The Day of New Beginnings

Realm of Zion part 2

 

Psalm 87:
¶  <<A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.>> His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2  The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
3  Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.
4 ¶  "I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’"
5  But of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; And the Most High Himself will establish her.
6  The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, "This one was born there." Selah.
7  Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, "All my springs of joy are in you."
 
Once again we see Zion is likened to the holy mountains of God. Notice how it says the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. Of all the spiritual levels a Christian can settle on, the realm of Zion is closest to God’s heart. He loves Zion more than any other realm. Glorious things are spoken of Zion, the city of God. 
 
But how do we enter that realm? How do we begin to experience the reality of Zion? Notice carefully verses five and six. “Of Zion it shall be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her.’” Zion is not a realm marked by discipline or self effort. How long we have been a Christian, or even how mature we are do not qualify us as citizens of Zion. We enter the realm of Zion by a new birth. This isn’t the old time religion of being “born again” as fundamental Christianity would teach it, however. We are born into Zion by a living Word creating in us. We are fathered into Zion. Zion is a realm where all the trappings of religion are left behind. Within Zion all the Heavenly Father’s family dwells together. His family is those in whom His nature is being formed. Within Zion dwell the children, the young men and women, and the fathers and mothers.
 
“The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, This one was born there.” The registering of the peoples points to the many passages of Scripture that record genealogies, bloodlines, etc. For example, in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra, only those who could prove their lineage could serve in the priesthood that was being restored in the days of rebuilding the temple after the captivity in Babylon. There was to be no mixed blood in those who served. Spiritually this speaks of purity. The Lord searches for the one born of a living Word, with His nature being created within. 
 
This psalm ends with the declaration, “Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, "All my springs of joy are in you." As we learn to live in the realm of Zion, we find our greatest joy.