On The Holy Mount Stands The City He Founded
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God ...
Singers and dancers alike say,
"All my springs are in you."
-- Psalm 87:3, 7
Theme: Holy Zion to be mother of us all
Outline
1-3 -- Zion, City of God, founded by God and glorious.
4-6 -- God will reconcile old enemies to himself, and Zion will become Mother City to all the world.
7 -- Rejoicing for all its citizens.
Notes
• Praise -- Zion
• For Zion, see note on Psalm 48. Other Psalms of Zion are 48 and 76.
• John Newton took the first line of the psalm for the theme of his hymn, "Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God." See notes for Psalm 48.
• "Springs" = fountains (v. 7).
For Reflection
• Like verse 9 in the preceding psalm, verses 4-6 are a messianic prophecy of all nations turning to Yahweh and becoming citizens of Zion. See Galatians 3:26-29 and 4:26, where Paul speaks of this reality. Paul regarded the church as being one, including the Israel of God in the Psalms and all the Old Testament. The church is heir to the promises and covenants and to all that God had given Israel. Israel continues to be the heir of God's promises (Romans 9:4-5; 11:1, 5-6).
Prayer
A multitude comes from the east and the west
To sit at the feast of salvation
With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the blest,
Obeying the Lord's invitation.
O God, let us hear when our shepherd shall call
In accents pervasive and tender,
That while there is time we make haste, we and all,
And find him, our mighty defender.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
-- Magnus Landstad, d. 1880
O city of God ...
Singers and dancers alike say,
"All my springs are in you."
-- Psalm 87:3, 7
Theme: Holy Zion to be mother of us all
Outline
1-3 -- Zion, City of God, founded by God and glorious.
4-6 -- God will reconcile old enemies to himself, and Zion will become Mother City to all the world.
7 -- Rejoicing for all its citizens.
Notes
• Praise -- Zion
• For Zion, see note on Psalm 48. Other Psalms of Zion are 48 and 76.
• John Newton took the first line of the psalm for the theme of his hymn, "Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God." See notes for Psalm 48.
• "Springs" = fountains (v. 7).
For Reflection
• Like verse 9 in the preceding psalm, verses 4-6 are a messianic prophecy of all nations turning to Yahweh and becoming citizens of Zion. See Galatians 3:26-29 and 4:26, where Paul speaks of this reality. Paul regarded the church as being one, including the Israel of God in the Psalms and all the Old Testament. The church is heir to the promises and covenants and to all that God had given Israel. Israel continues to be the heir of God's promises (Romans 9:4-5; 11:1, 5-6).
Prayer
A multitude comes from the east and the west
To sit at the feast of salvation
With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the blest,
Obeying the Lord's invitation.
O God, let us hear when our shepherd shall call
In accents pervasive and tender,
That while there is time we make haste, we and all,
And find him, our mighty defender.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
-- Magnus Landstad, d. 1880
