Whether you were born in Buffalo, Baltimore, or Bombay, odds are you feel a degree of hometown pride that few out-of-towners would think was justified.  Just because our hometowns and our hometown teams are special to us, that doesn’t mean they would attract the same level of appreciation from a neutral observer.  In fact, sometimes places that are decidedly down at the heels make the most noise about how great they are.  (Remember “Talking Proud”?  In those days Buffalonians were mostly talking themselves into believing they had anything to brag about.)

The Bible is full of lots of proud talk about Jerusalem, mostly because as the home of the Temple, it was seen as the central place of meeting between God and all of humanity.  Having “God’s footstool” in your hometown is bound to be something that Chamber of Commerce types will tend to brag about when they’re on business trips.

Psalm 87 seems like one of those hometown promotion pieces.  It is the Psalm that inspired the lyrics of that great old hymn: “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, Zion City of Our God.”  (Zion is another name for Jerusalem, sort of like Buffalo is the Nickel City.)

I have to admit I have never greatly loved either the hymn or the Psalm, but I have come to a fresh appreciation of them recently.  I finally noticed that the Psalm speaks of the enemies of Israel (Egypt and Babylon, Tyre and Philistia) as being born in Zion.  Then it says flatly: “everyone was born in her.”  This not just bragging; it’s something more, something better. 

This something was understood by John Newton who wrote the hymn.  In verse 4 he writes:
“Savior, if of Zion’s city
I, thro’ grace, a member am…” 
Exactly.  Zion, the chosen city, the place God chose for the Temple, is not a city that only Israel can claim as its own.  It belongs to Israel and even to Israel’s enemies.  It belongs to everyone through God’s grace.

No one can brag about Zion as their hometown because everyone who was born there is a recipient of grace.  God has chosen to dwell with us.  More wonderfully, we have been chosen to dwell in God.

Makes me wanna’ shout.

Prayer:  Emmanuel, you have come to dwell with us in your holy Temple, and in your only Son, and in the very hearts of your people.  May we, your dwelling place, shine with your radiant presence.  Amen.