Thoughts for the Day

The Joy of Living in Zion

On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God....

And of Zion it shall be said,
‘This one and that one were born in it’;
for the Most High himself will establish it.
The Lord records, as he registers the peoples,
‘This one was born there.’

Singers and dancers alike say,
‘All my springs are in you.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

For many christians Psalm 87 immediately reminds us of the famous hymn "Glorious things of Thee are spoken", written by John Newton, who also wrote 'Amazing Grace'. This psalm is about Jerusalem, called in the psalm, 'Zion',
This is also thought to be the place where Abraham's trust in God was pushed to its limit when God asked him to sacrifice his son, who was then saved by God (Genesis 22.1-14), and where King Solomon built the first temple on the land acquired by his father King David. For the Hebrew nation Jerusalem was seen as the place where God dwelt and where the Ark of the Covenant within the Holy of Holies was a symbol of His presence. Because God was holy, so Jerusalem was considered holy.

For Christians the city of Jerusalem is also important as it was at the heart of our Lord's life:

• Jesus worshipped his Father in the Temple in Jerusalem.
• Jesus taught the people in Jerusalem.
• Jesus healed people in Jerusalem.
• Jesus was tried, convicted and crucified in Jerusalem.
• Jesus rose from the grave on Easter day in Jerusalem.
• The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in Jerusalem.
• The Christian Church was born on the foundations laid by Jesus, in Jerusalem.

Now divided between different faiths and different denominations, spare a prayer for Jerusalem, this day.

Lord God Almighty,
we pray today for Your city of Jerusalem,
where Your Son, our Lord,
spent time when he lived on earth,
and where so much of our faith is centered.
May the different faiths and denominations
learn to live together today in peace and harmony,
in Jerusalem.
Amen.