Glorious Things
Notes
Transcript
Glorious Things
Glorious Things
During the last few weeks I have been going through some Psalms
We looked at how the Psalmist responds when things are not going well in the world
Pray and go to sleep
Remain faithful.
We looked how those who are hurt make their way to Zion
Through the valley of weeping
Refreshing rains come to cleanse the hurt
As they arrive at Zion
Today, we are going to look at how those who come through the valley of weeping are received.
What does it look like?
What happens
Who is there?
The Psalm addresses something controversial:
Who comes to Zion?
May christians believe that Israel was God’s favored people.
They were
But what they fail to understand is what the favor meant.
It was not favored because they were somehow better
They were not
It was not favored to ‘go to heaven’
Not all are were faithful
They were favored because the ORACLES of God were given to them
To be a light to the world
To draw people from the nations to God
But something happened…
Israel’s pride turned inside, and they saw themselves as the ‘only’ child of God.
She disregarded her duty, her function.
And before we get to excited about that…
It happens in church too.
Our pride can turn inside
We can get single-minded on ourselves as if we are the only one that matters
And we too disregard our duty, our function.
So, let’s read this Psalm and see what we can find out.
Warning, the Psalm has many difficulties in translation
But we are going to get through it!
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say. And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah
Again, we have a Psalm dedicated to Korah. The ones who are charged with carrying the holy and most holy objects of the tabernacle.
But we see something that is a bit unusual:
The LORD is loving the gates of Zion more than the dwelling places of Jacob.
This verse locates the discussion away from what would be considered the promised land and localizes it on Zion.
What is Zion?
It is paralleled with the city of God, which we refer to as Jerusalem
Why don’t they mention Jerusalem?
Perhaps because the Psalm was written before David took the city of the Jebusites.
Regardless, Zion is something of which people say glorious things!
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say. And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
As we looked last week, those who travel the valley of weeping on their way to Zion, now we know where they come from.
And it is not just Israel that comes.
Although she will be included.
These are people from other nations, including three major enemies:
Philistia
Tyre
Babylon
In their coming, they will have been born in those lands
But their birth certificate, so to speak, will be changed to say, ‘Born in Zion.’
And as they are coming to Zion, who do they meet at the entrance?
Not St. Peter…
The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
They meet the LORD first.
Do you remember in the wedding feast parable how the Father/Host goes to each one.
Here, the ones arriving through the valley of weeping meet the LORD
And he counts them, it can also mean he records them.
I want you to imagine this scene:
As each one arrives at Zion, the LORD uses a writing tool to record your place of birth as Zion.
And, as each one comes, notice what happens:
The Most High establishes Zion
In other words, each one who arrives establishes, builds Zion
For the LORD, it is not about what the place looks like that makes it important.
The architecture is not the concern.
It is the people.
There is no Zion without the people.
And once our birthplace is affirmed, as we dance we sing, ‘All my fountains are in you!’
Who comes to Zion?
It seems, anyone from anywhere
Except the wicked.
Babylon, Tyre, and Philistia all represent places where there is wickedness
But when you read the Prophets, you see that even God’s favored people can be wicked.
I would like to think that the phrase ‘He will wipe every tear’ is linked to this moment that we meet the LORD at the gate.
Glorious things are spoken in Zion
In this Psalm, there are two voices
God, who says ‘all are born there’
The singing dancers who sing, ‘All my fountains are in you!’
Glorious Things
Glorious Things
