things the people in our parking lot have to say about Calvary on Saturday morning.) But you and I know that it’s just us, a bunch of sinners, who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and born into citizenship in this glorious city of God, living together. Lord Jesus, I am not worthy of citizenship in Your Holy City, but in Your mercy You have placed me here. Help me by Your grace to carry the honor bestowed on me in a way that brings glory to Your name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles