Psalm 87

Glorious Zion, City of God



View of the Temple
photo taken from the Mt. of Olives  
Jerusalem     March, 2011

Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

He will teach us His ways,

And we shall walk in His paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  ~ Is. 2:3

Psalm 87 is a song about Zion, establishing Jerusalem's preeminence over all the great cities of the world.  The Temple was built on Mount Moriah, the mount where Abraham offered Isaac to the Lord.



Actual steps to the original Temple
In the upper left corner was where one of the Temple gates was located
Jerusalem    March, 2011



The Lord loves the gates of Zion

More than all the dwellings of Jacob. 

 ~ Ps. 87:2





  

My Bible commentators note that city gates were the centers of economic and judicial activities and, as such, represent the whole city.  God loves Zion more than any other Israelite sanctuary.

Matthew Henry notes that, in this psalm, Zion is compared with other places and preferred before them; the church of Christ is more glorious and excellent than the nations of the earth. 

In Hebrews, Mount Zion is referred to as "the city of the living God."  May we go into His presence daily, as sojourners to the Temple did 2000 years ago. 

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God loves the gates of Zion, His heavenly city
• God is faithful to His prophetic promises
• God's presence is with His people
• Ours is a living God

 HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord that I am able to go into His presence through prayer.  I can approach His throne of grace, much as the High Priest did in the days of God's temple in Jerusalem. 
• 2,000 years ago, God required His people to bring a sacrifice to the Temple to offer for their atonement.  I praise the Lord that He offered His Son as a sacrifice for my sins, and that through His atoning blood, I am washed whiter than snow!

 Zion of God, thou home of the free,
Washed in the blood, I’m dwelling in thee;
Glorious home, oh, gather us there,
Church of the Firstborn, thou art so fair.

 ~ Barney E. Warren

PRAYER:

     O Lord, I bless You that Your foundation is sure and shall never be shaken.  I bless You that the things You establish are established forever.  May I desire to enter into Your presence as surely as Your people who traveled to Your temple 2,000 years ago.  How my heart rejoices that You have made a way for me to approach You through prayer, and that I am worthy to enter Your holy presence through the atoning work of Your Son Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray ~ Amen