Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Psalm 87 Devotional

Citizens Born in Zion

“The LORD will record in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion.” Selah”Psalm 87:6 (BSB)

Psalm 87 is short and surprising. It celebrates Zion, the city the LORD founded on the holy mountains and loves more than any other dwelling of Jacob (87:1-2). Then God speaks, and the list of those who belong there is unexpected. He names Rahab and Babylon as peoples who know him, and Philistia, Tyre, and Cush too, saying of each that it was born in Zion (87:4).

These were outsiders, some of them old enemies of God's people. Yet the LORD himself enrolls them as native citizens when he records the nations (87:5-6). Belonging to Zion is not finally a matter of ancestry. It is a matter of God's declaration. Paul tells Gentile believers that they are no longer strangers but fellow citizens with God's people and members of his household (Ephesians 2:19). The psalm closes with musicians declaring that every source of their joy is found in God's city (87:7). If you belong to Christ, your name is on that register, written there by God himself.

To think about: How does it change the way you see yourself, and others, to know that God himself writes outsiders into his family?

About Psalm 87: Zion, Birthplace of the Nations

This short psalm celebrates Zion as the city God founded and loves above every other place in Israel. God names foreign nations, including Egypt and Babylon, as peoples who know Him and records them as citizens born in Zion, and musicians sing of the source of all their joy.

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