Where is Zion, the city of God?
The Psalms often contain the prayers of God's people, and they ask God for healing and intervention for what they are going through. If you read the first eleven verses of this psalm, you see the writer of this psalm is severely afflicted. Here is a sampling of his fervent lament:
"3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof."
You can see he is definitely not having a good day. But even though he cries out to God to not cut his days short, we see his deep faith in God. He has faith that at the appointed time God will deliver him from his distress. And he realizes it is not just for him, but also the people of God. He realizes one day God will rebuild Zion, an important place in both the Old and New Testamnt. In the Old Testament it generally referred to Jerusalem, the city of David, where the Messiah would come. But later it took on a more spiritual meaning, where God would rebuild his people in a new temple built by God, with Jesus as the cornerstone. Zion is also used to mean the people of God, who dwell in God's new heavenly city.
So despite his momentary problems on this earth, his hope is in the God who is unchanging. The God who hears the cries of his people, and will not despise their prayers. Finally, God will build a future place where all believers will worship and praise God in all his glory. What does this mean for us?
In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul gives us this hope,
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
What are you going through today where you need to hold on to God's promises presented in these passages? Where is it hard to see where anything good is going to come through what is happening to you or someone you love? One day our sufferings will be overcome by the great and promised glory God has for those who trust in Him, even through the storms of life. God's Word is true and endures forever. We can trust God to do what He promises, even in the midst of life's toughest trials. If you need God, cry out to him and He will hear and answer your prayer in Jesus' name.
Psalm 102:12-28
12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the Lord.
23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”
"3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof."
You can see he is definitely not having a good day. But even though he cries out to God to not cut his days short, we see his deep faith in God. He has faith that at the appointed time God will deliver him from his distress. And he realizes it is not just for him, but also the people of God. He realizes one day God will rebuild Zion, an important place in both the Old and New Testamnt. In the Old Testament it generally referred to Jerusalem, the city of David, where the Messiah would come. But later it took on a more spiritual meaning, where God would rebuild his people in a new temple built by God, with Jesus as the cornerstone. Zion is also used to mean the people of God, who dwell in God's new heavenly city.
So despite his momentary problems on this earth, his hope is in the God who is unchanging. The God who hears the cries of his people, and will not despise their prayers. Finally, God will build a future place where all believers will worship and praise God in all his glory. What does this mean for us?
In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul gives us this hope,
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
What are you going through today where you need to hold on to God's promises presented in these passages? Where is it hard to see where anything good is going to come through what is happening to you or someone you love? One day our sufferings will be overcome by the great and promised glory God has for those who trust in Him, even through the storms of life. God's Word is true and endures forever. We can trust God to do what He promises, even in the midst of life's toughest trials. If you need God, cry out to him and He will hear and answer your prayer in Jesus' name.
Psalm 102:12-28
12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the Lord.
23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”
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