Psalm 87--Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

ORDPsalm 87
English Standard Version

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.
87 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 will establish her.
6 The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah

​7 Singers and dancers alike say,
    “All my springs are in you.”

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The Sons of Korah have penned another psalm, this time focusing on the city of Jerusalem (also called Zion because of the mountain fortress that was there by that name) and the special relationship that God has with it.  It is called The City of the Great King, not because it is The City of David, but because the LORD is their King, and this is His city which bears His Name and is a symbol of His covenant.  It will not be until the cross that we understand just how important this city is to the LORD and His plan that's existed before the beginning of time to redeem a people unto Himself by offering the Son of God as substitutionary atonement for our sins.  So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” (Genesis 22:14)

There were other "great" cities among the pagan peoples--probably all those listed were larger in size and population than Jerusalem.  Many claim the cities or countries of Rahab and Babylon; Philistia and Tyre, or Cush as their place of origin, but the author tells us that we will find people everywhere who will one day say, "I am from Jerusalem" meaning "I am Jewish."  We think of the Jewish people as such a small minority of people, but the LORD promised Abraham descendants that would be like the sand and the stars and the dust (things that were uncountable).  It seems that the author implies that anyone who is recorded as part of the kingdom of God and is identified as a citizen of His Kingdom has a right to say, "I am of Jerusalem, the City of God."  While we may not have been physically born there, we were spiritually born there as that is where Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected so that we might be born again.  So, I say with the Sons of Korah, "I am of Jerusalem.  I was born [again] there."

Finally, they draw a comparison to living (moving) water that comes from the source of a spring.  This was the best source of water that anyone could find.  You were at the source, so you weren't downstream from any contamination, and the water was moving, not stagnant.  This is the kind of water the symbolized life and if you could find this kind of water source and claim it as your own, you were a rich person in this desert, arid area.  Many owned wells/cisterns that collected rainwater, but they had to be covered to make sure that nothing fell into the water supply to contaminate it.  Maybe now you understand better this conversation that Jesus has with the woman at the well in John 4 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” (John 4:13-15).  We also see the River of Life flowing from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:1-2, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."  Jesus is that River of Life, and the source of that spring of eternal life is rooted in His penal substitutionary atonement, which took place in Jerusalem.  This should cause us to sing and dance for joy when we think about it (if you've ever seen Jewish people worship the LORD, you know it involves singing and dancing).  The Sons of Korah are encouraging us to praise the LORD for this special place that the LORD has a special relationship with, though I'm not even sure they fully understood it on that side of the cross they were on.  One day, it will also be the place to where the King of Kings and Lord of Lords returns to take His Throne, and He will reign forever and ever!  O what a day that will be!