Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion. Within Your templeThe temple in Jerusalem was the central place of worship for the Israelites, symbolizing God's presence among His people. It was a place where sacrifices were offered, and the Law was taught. The temple's significance is rooted in the covenant relationship between God and Israel, serving as a physical representation of God's dwelling with His people. The temple also foreshadows the coming of Christ, who referred to His body as the temple ( John 2:19-21), indicating that He is the ultimate meeting place between God and humanity. O God
This phrase acknowledges the sovereignty and holiness of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. In the context of the Psalms, God is often addressed directly, emphasizing a personal relationship with Him. The use of "O God" reflects reverence and worship, recognizing His authority and majesty. This direct address is consistent with the intimate and covenantal nature of the relationship between God and His people, as seen throughout the Old Testament. we contemplate
Contemplation in this context involves meditating on and reflecting deeply upon God's character and deeds. It suggests an active engagement of the mind and heart in worship, going beyond mere ritual to a profound appreciation of God's nature. This practice of contemplation is echoed in other scriptures, such as Psalm 1:2, where the righteous are described as meditating on God's law day and night. It is an invitation to dwell on God's attributes and actions, fostering a deeper understanding and relationship with Him. Your loving devotion
Loving devotion, often translated as "steadfast love" or "mercy," is a central theme in the Psalms and throughout the Bible. It refers to God's covenantal love, characterized by faithfulness, kindness, and mercy. This concept is rooted in the Hebrew word "chesed," which encompasses loyalty and grace. God's loving devotion is demonstrated in His dealings with Israel, His promises, and ultimately in the sending of Jesus Christ, who embodies God's love and faithfulness (John 3:16). This steadfast love is a source of comfort and assurance for believers, reminding them of God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people. Persons / Places / Events 1. GodThe central figure in this verse, representing the divine presence and the object of worship and contemplation. 2. TempleThe sacred place where God's presence dwells, symbolizing a place of worship and reflection for the Israelites. 3. Loving Devotion (Hebrew: ?????, chesed)A key attribute of God, often translated as lovingkindness, mercy, or steadfast love, reflecting His covenantal faithfulness. Teaching Points Contemplation in WorshipWorship is not just about singing or rituals; it involves deep contemplation of God's attributes, especially His loving devotion. The Significance of God's PresenceThe temple symbolizes God's presence among His people. Today, believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the importance of living in awareness of God's presence. Understanding God's Loving DevotionGod's chesed is a foundational aspect of His character. Reflecting on this can deepen our trust and relationship with Him. Corporate and Personal WorshipWhile the verse speaks of collective worship within the temple, it also encourages personal reflection on God's love in our daily lives. Covenantal FaithfulnessGod's loving devotion is tied to His covenant with His people. Understanding this can strengthen our faith in His promises. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the concept of God's "loving devotion" (chesed) in Psalm 48:9 enhance your understanding of His character? 2. In what ways can you create a "temple" in your own life where you regularly contemplate God's attributes? 3. How does the idea of being the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) influence your daily walk with God? 4. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's loving devotion in a tangible way. How did it impact your faith? 5. How can the practice of contemplating God's loving devotion within a community of believers strengthen the church? Connections to Other Scriptures 1 Kings 8:27-30Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple emphasizes God's presence and the importance of the temple as a place of prayer and contemplation. Psalm 136Repeatedly highlights God's "loving devotion" (chesed), reinforcing the theme of God's steadfast love throughout Israel's history. Hebrews 10:19-22Discusses the new way opened through Jesus, allowing believers to draw near to God with a sincere heart, paralleling the access to God's presence in the temple. People Korah, Psalmist, TarshishPlaces JerusalemTopics Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Meditate, Mercy, Midst, O, Steadfast, Temple, Thoughts, UnfailingDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 48:9 8166 theology Psalm 48:1-14 7271 Zion, as symbol Psalm 48:9-10 8662 meditation Library A Song of Deliverance
'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. 2. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3. God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 7. Thou breakest …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Mystery
Of the Two Witnesses prophesying in Sackcloth. Two witnesses or prophets sent by God, clothed in sackcloth, are to preach, while the Gentiles are treading under foot the court of the people of God, or the holy city. These are the interpreters and assertors of Divine truth, who should deplore that foul and lamentable contamination of the Church of Christ, by continual complaints, and whom God would raise up as unceasing monitors to the Christian world, committing whoredom with the Gentiles, and as …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse Sermon on the Mount Continued Its Woes in Strict Agreement with the Creator's Disposition. Many Quotations Out of the Old Testament in Proof of This.
"In the like manner," says He, [3982] "did their fathers unto the prophets." What a turncoat [3983] is Marcion's Christ! Now the destroyer, now the advocate of the prophets! He destroyed them as their rival, by converting their disciples; he took up their cause as their friend, by stigmatizing [3984] their persecutors. But, [3985] in as far as the defence of the prophets could not be consistent in the Christ of Marcion, who came to destroy them; in so far is it becoming to the Creator's Christ that …
Tertullian—The Five Books Against Marcion But I Marvel, If, as it is Allowed to Put Away a Wife Who...
7. But I marvel, if, as it is allowed to put away a wife who is an adulteress, so it be allowed, having put her away, to marry another. For holy Scripture causes a hard knot in this matter, in that the Apostle says, that, by commandment of the Lord, the wife ought not to depart from her husband, but, in case she shall have departed, to remain unmarried, or to be reconciled to her husband; [1950] whereas surely she ought not to depart and remain unmarried, save from an husband that is an adulterer, …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage St. Malachy's Apostolic Labours, Praises and Miracles.
[Sidenote: 1140, October] 42. (23). Malachy embarked in a ship, and after a prosperous voyage landed at his monastery of Bangor,[576] so that his first sons might receive the first benefit.[577] In what state of mind do you suppose they were when they received their father--and such a father--in good health from so long a journey? No wonder if their whole heart gave itself over to joy at his return, when swift rumour soon brought incredible gladness even to the tribes[578] outside round about them. …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Departure from Ireland. Death and Burial at Clairvaux.
[Sidenote: 1148, May (?)] 67. (30). Being asked once, in what place, if a choice were given him, he would prefer to spend his last day--for on this subject the brothers used to ask one another what place each would select for himself--he hesitated, and made no reply. But when they insisted, he said, "If I take my departure hence[821] I shall do so nowhere more gladly than whence I may rise together with our Apostle"[822]--he referred to St. Patrick; "but if it behoves me to make a pilgrimage, and …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh 'He Uttered his Voice, the Earth Melted'
'Then Isaiah the son of Amos sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 22. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Of Love to God
I proceed to the second general branch of the text. The persons interested in this privilege. They are lovers of God. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Despisers and haters of God have no lot or part in this privilege. It is children's bread, it belongs only to them that love God. Because love is the very heart and spirit of religion, I shall the more fully treat upon this; and for the further discussion of it, let us notice these five things concerning love to God. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial The Eternity of Heaven's Happiness.
Having endeavored, in the foregoing pages, to form to ourselves some idea of the glorious happiness reserved for us in heaven, there still remains to say something of its crowning glory--the eternity of its duration. This is not only its crowning glory, but it is, moreover, an essential constituent of that unspeakable joy which now inebriates the souls of the blessed. A moment's reflection will make this evident. Let us suppose, for the sake of illustration, that on the last day, God should thus …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven Epistle ii. To Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch.
To Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch. Gregory to Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch. I have received the letters of your most sweet Blessedness, which flowed with tears for words. For I saw in them a cloud flying aloft as clouds do; but, though it carried with it a darkness of sorrow, I could not easily discover at its commencement whence it came or whither it was going, since by reason of the darkness I speak of I did not fully understand its origin. Yet it becomes you, most holy ones, ever to recall …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 48:9 NIVPsalm 48:9 NLTPsalm 48:9 ESVPsalm 48:9 NASBPsalm 48:9 KJV
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