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 mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Psalm 48:1-2
Mount Zion is the joy of the whole earth. This is the city of the Lord to which we have been brought. That is where every child of God was born.
Psalm 87:5 says, “And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her”.
Therefore, we are all citizens of Zion.
The writer of the book of Hebrews says,
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).
Mount Zion is called
“the city of the Lord; heavenly Jerusalem;
the base of an innumerable company of angels;
the general assembly and the church of the First-born”
This is where we have come to.
This Mount Zion is the joy of the whole earth (Psalm 48:1-2).
Every native of this great city has the joy of the Lord.
When the king of Zion (Jesus Christ) was born, the angel said to the shepherds,
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10).
His advent heralded joy into the earth. Furthermore, wherever the message of the kingdom is being preached and honoured, joy is always the resultant effect.
When Phillip preached Christ in the city of Samaria, the scripture says,
“And there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8)
As children of God, we are the citizens of Zion; we have received the joy of the Lord. We have it in our recreated spirit. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22).
And because we already have this joy, we are instructed to rejoice always: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4).
Sadly, some of God’s children are neglecting this instruction, probably because they are oblivious of the fact that their victorious living is largely dependent on it.
As a matter of fact, Paul the Apostle, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, equated the kingdom to joy in the Holy Ghost:
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and JOY IN THE HOLY GHOST” (Romans 14:17).
By rejoicing in the Lord always, people would come to see the Lord through you and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Child of God, you belong in Zion, the joy of the whole earth. Therefore, you have been ordained to bring joy to others by propagating and living the message of Christ, the king of our kingdom.
Confession
I belong in Zion, the city of the living God. I have the joy of the Lord, and I rejoice in the Lord always. I also bring this joy to others by sharing my faith with them.
