Glorious Things of You Are Spoken, O City of God: A Meditation on Psalm 87
3:34 PM Monday, June 1, 2009
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.
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 will establish her. 6 The LORD records as he registers the peoples, "This one was born there." 7 Singers and dancers alike say, "All my springs are in you."
At first glance this Psalm may be difficult for you to understand. If you find this to be true, just know that it was for me as well. In fact, the great commentator Matthew Henry agrees with this assessment.[1] Do not let that thought hinder you from pressing in to discover the glorious truth contained in this Psalm. If you catch a glimpse of what God is communicating here, I believe your praise to God will take on a new dimension.
This Psalm is intended to give believers a glorious picture of the work of God in the history of the world. It is about all nations coming to be citizens of the city of God. In Genesis 12 God promised to make a great nation out of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; cf. 17:1-7). All peoples were to be blessed in and through him. This blessing included all races, not just the Jewish people. The prophet Isaiah speaks about this in Isaiah 25:6-8, a text which is known as “The Great Messianic Banquet”:
6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever;and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
This passage from the prophet gives the picture of all people groups partaking of a great feast. The food and wine are symbols of the manifold spiritual blessings which God’s people will receive. The point is this: All of history is the story of God redeeming his people. Jesus tells us in John 17, these are the people the Father has given him (Jn. 17: 2, 6, 20). God’s plan was to redeem his people from all walks of life. These people are the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). In Romans 15:8-13, Paul shows how this has always been God’s plan. In order to prove his point, he cites four Old Testament texts: 2 Sam. 22:50 (might actually be Ps. 18:49), Deut. 32:43, Ps. 117:1, and Is. 11:10. If Paul is actually citing 2 Sam. 22:50, that means he has just demonstrated his point from the historical books, the law, the writings, and the prophets—all genres of Jewish literature.
Then, in Revelation 5:9-10 John gives us the glimpse of heaven! After the Lamb takes the scroll, the twenty-four elders fall to the ground and sing a new song:
"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."
God’s plan will be fulfilled! O if we could see the story he is writing! And what a joy it is to be a part of that story! David communicates this point in the previous Psalm: “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Ps. 86: 9).
In light of all that has been said, our only response can be the one David gave in Psalm 86:
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.10For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. 12I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol
[1] Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged. (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005), 869.
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