Belonging


Psalm 87
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.
1On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah
4Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say.
5And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
6The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah
7Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”

One of the aspects of the human experience that I’ve always found to be a little odd is our tendency to have an affinity for one geographical region over another. Often it is the place of our birth or upbringing and sometimes it can transfer to a place that just seems to touch our hearts. But it’s there. If you were asked to name your favorite spot on earth, that place that seems to call out to you, where would it be? I know that most of you immediately had a place in mind. I know that I do.

This psalm scratches that itch for the people of God. In Jerusalem the original Temple was built; that representation of God’s presence on earth. It is there that the Ark of the Covenant was stored and worship centered around God in that Temple. This is the City of Zion. The believer longs to be in Zion for there, God is found. This psalm looks beyond the earthly city to the spiritual Jerusalem, which is the church on earth, and to the heavenly Jerusalem, the church in heaven. No longer does God focus His attention on the physical Jerusalem but instead it has become a spiritual place; one that we can all access all the time. And this New Jerusalem is no respecter of ethnicity. All believers are citizens of this country as Paul teaches us in Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:17–22
17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Through the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, the City of Zion dwells within and is ever present with you. No longer do we need to go to a specific place to worship and communion with the Lord. Instead, He has chosen to reside within and that constant access is pure grace.

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