Day 22
Read Psalm 87
Psalm 87 is often referred to as the “born again Psalm.” It begins by talking about the city of Jerusalem (Jerusalem is often referred to as Zion in the Bible because of the small mount the city is built on). Jerusalem/Zion of course was the center of the Jewish world – it was the capital city, the locale of the Temple, the center of all political, religious, financial and social life in Israel. It was the center of God’s people.
After a celebration of the city of God, the Psalmist then moves on to describe other nations and in a sense changes the Place Section on their birth certificate. So, in verse 4 God says, “Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopia – and will say “this one was born here (in Zion).” Babylon, Philistia, and Tyre were all enemies of Israel. But God says, when He registers all the people, He is going to register them as if they were born in Jerusalem. In other words, they will be considered as part of the people of God. The image is as if they are being “born again” and instead of being considered Babylonians or Philistines they will all be considered God’s people.
The nations were always a part of God’s plan. Even though the focus of the Old Testament is on Jerusalem and the people of Israel, there are countless references, like Psalm 87, that were intended to remind Israel that God’s concern was for all the nations. Remember, Abraham was told that through his descendants (Israel) “all the peoples on earth would be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Psalm 87 is a poetic description of that “blessing” taking place. It is a vision similar to that of Revelation 5 where the elders sing how the Lord Jesus “has ransomed for God, saints from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).
Notes - John Newton used verse 3 as the opening line of one of his most famous hymns – “Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God."
Prayer
Spend some time praying for the nations. Pray for healing to come to places that have been recently ravaged by disasters. Pray that during this season of Lent and celebration of Easter that the good news of Jesus would continue to be received around the world.
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