Again,
the combination of prayer and work is seen in Nehemiah - "I devoted
myself to the work on this wall" (Nehemiah 5:16), "I prayed, 'Now,
strengthen my hands.'" (Nehemiah 6:9). "So the wall was completed ...
this work had been done with the help of our God" (Nehemiah 6:15-16). We
may contrast the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the fall of
Babylon - "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!" (Revelation 18:2). The
contrast between Jerusalem and Babylon - the 'tale of two cities' - is
the contrast between God and the devil, between holiness and sin,
godliness and ungodliness, righteousness and unrighteousness, good and
evil. the triumph is the Lord's. The word of judgment concerning Babylon
has been spoken (Revelation 18:10,16-17). Proverbs 31:10 tells us that
"noble character ... is worth far more than rubies." Again, what a
contrast there is between the rich blessing of noble character and the
empty futility of worldly riches: "Woe! Woe, a great city, dressed in
fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering stones and pearls! In one
hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!" (Revelation
18:16-17).
Psalm 48:1-14 Lord, we worship You in the place of worship – “Within Your Temple, we meditate on Your unfailing love.” Help us to go out from there, and play our part in seeing that Your praise “reaches to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 48:: 9-11). How will other people know of Your love, if we don’t tell them? How will they find their way to Your House, if we don’t invite them? When we share Your Word with others, help us to remember Your promise: “My Word… will not return to Me empty, but will… achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
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