"God is in her citadels; he has shown himself
to be her fortress."
{Psalm 48:3} (NIV1984)
Here we have a bit of a
puzzle. Citadels are the high peaks of a city, the defensive strongholds of a
city. The city is built, a wall is built around it and there are strong places
of defense that protect the city. The city itself is a fortress, built in such
a way to protect the inhabitants.
As I write this, my mind goes back to a trip with
my family to the Citadel of Halifax. Built on a hill, built for defense. God
is in her citadels. That is, His Manifest Presence dwells within the
securest part of the city. David desired to have God inside the most secure
place in his city, and brought the Ark of His Presence there. A person might be
forgiven in thinking that the purpose of having God in the most secure place, is
to protect God. But the truth is, that when God is in the citadels, then God
becomes our fortress; that the Manifest Presence of God is what keeps us
secure. He has a hold of us; we don’t have a hold of Him.
The people would sing
“He has shown Himself to be her fortress!” Can we sing this today? Can
we look back on our recent history, and see where God acted in our defense? The
key to the promise in this verse, is understanding that the people placed God in
their strong places. Our lives are like a city and we have defensive positions
built into our lives.
Friend, have we surrendered those strong places to God?
Are we holding on to those strong places thinking that we must protect
ourselves? Oh friend know this truth: when we surrender the citadels of our
lives to God, when we invite Him to dwell in those places, He becomes our
fortress, He becomes our defense. Praise His Holy Name!
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