Briefing: I wonder how many of you have a “thin blue line” sticker on your car; I do. I also have a watch band that is black with a blue line in the center of it. Over the last few years this has come to be our law enforcement symbol. I have seen it on shirts, patches, and flags. We take pride in the thin blue line.

Dispatch (Assignment): Read Psalm 48.

On the Street: Like the thin blue line, humans have a tendency to want to be known. Sometimes the best way to be recognized is with a really cool symbol or landmark. In 2011, I was blessed to work a football game at our big , new, local stadium. Super Bowl XLV was the first and only Super Bowl to be played at Jerry Jones’ ATT Stadium. I thought it was interesting, as I walked around the stadium that day it seemed like more people were buying items with the ATT Stadium logo on them than items with the Super Bowl logo. At the time, it was the premier stadium in all the world.

Psalm 48 is a unique psalm. The notes in my NIV Study Bible say it is, “A celebration of the security of Zion”. Zion is the mountain that Jerusalem is built on. The city has large fortified walls around it and back in Bible times was very hard to attack. It had all the basic advantages you wanted in a fortress. This is Israel’s home and its capital. Israel was very proud of Jerusalem and Zion, you could say it was the premier fortress in all the world.

Jerusalem was not the only reason the Israelites loved Zion. Mt. Zion is the place where Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him to God. This is the place where Abraham’s faith and God’s intervention changed the course of human history. On this mountainous area is where David bought the threshing floor to save Israel from the Angel of the Lord. It was the site of Solomon’s Temple that was eventually destroyed by the Romans. Today, it is the site of the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim’s third most holy temple. This location is sacred to three of the largest religions in the world; Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The reason for this is because Abraham is the patriarch of all three religions.

In verse 3 we see that Israel is not actually glorifying their city, walls or mountain but God who is the one responsible for their security. “God is in her citadels; He has shown Himself to be her fortress.” They recognize the strength of Zion is in the presence of God. This is a great lesson for all of us. We can celebrate the thin blue line knowing that we serve the God of justice. We are His ministers.

Investigational Resources: Romans 13.

Officer Safety Principle: “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48:14.

from Psalms Through the Eyes of a Cop, Volume 1
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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