Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+087
Psalm 87 (ESV)
Glorious Things of You Are Spoken
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
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself willestablish her.
6 The Lord records as heregisters the peoples,
“This one was born there.”Selah
7 Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”
REFLECTION:
- This psalm emphasizes the fact that Zion is not only a place, but also a people. To be born in Zion is to be one with the people of God, who gather round His revelation and rejoice in the Lord.
- The stunning emphasis of this psalm is that those who have been Israel’s historic enemies, Rahab (Egypt), Babylon, and Philistia too, will one day know the Lord. It will be said of them as well as of Israel, “This one was born in Zion.”
- What an amazing reminder of God’s grace, nestled here among psalms that celebrate forgiveness. And how we need to remember that those who seem to be God’s most implacable enemies remain the objects of His forgiving love.
- Pray for your unbelieving friends or relatives that they will also receive God’s forgiveness and be counted among God’s people one day.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
HYMN:
Psalm 87 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl118VwUYuU
