January 22, 2020
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Psalm? Here’s today’s reading:
Psalm 87 (ESV)
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.
1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God. Selah......Continue Reading
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Reminded that psalms are songs although there is no melody there is a powerful message
I researched the history of this Psalm. It means so much more to me now. I did not understand a lot of it. The verse “Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon” Spurgeon states,
“This shall be a glorious subject to speak of concerning Zion, that her old foes are newborn and have become her friends, worshipping in the temple of her God. Rahab or Egypt which oppressed Israel shall become a sister nation, and Babylon in which the tribes endured their second great captivity, shall become a fellow worshipper;” No wonder the Son’s of Korah sang and praised God.
Of all the places on the earth, Jerusalem is special to God, at least in the times of the scriptures and to some extent even today. Because of that, this is a Psalm exalting that city also referred to as Zion. Two aspects are brought out about Jerusalem. The first is that foreign nations, particularly former adversaries as well as powerhouse nations in the area, will acknowledge God particularly about His presence in Jerusalem. One wonders if Babylon is mentioned because of it being the place of exile (making the Psalm older and part of what came out of the time of exile), or is it mentioned just as a mighty nation during David’s time (making the Psalm earlier in the time of the monarchy). The other aspect of the city that is mentioned is how significant it will be to be one who is born in Jerusalem. What a blessing to be born in the city that God has established and His presence resides in! That is the other premise of the Psalm.
This is a joy-filled Psalm for the city of God where both Jew and Gentile gather to worship. This is also a beautiful picture of the church today because people of all nations gather to speak the glorious things of God.
This Psalm seems to be prophetic because at no time in the history of the Old Testament do we see these people groups gathering at Jerusalem for worship. Rather, history shows that they gathered for war. As others have stated, Rahab is another name for Egypt (Isaiah 30:7), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre (a Phoenician city, culturally Canaanite) had all been, at one time or another, enemies of God’s people and the city of Jerusalem. “And yet, the Most High himself will establish Zion, in order to allow the peoples to be treated as born in her. When the people of God sing this, they are keeping themselves focused on their God-given purpose, to be a light for the Gentiles;”
Lane T. Dennis, ed., ESV Study Bible, The: English Standard Version, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Bibles, 2008), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “Psalms 87”.
This reminds me of Psalm 86:8-10.
1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God.