I recently read a story about a man who was driving along a road when he saw a farmer with his dog walking along beside him.  The man offered the farmer and the dog a ride.  The farmer got into the front seat after putting the dog in the back.  After glancing at the dog who seemed too tired to even wag his tail, the driver remarked, “You must have been walking a long time from the looks of your dog.”  Laughingly, the farmer said, “It wasn’t the trip that wore him out.  He was running back and forth across the road and sticking his nose into every gate, wrestling with every stone wall.  He had to chase every cat, and scare all the old hens he saw.  If a dog barked at him he barked back ten times in return.  No wonder he was tired.”

The old farmer pushed back the hat on his head.  He was silent momentarily, and then he said, “You know, people are like that.  If they get worn out on their journey through life, it is usually not the distance they have covered that makes them tired.  It is the extra work they make for themselves by minding everybody’s business but their own.”

The religion of Jesus Christ challenges us to “aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).  While it is true that we are to look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4), such does not mean we are to be “wandering about from house to house” as “gossips and busybodies, saying things which [we] ought not” ( Timothy 5:13).  Minding everybody’s business is dangerous business.

           Charles C. Pugh, III
           New Martinsville, WV
 

“All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name” (Psalm 86:9).  This quote links Psalms 86 and 87 with an evangelistic theme.  Psalm 87 is a psalm of trust, which is “seen in the fact that Zion will make friends of her enemies (v. 4).  It is due to the fact that many take this psalm to be Messianic (see Ephesians 3:6).”  The name “Zion” is important in Old Testament history and prophecy, so a few comments about it should be very helpful.  I will give a synopsis of the article on Zion in The Oxford Companion to the Bible (page 830).  David conquered a Jebusite stronghold named Zion in 2 Samuel 5, and renamed it “the city of David.”  It was in the southeast corner of Jerusalem.  The poets of the Old Testament used the term to refer to God’s place of habitation (Psalm 2:6; 132:13).  It came to be used figuratively, as God would defend it and provide refuge for those who fled there (Psalms 46; 48; 76).  The prophets used it to look forward to the kingdom (church) of the Messiah (Isaiah 2; Micah 4; see Hebrews 12:22).  We might add that the earthly Zion referred to its importance under the law of Moses, the spiritual Zion is the church, and the heavenly Zion will be the dwelling of all of the faithful.

The psalm is short, but full of meaning along three lines of thought:  In verses 1-3, the poet tells us of “God’s glorious Zion”; in verses 4-6, he tells us of the “invitation to all to be ‘born’ there”; and in verse 7, he tells us of the “resulting joy among those who are in Zion.”

How important is the concept of “foundations” to you?  Are you interested in that which God says is a true foundation?  Israel had an amazing amount of evidence that Zion was God’s place for them to build their lives—but one generation after another built on the sand of worldliness, ignorance, and even idolatry.  God told them that He loved the gates of Zion, and proved His love in numberless ways, but only a few chose to view things as He did.  Zion is one of the glorious themes of the Bible, but how much do we know about the Bible subject of Zion?

Kirkpatrick has this excellent statement about Psalm 87:

“Thus the Psalm is a prediction to the incorporation of all nations into the Church of Christ, and the establishment of the new and universal nationality of the kingdom of God. It is a prophecy in O.T. language of ‘the Jerusalem that is above, which is our mother’ (Gal. 4:26).  It looks forward to the time when the Gentiles shall no longer be ‘alienated from the commonwealth of Israel’ but ‘fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God’” (Eph. ii. 12, 19)….a foreshadowing of the truth that a new birth is requisite for entrance into the kingdom of God (John iii. 3ff).” (page 519).

These verses plainly teach the truth that people from the nations were to be invited into Zion—Rahab (figurative for Egypt; in Hebrew, this word has a different spelling than the woman named Rahab in the book of Joshua; see Psalm 89:10; Isaiah 30:7; 51:9), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia—nations that had been enemies, nations that were far away—people from all nations could be “born” in her (Zion).  Jesus explained this new birth, and made it a requirement for entrance into His family/kingdom in John 3.  The Lord knows who has been born there, and He keeps the accurate record of it.  If you and I want to be “counted” by Him, let us be certain to submit to His will by being born of the water and the spirit.  Perfect illustrations of this are provided for us in case after case in Acts of Apostles.

The psalm concludes with a statement of joy and spiritual blessedness.  This is very common in the poetic (and prophetic) writings of the Old Testament.  The promise of God about His spiritual Zion overflows with opportunities and blessings.  They are for all who will come to the “holy mountains” where “His foundation” has been laid.

Let us all learn the beauty of the Bible message of Zion, and sing with the poet: