Look at Psalm 48:1: "The Lord is great and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain." The God who leads us until death is a great God. And this great God is also the "great King" (verse 2). Therefore, the great God who saves us does so in a great way (Park Yun-seon). However, we tend to think of God's great way of salvation as something small. In other words, because we cannot see the big picture, our own thoughts and expectations about how God should save us fill our hearts. And when God does not save us according to our thoughts and expectations, we sometimes complain or even become discouraged and fall. This was the case with the people of Israel during the Exodus. They complained about God and Moses. But they did not understand why God had them walk through the desert for 40 years; they did not realize God's purpose in His way of salvation. The Lord's purpose was: "He humbled you and allowed you to hunger, and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:16).

I remember once meditating on the life of Joseph, and I was amazed by God's way of salvation. Specifically, I realized that God saved Joseph, but He did so by leading him from one difficult situation to another, eventually making him the governor of Egypt at the age of 30 after 13 years. God saved him in His own way—first, by having him nearly die and then sold into slavery to Potiphar in Egypt, where God saved him; later, due to the temptation of Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was imprisoned… and so, salvation came from one trial to another. But in the end, God made Joseph the governor of Egypt, and through him, He saved the nation of Israel. In God's great plan, it was not only about saving Joseph, but also about leading him from suffering to suffering, ultimately saving the nation of Israel. What an amazing way of salvation from God!

Let us remember this: Our great God saves and leads us according to His great way of salvation. Whether He leads us through the wilderness or through the Valley of Achor, we must never forget that what He ultimately wants to give us is "blessing."

Secondly, the God who leads us until death is our refuge.

Look at Psalm 48:3: "God has made Himself known as a refuge in her palaces." The God who leads us until death is our refuge. Just as the holy city of God is described as "a place that is high and beautiful" (verse 2), our God, who is our refuge, becomes our strong fortress (verse 3). As our strong fortress and refuge, God protects us. This is why David confessed, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we do not need to fear because God, our refuge, will protect and comfort us.

This God has revealed Himself as our "refuge" (48:3). Our God repeatedly appears as our Savior, delivering His people. Consider the history of salvation of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Did God save His people just once or twice? The name "Jesus" means "God is salvation," and our Lord delights in saving us. This God is our refuge. Therefore, we must seek refuge in God, who reveals Himself as our refuge. David prayed, "Incline Your ear to me; deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name's sake, lead me and guide me" (Psalm 31:2-3).

Thirdly, the God who leads us until death is the God who gives us victory.

Look at Psalm 48:4-5: "The kings assembled, they passed by together, they saw it and they marveled; they were troubled, they hastened away." This passage refers to foreign kings who tried to invade and occupy Jerusalem, but they passed by like mist. When the invaders saw the power of God, they fled in fear (Park Yun-seon). Ultimately, God destroyed the forces of the nations, just as He would break a ship of Tarshish with a strong east wind. And He gave Israel victory. Our God fights on our behalf, defeating our enemies and giving us victory. Look at Deuteronomy 20:4: "For the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory." Therefore, the psalmist did not rely on his bow or sword but trusted in the Lord, who saved (gave victory to) him from his enemies (Psalm 44:6-7).

Personally, I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 10:13 when thinking about the mission work of our church’s senior pastor in China: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." I see that God is the Savior who delivers our senior pastor from dangerous situations, and it is clear that our God is the God who gives us victory.

Let us remember this: Our God is ultimately the God who gives us victory. Therefore, we should live by faith with the assurance of victory.

Lastly, fourthly, the God who leads us until death is the God who is full of justice.

Psalm 48:10
"God, Your name reaches to the ends of the earth, and Your right hand is full of righteousness."

The phrase "Your right hand is full of righteousness" means that God faithfully executes justice, rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked, and in the end, He will right the wrongs suffered by true believers (Park Yun-seon). When we bring our grievances before this God, who is full of righteousness, He is the one who will repay our injustices.

A practical example of this is the case of Pastor Gómez’s son, who leads the Hispanic ministry in our church. About two weeks ago, I heard from Pastor Gómez about a lawsuit involving his son, Victor Jr. Apparently, while driving, another person caused an accident, but instead of taking responsibility, this person sued Pastor Gómez's son. The person was apparently a powerful politician. When the police wrote the report on the accident, they lied in court, siding with the politician. Furthermore, the company where Pastor Gómez's son worked also gave statements that were unfavorable to him. Pastor Gómez and his wife, feeling deeply troubled, cried out to God. In the midst of this, something interesting happened: Pastor Gómez had a dream where fire came down from heaven and struck the politician, the lying police officer, and the people from the company. In the end, about two weeks ago, the judge ruled in favor of Pastor Gómez’s son. After winning the case, the lawyer for Pastor Gómez’s son made two suggestions: one was for the opponent to pay the money that Pastor Gómez’s son had lost while he was unable to work during the court proceedings, and the other was to continue the legal process to hold the opponent accountable for the lies they told in court. However, Pastor Gómez shared that he decided not to pursue either option.

Here, I see a remarkable example of faith. Of course, as the Scripture teaches, I’ve indirectly experienced the truth that God, full of righteousness, will repay the injustices done to His believers. But what is even more remarkable is that Pastor Gómez chose not to pursue the politician or the lying police officer, even though he could have. What I felt from this is that vengeance belongs to God, and we must know when to stop. Why is this important? Because we must entrust revenge to the righteous God. He, full of righteousness, will take care of it. God will defeat our enemies with His justice. We must trust in this God and follow His guidance.

The God who leads us until death is a great God, a God who is our refuge, a God who gives us victory, and a God full of justice. How should we respond to His guidance? We can think of at least four ways.