Hebrews 12:22- You Have Come To Mt. Zion

Our text this morning is found in Hebrews 12:22-24. We will only be considering the first part of verse 22. It says, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

As we begin please turn to Psalm 88. This psalm will help to show why Hebrews 12:22 is so important for us to appreciate as Christians. It says,

O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them.I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eye grows dim through sorrow.Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,  I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;  my companions have become darkness.

In contrast to so many other psalms, this psalm appears to offer so little hope to the reader. Just consider how this psalm ends in vv. 16-18, “Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.”

Both of my kids are now living hours away and if they wrote me a letter and it expressed what this psalm does I would drop everything to go be with them. And while I was going to see them I would be asking myself, “What would the LORD want me to say to them in this situation?”

The author of Psalm 88 wrote this psalm to teach God’s people how to endure ‘difficult providences’. David Thompson speaks of this in his exposition of this Psalm 88 when he says, “This psalm is a ‘maskil’ which means this is a didactic Psalm which is designed to be taught to believers and to give them instruction.”

As we consider Psalm 88 it is important to see that the psalmist believes in the sovereignty of God. In many of these verses the psalmist confesses that God is allowing these ‘difficult providences’ into his life. For example...

• In v. 6-8 he says, “You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them.”  

• He says in v. 14-18, “O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

Would you agree with me that it is hard to understand the sovereignty of God during these times of difficult providences?

We may be tempted to become angry at God when our lives are characterized by troubles. We may be tempted to doubt God in the midst of our troubles. We may become bitter against God and His people when we experience these ‘difficult providences’.

Psalm 88 teaches us that it is possible to display great faith even when we have to endure under such ‘difficult providences’. The psalmist does not see a conflict between the sovereignty of God and his experience of a lifetime of troubles. When you read the psalm you will not find him saying...

• “If God is powerful He would save me now.”

• “If God is love He would not allow this to happen.”

• “If God is a God of comfort He would not make me so uncomfortable.”

• “If God was gracious He would not discipline me like this.”

Let me ask you a question: ‘If you knew of an entire congregation, who was experiencing this type of ‘difficult providences’ how would you seek to comfort them?’

This is probably the question that the author of Hebrews asked himself as he sat down to write this letter to these Hebrew Christians (12:3-11). He would do this because, since becoming Christians the lives of these believers had been hard, difficult, and frustrating. They were tired, weary, and discouraged and they were being tempted to forsake Christ. This is a very serious situation because apostasy is a real threat.

Like the psalmist in Psalm 88 their souls were ‘full of trouble’ (Psalm 88:3). They had ‘no strength’ (88:4). They felt like they had been cut off from the LORD (88:5). Their families and their companions shunned them because of their faith in God (88:8, 18). As a result, they were sorrowful and greatly grieved (88:9).

You can understand why they wondered if God was angry with them. You can understand why they wondered if they were experiencing the wrath of God? (88:7, 16) Because of this, they may have asked the LORD, “Why do you cast my soul away?” (88:14) Or, “Why do you hide your face from me?” (88:14)

These Hebrew Christians could look back at the early days of their faith and see that God was blessing them. (Hebrews 2:4). However, since that time they could say with the psalmist, “Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.” (88:15)

All of these ‘troubles’, these ‘weaknesses’, these ‘difficulties’, these ‘rejections’, these ‘sorrows’ and ‘afflictions’ would have made these Christians cry out along with the psalmist, “I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.” (88:4-5)

In this moment they would have been tempted to do anything- or say anything -if it would bring some relief. They would have been tempted to disassociate from the church (10:26) and to forsaking Christ and even deny the faith (12:25).

As I have considered Psalm 88 I have been reminded of the help that can be found in passages like this. Perhaps the author of Hebrews considered a text like this he found the answer to the question, “What could I write to this congregation that would help give them hope in this difficult situation?”

As you read this psalm you see throughout that the psalmist cannot turn to others for help because God will not allow it. We read in Psalm 88:8 & 18, “You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape...You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.”

• The LORD wants the Psalmist to come to Him!

• In a sense, we could say that the LORD wants the Psalmist to come to Zion, the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem to find hope and comfort.

Even though there does not appear to be much hope in this psalm there really is a great deal of hope at the beginning of Psalm 88! Consider verse 1 when the psalmist writes, “O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you.” (88:1)

I see four expressions of hope in this verse. As we consider these four thing we will discover that we have seen in Hebrews that those Christians had stopped doing these things to some degree. Therefore, as we consider these things ask yourself if you are practicing these things so that you have hope.

First, we see hope in the fact that the psalmist is praying to the LORD. This psalmist speaks a lot about his prayer life in this psalm.

• He says in vv.1-2, “O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!”

• He says in v. 9, “Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.”

• He says in v.13, “But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.”

• The psalmist also gives us hints in verses 10-11 that his life was also characterized by praising the LORD and declaring His steadfast love and faithfulness even while he endured these ‘difficult providences’.

The author of Hebrews has encouraged us to pray. We have been encouraged to come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need (4:16). We have been encouraged to be like Jesus who ‘offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save Him from death.” (5:7)

Secondly, we see hope when the psalmist cries out night and day without wearying. The author of Hebrews has called upon all of us to not grow weary in our pursuit of God during ‘difficult providences’. In Hebrews 12:3 we were exhorted to, “Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

Thirdly, we see that the psalmist cried out ‘before God’. He did not pray with his lips while his heart was far from the LORD. (Is. 29:13) The psalmist is encouraging us to draw close to God through every available means of grace during desperate, difficult and discouraging times. It is especially during those times that we need to strengthen our weak knees and our drooping arms and...

• come to church and engage with the congregation of believers,

• read the Word more and not less,

• we need to meditate on and memorize the Scriptures

• pray without ceasing,

• engage in fasting,

• receive grace through remembering our baptism and taking communion

• search our hearts and confess our sins

Fourthly, we see the greatest expression of hope when we read the words, “O LORD, God of my salvation...”.

The psalmist does not simply pray, “O LORD I cry out day and night before you.” This would be commendable, however, the psalmist expresses great faith in God and His character when he says, “O LORD, God of my salvation...”

The psalmist hopes in God before the deliverance ever comes. The psalmist cries out at the very beginning of this psalm, ‘LORD, the God of my salvation, You are my deliverer, my helper, my salvation, my security, and my victory. All of these words are contained in the phrase ‘God of my salvation’.

This is the type of faith and hope that the author of Hebrews is trying to cultivate in the hearts of believers in Hebrews 12:22-24.

If this Old Testament saint can do this shouldn’t we respond like this when we encounter ‘difficult circumstances’?

The psalmist has written Psalm 88 because he wants to teach God’s people that even when we go through difficult, desperate depressing, and discouraging times in our life, we need to know and confess that ‘God is our salvation’! The Lord is our deliverer, our helper, the only source of our prosperity and well-being. He is our security, He delivers us with His saving hand,  and He will give us the victory.

The Psalmist begins with the presupposition- ‘God is his salvation’. Therefore, he is able to endure steadfastly in faith even in the face of difficult circumstances, difficult questions, great disappointments, and despite the painful sovereign actions of God.

God is his salvation so where else can he go to for help?

God is his salvation, why should he be discouraged and loose faith?

God is his salvation, so he will trust in Him alone?

Similarly, the author of Hebrews has encouraged us in this letter to (1) pray, (2) to pray continually, (3) to draw close to God. Now in Hebrews 12:22 the author of Hebrews (4) teaches us that our faith and hope begins by knowing the fact that God is our salvation. In fact, he boldly declares, “We have come to Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. and we have come to Zion.”

The author of Hebrews encourages these believers that when they receive Christ they have already come to Zion. This is the equivalent of what the psalmist says in Psalm 88:1, “O LORD, You are God of my salvation”. The author of Hebrews does not say that we are heading in that direction. He does not say that one day we will be standing at Mt. Zion. No, he says that we have come to Mt. Zion (present tense).

What does it mean that we have come to Zion?

This can be confusing because it is clear that we are not in heaven yet. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 88 our lives can be difficult, depressing, and discouraging. We are very much a part of that ‘assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven’. We are not yet those who are described as ‘the spirits of the righteous made perfect’.

It seems like the author of Hebrews would say to that great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1 that they ‘have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.’ Surprisingly, however, he speaks to us and says to us, “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…”.

The author of Hebrews is speaking in this way to remind believers that we are truly citizens of a heavenly city and we are secure even now. Every Christian can be confident that they have come to the city of God through faith in Christ and they have a secure position, a strong refuge in God, and a mighty fortress no matter what may come. We can say with David, “God only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” (Ps. 62:6-7)

We can say with the psalmist in Psalm 46:1-5a, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitiation of the most High. God is in the midst of her and she will not be moved…”

Isaiah 26:1 says, “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: ‘We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.”

We can say with the psalmist in Psalm 91:9-10, “Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place- the Most High, who is my refuge- no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague will come near your tent.”

These passages refer to a spiritual reality that we might find hard to grasp. We are to walk by faith and not by sight because there is a spiritual reality that is unseen with our natural eyes. Remember Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.”  

Even though we do not see this reality of having come to Zion with our eyes we are very much a part of it. We have come to Mt. Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem!

This past Friday was the anniversary of Anna Young’s passing. When we think of our friends who have gone on to glory we know that when they came to faith in Jesus they came to heavenly Zion. From that point on they lived their lives by faith and experienced a new reality. When they ‘fell asleep’ they experienced the same life they already had but in an unhindered way. In life they were at Zion; but in the moment of their death the clouds lifted and they witnessed the reality that was before them all along- Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem!

Have you come to the LORD, the God of our salvation? See to it that you do not refuse the Sovereign LORD. Do not refuse him who is shaking all things so that only the unshakable will remain (12:25-29).

The world around us is shaking. The sovereign hand of God is behind all of this. All of this shaking, all of this trembling, is to make us come to Christ and say, “Lord, God of my salvation, hear my prayer! Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!”

Anyone who has come to Christ by faith can declare boldly, “I have now come to Mt. Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem!” Let us preserve our hope and increase our faith by…

• praying

• praying continually night and day

• coming boldly before God with our heart by practicing the means of grace

• by holding fast to our confession, “I believe in Jesus. He is LORD. He is God of my salvation.” And let us confess confidently, “I have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”