In our study of the Bible, we need to learn to ask questions of the Lord, and we should do this as we come now to Psalms 46—48. We should ask why these three psalms are placed immediately after Psalm 45, a psalm praising king Solomon (typifying Christ) with his queen (typifying the church). If you were the compiler of the Psalms, would you have put these psalms right after Psalm 45?
Psalm 46 does not seem to be a continuation of Psalm 45. However, there is definitely a continuation here. Psalm 45 is on the king, and Psalm 46 is on the city. Surely the king has much to do with the city. If a king did not have a city, what kind of king would he be? A king must have a city. The king in Psalm 45 typifies Christ, but what is the city mentioned in Psalm 46? This city is Jerusalem.
In the previous message we pointed out that in studying the Bible, we need an enlightened and renewed mind. When we study a psalm such as Psalm 45, we should not have any trust in our natural understanding or our natural concept. Instead of relying on our natural mind, we need to exercise our renewed and enlightened mind.
In addition, if we would understand the Bible, we also need to know the spiritual, divine, and heavenly significance of the things in the Bible and the significance of the things concerning Christ. As we study Psalm 45, for instance, we must find out the spiritual significance of the king, the queen, the daughters, and the sons. Likewise, as we study Psalm 46, we must find out the spiritual significance of the city.
The Bible was written not only in letters, and it not only contains many types, but it is a book filled with matters that have a spiritual significance. Consider the first two chapters of Genesis. If we read Genesis 1 and 2 only according to the letters without caring for the spiritual significance, we will not understand these chapters. As we study chapter one, we need to learn the significance of the heavens, the earth, the light, the land emerging from the water, the vegetable life, the animal life, the human life, the divine life, and the matters of image and dominion. If we know the significance of the items in Genesis 1, we will see that man was created according to God's kind to bear God's image and to represent Him.