Sunday, April 9, 2017

Psalms 47 and 48 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS
Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

A New Look at the Old Psalms

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I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.
God bless,
John
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Psalm 47

L
et us rejoice, for Jesus, our King, has ascended into heaven to a fanfare of trumpets and shouts of joy from the heavenly hosts and his Church on earth. He defeated our enemies and secured for us our promised inheritance: heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father from where he rules over all the nations. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. One day the whole world will sing his praises. Amen.


Psalm 48

O
ur Church is magnificent because God lives there and will defend it. Through the centuries nations have sought to destroy it, but they will never breach its defenses. As Jesus said, “All the powers of Hell will not conquer it.” Matt 16:18 (NLT)

The Jewish Temple was a sight to behold in its full splendor. Our churches today are also beautiful with their marvelous stained glass windows and imposing religious statues. They may be the closest we can get to experiencing heaven while in the flesh, but these splendid churches pale in comparison to the glory of God’s kingdom.

There are no words adequate enough to describe heaven, but John paints for us a marvelous portrait: “the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone … And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” Rev 21:18-22 (NLT) We will not need a temple, for we will feel the presence of God everywhere. And that will be the greatest treasure to possess in heaven: to be with God and Jesus for all eternity.

Let all nations praise you, Father, for you have shown us unfailing love, made us victorious over our enemies, and brought justice to your people. Let us pass on to all generations how magnificent your Church is, for you are magnificent, Lord. You are also our shepherd and you will lead us until you call us home to your heavenly kingdom at the end of our life. Amen.

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Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 
be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 
offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.

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