Psalm 48:1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2: Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3: God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4: For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5: They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6: Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 7: Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. 8: As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. 9: We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10: According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11: Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. 12: Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 13: Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. 14: For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Introduction

Here we are, four days into this brand-new year 2026 and many of us are asking the question, “What is this new year going to bring to you and me? What lies ahead for you and me, in this new year 2026?” Looking with anticipation at what the new year would bring, every individual has his or her own concerns. Some of these concerns may have job concerns, financial concerns, health concerns, or family concerns. With all these various concerns, we cannot help but ask the question, what holds tomorrow? Who knows? Only God knows! “We don't know what holds tomorrow, but we know who holds our tomorrow!” God knows and holds our tomorrow. So, on this first Lord’s Day of the year 2026, the good question to ask is, “Do you know the God who knows and holds your tomorrow?” This is a very important question because if you and I are going to face the New Year with confidence and without fear, we must know this God to be our God, just as the psalmist declares in verse 14, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” What a beautiful confession of faith! It is a beautiful confession to make as we begin a new year.

This morning, I invite you to consider with me this grand and glorious declaration, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” As we contemplate on this passage, I pray that it will help us face the many unknowns of this new year without fear. I also pray that it motivates us to greater love and greater service to our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I – This God

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

First, consider, the words “This God.” The word “this” is not accidental. It is an important word because by that word “This” the psalmist identifies and distinguishes his God. We ask, which God? Is it the god of the Muslims or the god of the Hindus or the god of some other religion? No, none of these gods. And so, which God then? There are many false and dead gods, but there is only one true and living God. And that true and living God is the God of the Bible. It’s the God of Christianity. He alone is the true and living God. This is God and there is none other God. And this God is the God that the psalmist has been speaking of in this psalm.

Let’s look at how the psalmist describes this God.

1. This God is a Great God

Psalm 48:1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

The psalmist begins simply describing the greatness of God and His worthiness to be praised. The Bible is filled with statements about the greatness of God. In the book of Psalms alone, there are multiple verses where the greatness of God is celebrated. Look at the opening verses of Psalm 96 exhort us to praise Him in our worship and proclamation.

Psalm 96:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. 2: Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth (proclaim) his salvation from day to day. :3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 

Why?

Psalm 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5: For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 6: Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

We find the same theme in ...

Psalm 145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2: Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 

Why?

Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

His greatness no one can fathom.

In the last concluding psalm of this beautiful worship and praise book of the nation of Israel and of all of God's people, there is a symphony of praise to the Lord.

Psalm 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2: Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Then in our text, the psalmist begins with a declaration of God's greatness and supremacy and that He is worthy of worship. And as he thinks upon the greatness of God, he connects his praise with a place: Jerusalem, which he describes as the city of our God, in His holy mountain. He uses Jerusalem as an example of the Lord's greatness. Pastor Rodney Kleyn in one of his sermons says this, “As you read the Psalm, you see that it is a Psalm of God’s work in the salvation of His people and His church—a song of rejoicing over the safety of the church. “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,” says the psalmist in verse 1. Where? “In the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.” In verse 3: “God is known in her palaces for a refuge.” In verse 9, “We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.” This is what the psalmist is saying. If we are really going to understand and confess and trust in the power of this God, we have to look at the church and the people of God and God’s work in saving His people in this world.” To which I say a loud, “AMEN!”

This God is a great God, and this is my God. Is He your God?

2. This God is a God of Lovingkindness

Not only is this God a God who is great, but also a God of lovingkindness.

Psalm 48:9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

What is lovingkindness? The word “lovingkindness” is translated from the Hebrew word chesed, which has no exact match in English. It can be translated faithfulness, or unfailing love, or steadfast love, or mercy, or good favor. A preacher of another time, Archibald Brown, describes lovingkindness this way, “Lovingkindness is about the loveliest word in the Bible. It is a mixture of two things, both of which are sweet—love and kindness; and when you blend them together you get lovingkindness. I have sometimes received kindness which was not particularly loving, and which on that account lost half its beauty; and I have met some people who were very loving, but they did not have an opportunity to show their love in any practical kindness. But when we get love and kindness mingled, when the kindness has been shown in love, and when the love has manifested itself in kindness — then we have the acme [best] of all that is blessed. Our God, great in nature, power, and wisdom, and great as a refuge, is a God who is known by His lovingkindness.”

The Scripture speaks much about the lovingkindness of God.

Psalm 36:7 How excellent [precious, priceless] is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Psalm 63:3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Psalm 69:16 Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Jeremiah 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 16:5 For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.

Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 32:18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,

God delights in showing lovingkindness and we praise Him for it because God’s lovingkindness is precious. It’s priceless. It’s better than life. Life is one of the most precious gifts of God to us, and yet the psalmist declares God's lovingkindness surpasses even this. So, you see the Scripture speaks of the lovingkindness of the Lord for that’s who God is.

Then here in Psalm 48:9, we read, “We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.” As the people of God are in the temple, they thought on the lovingkindness of God. Here is what is involved in true worship. Worship is not just about singing or rituals. True worship involves meditating on and reflecting deeply upon God's attributes and works. And one of the attributes of God that we can meditate on in our own private time and corporate time is the lovingkindness of God.

In his sermon “A Worthy Theme for Thought,” Charles Spurgeon thought of three different people in the church and admonishes them to speak more of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

To a sister he counseled, “Now, my dear sister, you have talked about that rheumatism of yours to at least fifty people who have been to see you, suppose you tell your next visitor about the lovingkindness of the Lord to you.”

To a brother he advices, “Yes, my dear brother, we all know that trade [business] is bad, for you have told us so, every day, for I do not know how many years. And you have always been losing money, though you had no capital when you started; yet, somehow or other, you have managed to have something left even now. Well, we know that old story; could you not change your note just a little, and talk about the lovingkindness of the Lord?”

To a friend he admonished, “Yes, my friend, I know that many professing Christian people are not all that they profess to be; I have heard style ever so many times. You say also, 'There is no love in the church.' Well, so far as we can see, you are not overstocked with it. You say, 'There is no zeal among the members,' But have you any to give away to those who need it? Now, henceforward, instead of always harping on the faults and failing of Gods people, which, certainly, are numerous enough, but have not become any fewer since you talked so much about them; would it not be better to think and talk of the lovingkindness of the Lord?”

Oh, may we speak more and more of the lovingkindness of God.

This God is a God of lovingkindness, and this is my God. Is He yours?

II – Our God

Second, consider the words, “Our God.”

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

But what does it mean to have God as our God? In the Exodus 20, where we find God’s Ten Commandments, we read these words, “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

As I have said there is only one true and living God and He wants to be our God. For God to be our God means that He is our inheritance. Before we come to know God through His Son Jesus Christ, we had nothing. Listen to what the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:12 writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit regarding our condition before we came to be in Christ,  “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” But now, through the new birth God has become our God. He is our inheritance. He is our everything. He is the source of everything we possess. We rely on Him. We depend on Him, We live by Him. Without Him, we are nothing, we have nothing, and we can do nothing. But thank God, this God is our God. Is He your God?

III – For Ever and Ever

Third, consider the words, “for ever and ever.” This God is our God not for the present time only, but for all eternity. In the course of our lifetime here on earth, we will experience many changes, but our relationship with God will never change.

We can say “forever and ever” about God in a way that we cannot say it about anything else. “The landlord cannot say of his fields, these are mine, for ever and ever. The king cannot say of his crown, this is mine for ever and ever. These possessions shall soon change masters; these possessors shall soon mingle with the dust, and even the graves they shall occupy may not long be theirs.” (Burder, cited in Spurgeon)

God is our God not only today, but every day of this new year. He is our God not only in this life, but also in the life to come and that for ever and ever.

Now I belong to Jesus

Jesus belongs to me

Not for the years of time alone

But for eternity.

-Norman J. Clayton

IV – He is Our Guide

Then the psalmist goes on to say that, because He is our God, He will be our guide even unto death. We all need a guide. Life is filled with difficulties and dangers. Life on earth is a battle. We have enemies on every side. On top of our own sinful flesh, we have to face the great enemy of our soul seeking to deceive and to destroy us. Left to ourselves who among us will be able to withstand his deception and fiery darts? And so, with William Williams we pray …

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou art mighty.

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,

Feed me till I want no more,

Feed me till I want no more.

- William Williams

We all need a guide and that is God to us. God is more than just our God—He is also our Guide. I hope you grasp the wonderful truth to have God not only as our God but also as our Guide. This great and all-glorious LORD condescends to serve us as our Guide. To have God as our Guide is a very comforting thought as we face the new year. We can confident sing …

Strength for today is mine all the way,

And all that I need for tomorrow.

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,

All I have to do is follow.

V – Even unto Death

The psalmist is not done yet for he continues to say, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”

This God, who is our God, will be our Guide even unto death. This is another way of saying, God will never leave us nor forsake us, especially in times we do not know what to do. God will be our Guide and will be with us along though life. And because of this truth, we can confidently say with David, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).

As long as you and I live on the earth, we have the assurance that God will be with us to lead and to guide us. And since God is eternal and lives for ever and ever, we can be assured of His guidance, not only throughout life, not only unto death, but on into eternity, and for ever and ever!

Closing Exhortations

As we begin a new calendar year, we must have our minds filled with the awareness of this God.

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

What a beautiful confession of faith. It is a beautiful confession to make as we begin a new year. We do not know what will happen to us in 2026. We do not know what afflictions we will face this year. We know very little about tomorrow! But this we know—no matter what happens to us this year and no matter what difficulties or afflictions we will have this year, we know that God will be our God for ever and ever and that He will be our Guide even unto death. This great and loving God who has been our God, who is our God, will be our God in 2026. In fact, He will be our God for ever and ever.

Now, is He your God? Is He your Guide? If He is not your God, understand and realize what a frightening thing it is to face all the unknowns of the coming year without this God as your God. So I entreat you, take this God to be your God and your Guide. But the only way you can have God as your God and Guide is to take His Son Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Redeemer. You must come to God through His only begotten Son who suffered and died for sinners like you and me. How about it? Would you come to Christ today? Oh, don’t face the coming year without this God who is willing to be your God. If you will have God on His terms, then in Christ Jesus this wonderful and precious promise is yours!

AMEN!