It is clear throughout the Psalms that the relationship of the temple to the holy city, is that the temple always resides WITHIN the city, not outside or beyond it.
Take Psalm 48: here it is obvious that city and temple are integral. It cannot be the ‘Holy’ City unless Holy 'Presence', in the temple, is WITHIN it!
‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised...’
Where?
‘IN the city of our God and IN His holy mountain....
God is IN her palaces’ (vv.1-3: note, palaces, plural; that is, the palace of their earthly king and that of their heavenly King).
Notice also vv. 8 and 9 --
‘As we have heard
So we have seen
IN the city of the LORD of hosts
IN the city of our God....
IN the midst of your temple.’
Psalm 122 also clearly speaks of a ‘compact’—that is, integral, City within which ‘the tribes go up to the Testimony of Israel.’ Notice again that ‘thrones’ plural are set there, that is, both heavenly and earthly thrones. They are WITHIN Jerusalem!
Now consider Revelation 21 and the descent of the New Jerusalem. Notice that John specifically comments in v.22 on what he did NOT see WITHIN it. The city he saw had very defined boundaries, yet within those boundaries there was no physical temple (as there obviously had been in the Jerusalem of John’s day). Now, instead of a building that housed The Presence, God Himself was there... housed as He is throughout the New Covenant--WITHIN His people!
Take Psalm 48: here it is obvious that city and temple are integral. It cannot be the ‘Holy’ City unless Holy 'Presence', in the temple, is WITHIN it!
‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised...’
Where?
‘IN the city of our God and IN His holy mountain....
God is IN her palaces’ (vv.1-3: note, palaces, plural; that is, the palace of their earthly king and that of their heavenly King).
Notice also vv. 8 and 9 --
‘As we have heard
So we have seen
IN the city of the LORD of hosts
IN the city of our God....
IN the midst of your temple.’
Psalm 122 also clearly speaks of a ‘compact’—that is, integral, City within which ‘the tribes go up to the Testimony of Israel.’ Notice again that ‘thrones’ plural are set there, that is, both heavenly and earthly thrones. They are WITHIN Jerusalem!
Now consider Revelation 21 and the descent of the New Jerusalem. Notice that John specifically comments in v.22 on what he did NOT see WITHIN it. The city he saw had very defined boundaries, yet within those boundaries there was no physical temple (as there obviously had been in the Jerusalem of John’s day). Now, instead of a building that housed The Presence, God Himself was there... housed as He is throughout the New Covenant--WITHIN His people!
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