11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
What is Zion?
Zion is a synonym for the city of Jerusalem, or at times for the whole of Israel. Before anything else, it is a real identifiable geographical location. But in the Bible there are times when Zion may also be used as a metaphor or a symbol.
In Psalm 125:1 HP says,
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.
To “trust in the Lord” is to be one who “cannot be moved.” When I am not “moved,” I know that God is “mindful” of my life, concerned for my well-being, working in every situation to move me towards wholeness. This is the steady abiding reality we see throughout the Psalms that HP refers to using the Hebrew word hesed, “mercy,” “steadfast love.”
When I am established in Zion, I am not battered and pushed around by every blast of wind that blows by. I live no longer at the whim of external circumstance. The energy of my life shifts from living in constant reaction to forces that impact on me. I begin to be able to respond more freely to the situations I encounter.
Zion is the dwelling place of the Divine (Isaiah 8:18), the fortress of all those who trust in the Lord.
The dwelling place of the Lord is the human heart. God lives within me. As I open to this deep awareness of Presence, I know that, however trying may be my external circumstances, there is a reality that holds me even when I find myself among the “afflicted.”
What helps me find within myself that steady abiding place that is the Presence of the Divine?
Lord, help me to know deep within that, whatever is going on in the circumstances of my life, I am not alone.
In A Spacious Place 
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June 15, 2021 at 5:48 am
kaf023
I was called to read “In a Spacious Place” today. I’m glad I listened. Reading today’s post answered a question I have been struggling with for several days.
June 15, 2021 at 10:18 am
bobmacdonald
Curious as I explore the words related to trouble and selected glosses, I note that translators tend to move away from what is said to what they think is the consequence of what is said, and towards therefore what is left unsaid by HP. The word for avenges here is not the root for vengeance, but the root for search out. These two statements are significantly different.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them (NRSV)
Because searching out (drw) blood, he remembers (zcr) them. (What is written)
Searching out is such a positive aspect of God. Vengeance (nqm) may not be in God’s mind at all. I am very disappointed in the standard translations we use. KJV – has a searching synonym with the wrong connotations for us today ‘makes inquisition for’.
Daresh – is what we are supposed to do with our study – search things out. It is not that we are hell bent on vengeance. God is not like this. When he says ‘vengeance is mine’ it is so that he can ‘cease enemy and vengeance’, (psalms 8) not do vengeance.
Translation is a very serious problem.