“You shall arise, and have mercy upon Zion. . . .
Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor her dust.”
Psalm 102:13–14
Our Jerusalem is in heaven, and it is unlikely that dust and rocks are in her as they are in this earth’s Jerusalem. But God’s point was not that we should love dust and rocks. His point was that His true servants prefer even the smallest things about Zion over the best things that other cities have to offer.
The Zion of God is the body of Christ, and His true servants take pleasure in everything about it. Even the smallest things of the Zion of Christ mean much to them because they have God’s kind of heart. A servant of God may at times grow tired, and it is appointed to every man once to die, but as long as a true servant of God is here and has his strength, he is eager to do good to Zion, the family of God on earth.
The next verse in Psalm 102 tells us that when God’s servants value the body of Christ above all else, sinners are compelled to fear God. “For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor her dust. So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth, your glory” (Ps. 102:14–15).
And the next verse in Psalm 102 tells us that when God’s servants love Zion enough for God to use them to build Zion up, the LORD reveals Himself in His glory! “When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory” (Ps. 102:16).
May God fill us with love for the body of Christ! If He does, sinners will fear God, and God’s children will see His glory.
