1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.
4 When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,
5 they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
shattered by an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
forever.
9 Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.
10 Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end. NIV
Look at verse 1 and honestly consider the following questions:
- How great is the Lord?
- How worthy of our praise is the Lord?
Scan through each of the verses of this psalm and consider the following questions:
- In what ways is Zion, the City of our Lord, an symbol of God's greatness?
- What specific things about the city bring people to praise?
- During what activities are people reminded to praise the Lord?
::::: APPLICATION CHALLENGE :::::
In terms of being reminded to praise the Lord, what difference do our surroundings make? What could you do in your home, car, church, youth room, Etc, to help remind you and your community to praise the Lord?
::::: DIGGING DEEPER ::::::
If you have time, read Deutoronomy 6:4-9. What sorts of deliberate activities (and metaphorical activities) do these verses suggest in order to help people remember the Lord?
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