This One Was Born There

This One Was Born There

Psalm 87

The city he founded is on the holy mountains.

2 The Lord loves Zion’s city gates
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God.

4 “I will make a record of those who know me:
Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush—
each one was born there.”
5 And it will be said of Zion,
“This one and that one were born in her.”
The Most High himself will establish her.
6 When he registers the peoples,
the Lord will record,
“This one was born there.”
7 Singers and dancers alike will say,
“My whole source of joy is in you.”

So, patriotism is having quite the moment right now. Not necessarily the most positive moment, but a moment nonetheless. I’m relieved that the air of patriotism and citizenship expressed in Psalm 87 has a much deeper, richer heritage and significance for us than any other.

Psalm 87 is essentially an ode to Jerusalem, or Zion. Jerusalem was the city that God chose to establish and use as the physical, geographic center of His redeeming work on earth. The commentary on enduringword.com puts it this way:

• There Melchezidek, king and priest of God Most High, reigned and served
• There Abraham was willing to offer Isaac and the mount of the Lord in which His perfect sacrifice would be provided
• Israel’s greatest earthly king possessed and made it the kingdom’s capital
• There the tabernacle of God found its fulfillment and permanence in the great temple David designed and Solomon built
• There the institutions of sacrifice, worship, and priestly service were established for centuries
• There Jesus recognized and honored the city and observed the feasts and temple rituals
• There Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead
• There the church was born in a day at Pentecost
• There the apostles served and from which the Gospel went forth
• There God has promised will be the physical center of His ultimate kingdom upon earth

Even though those last 5 bullet point events occurred long after this psalm was written, it’s safe to say that Jerusalem was highly revered by the Jews, and citizenship in this city was a coveted status. As I read through that list, I could understand even more why this city is and was so very precious to our faith. God’s favor and love rested on this city in a way that was unique to any other place on earth.

But it’s the second part of the psalm that so eclipses the significance of the earthly Zion (Jerusalem). Verses 5-7 (I think) refer to the heavenly, spiritual version of Zion and the true depth and breadth of God’s kingdom. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, “the confident words ‘this one was born there’ are even more wonderful because the citizen does not say it of himself; God says it of him or her” (enduringword.com).

We are citizens of the City of God. We were born again there. Nothing that happens in this world can change that citizenship. It is more secure than any patriotism, government, movement, or ideology we will encounter on this earth.

Since we have that security, do we live like it? Do we invite others into this citizenship (because by no means is it exclusive to us)? Sit with those questions, meditate on them, pray through how their answers look in your life.