Sabbath: Longing for God in Zion
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 9th of March 2024
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
Psalms 84:1-12; Revelation 21:3; Psalms 122:1-9; Psalms 87:1-7; Galatians 3:28-29; Matthew 28:18-20; Psalms 46:1-11; Psalms 125:1-5.
Memory Text:
“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalms 84:1-12:2, NKJV).
The songs of Zion are joyous hymns that magnify the beauty of Zion and the sovereignty of the Lord, who reigns from His holy mountain. These psalms often praise the merits of the Lord’s house and express a love for the sanctuary that can be found in other psalms, as well. Many of these psalms were composed by the sons of Korah, who had firsthand experience of the blessedness of the Lord’s house as the temple musicians (1 Chronicles 6:31-38) and keepers of the temple gates (1 Chronicles 9:19).
What makes Zion the source of hope and joy? Zion represented God’s living presence among His people. As the people of Israel are God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6), so Zion is God’s chosen mountain (Psalms 78:68, Psalms 87:2). God reigns from Zion (Psalms 99:1-2) and founded His temple on Zion, as well (Psalms 87:1). Thus, Zion is a place of divine blessings and refuge. Zion is often referred to in parallel, or even interchangeably with, Jerusalem and the sanctuary, the center of God’s work of salvation for the ancient world.
The blessings of Zion overflow to the ends of the earth because the Lord’s person and grace exceed the boundaries of any holy place. Zion is the joy of all the earth (Psalms 48:2), affirming that the whole earth belongs to God.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 16.
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Some Christians get tagged with the meme, "They are so heavenly minded, they're no earthly use." That is something to think about as we look at the Zion Psalms this week. Christianity has to be much more than a pious hope for the future if we are going to crack the credibility barrier in the present.
We like to quote:
...but whe we read the rest of the chapter we see that it is really about very practical outworkings of faith in the present.
We are people of hope and faith when we give others hope and faith in the present.
Hey Maurice, I was looking for re information on this response
Not sure what you mean here Ronald. Perhaps you would like to expand.
I was commenting how short your response was on Sabbath's lesson
Ah OK. My Sabbath comment is usually short, I don't want to blow all my good thoughts at the beginning of the week and have nothing to say for the rest of the week.
Blessings
Maurice
"Great is the Lord
And greatly to be praised
In the City of our God
In the mountain of His holiness
Beautiful for situation
The joy of the whole earth
Is Mt.Zion on the sides of the north
The city of our Great King!"
This song I learned when I was much younger. Today's lesson brought it to mind.
Years ago, my daughter's Pathfinder club attended the Union Camporee near the Olympics in Washington State. One of the afternoon activities was to hike up a mountain...Mount Zion!
Definitely "north" of most of the United States and certainly "beautiful". Peaceful there, too. As a staff member and unable to make the hike, I stayed with the vehicles at the foot of the mountain, enjoying the scenery and thinking about the Pathfinders as they journeyed upward.
Yes my souls Longs for the court of the Lord… what a beautiful example of How merciful our Heavenly Father is! Gods living presence among His people
The word Zion appears 150 times in the Bible. It was the stronghold of the Jebusites and was overthrown by David against all odds (2Sam 5:6-7). It however became synonymous with heaven as said in Heb 12:22-24:
How ridiculous are the current traits of the Saints... Christians who no longer long to be in the House of God.
We are too busy to the extent of forgetting our salvation. Busy attending business meetings, weddings, buying and selling....a visible sign that we no longer long for that city, that mountain of God (Zion).
I see some wonderful Christians busy and happy sharing the love of Jesus by providing groceries to the needy, compamy for the lonely, encouragement for the downhearted. They are joyous and happy, Perhaps you need to join our company of saints.