through the church as the Zion today God will turn the whole earth to Himself

In Psalm 102 we see not only Christ’s death and resurrection but also the product of His death and resurrection, Zion – the church. Christ’s existence is eternal and everlasting in His resurrection, and the product of His resurrection is Zion with God’s house and God’s city.

The church may go through periods of time of captivity and devastation (just like the people of Israel did), but the rebuilding of the church will turn all the nations back to the Lord, and the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of God and of His Christ (see Rev. 11:15).

Zion today is the church

Zion in Psalm 102 is the church today. We can see this from Gal. 4:26 where “the Jerusalem above” is our mother” and in Heb. 12:22 where “we have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”.

Psalm 84:5 shows us that “the highways to Zion” are the highways to the church life. Rev. 14 tells us that the 144.000 will be raptured to Mount Zion. Zion today is the church, and we are heading to Zion, the highest peak of God’s mountains, where God dwells and He finds His delight.

God has something on the earth for Himself

All throughout history we can see that Satan fights against God’s people, God’s building, and God’s plan. Even though at times it seems that the people of God are devastated and wiped out, God still has something for Himself.

In the Old Testament we see in the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth that the history of God’s elect may include tragedies and failures. But still, even among the devastation and failures, God has something on the earth for Himself. As long as He has some people fully for Himself, He is satisfied – He dwells with this remnant.

Today it is the same – in spite of the degradation of the church, in spite of the devastation and even loss of the proper church life everywhere on earth, God still has something for Himself on earth.

God has the local churches, the Lord’s recovery, some who care for God’s heart’s desire – some who care for Zion above everything else. There is a line of people today on earth who care for Christ and the church – these are Zion as the center of Jerusalem (Psa. 102:16, 21). Through these ones God can work, He can operate, and He can even turn the age to the age of the kingdom.

Taking pleasure in all the saints

In the local churches and in the proper church life we as God’s servants “take pleasure in her stones” – we learn to take pleasure in all the saints, the stones in God’s building. We all are stones as building materials for the church (1 Pet. 2:5).

We should take pleasure in all the members of the church. When we experience the resurrected Christ, we will see more than the natural features of others, and we will treasure all the other stones. Yes, others may have some peculiarities, but Christ as the stone element is in them, and we also have Christ as the stone in us! Praise the Lord for all the stones.

The church turns the world to the Lord

In His resurrection Christ is the key that turns the earth to the Lord because of His eternal and unchanging existence (see Psa. 102:24-27, Heb 1:10-12). This Christ now is the Spirit living in us, and we are His reproduction, the extension of His days.

Today it is through the church that God is turning the whole earth to the Lord. In Psa. 102:21-22 we see that the church as Zion is the place and the way that God turns the whole earth to Himself! All the nations and kingdoms will be brought into the praise and worship of Jehovah through Zion, the church today! Praise the Lord!

Lord, gain what You are after today. Recover us and restore us that we may not be in any kind of degradation. Lord, we want to be in the church today, part of Zion, Your dwelling place. Thank You for making us the stones in Your building – cause us to take pleasure in all the stones! Lord, how precious and pleasant are all the saints as members of Your Body! Lord, gain the whole earth through the church!

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from the life-study of Psalms, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization-Study of Psalms (2), week 17.
• Recommended reading: areas in which the Lord Spirit may operate to apply the resurrection life in us;
• Hymns on this topic:
  # At the closing of this age, / Just before Your kingdom’s dawn, / May You gain a people, Lord, / For Your dwelling place, Your home.
  # A generation… / Lord, of them that seek Your face; / A remnant for You / Whose hearts are so true. / They’re those who just love You.
  # O Lord, against these days, / Inspire some for Your building, / Just as in Ezra’s day— / A remnant who are willing / To come and work in Your house.
• Picture source: Carson Lake Tahoe, Nevada State Park.