Psalm Devotional
Where Were You Born?
Your birthplace can be a hindrance in some people’s eyes. James McNeill Whistler, the artist, hailed from Lowell, Mass., which is a blue-collar town. At a Boston soiree, a society grand-dame asked him, “What possessed you to be born in a place like Lowell?” Quick as a flash, Whistler replied, “I guess it was so I could be near my mother.” So much for her snobbery!
Where Jesus was born is uniquely significant. “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” asked Nathanael (John 1:46). It was not snobbish prejudice but sound theology that prompted the question, for Scripture prophesied that the Messiah was to be from Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). A Messiah from Nazareth was impossible. Nathanael was duly enlightened.
Psalm 87 makes great play of where people are born (vv. 4, 6). It is clear, however, that what is important is not our physical birthplace in the city of man, but whether we belong to the city of God. Put another way, this question asks, “Who is your true father? Do you have a Father in heaven? Is your citizenship in heaven?” This psalm is about how this citizenship is to be nurtured, tested and confirmed in the church—”the gates of Zion” (v. 2).
