Psalms 87

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1His foundation is in the holy mountains.2The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.3Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.4I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.5And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.6The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.7As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

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Notes for this chapter

Historical Background

Psalm 87 is one of the shortest yet most theologically expansive psalms in the entire Psalter. Composed by the sons of Korah, a guild of temple musicians and worship leaders whose family had been redeemed from the brink of destruction in the wilderness wanderings, this psalm carries a vision far larger than its seven verses suggest. It was likely written during a period when Jerusalem stood as the undisputed center of Israelite worship, possibly in the era of David or Solomon, when the concept of Zion as God's dwelling place had captured the spiritual imagination of the nation. The psalm belongs to a collection deeply concerned with the glory of the city of God, and it opens with an arresting declaration rooted in divine choice rather than human achievement.

When the psalmist says “His foundation is in the holy mountains,” the emphasis falls entirely on God as the builder and sustainer. Zion's greatness is not geological or political but theological. God chose it, and that choosing makes all the difference. The mountains of Zion are holy not because of what grows in them or what armies defend them, but because the living God has set His foundation there. Matthew Henry observed that what God builds, no force of earth or hell can ultimately overthrow.

The second and third verses introduce a startling comparison. God loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob, which is to say that among all the places where Israel lived and worshiped, the central sanctuary held a supreme place in the divine affection. This was not mere favoritism of location but a recognition that Zion represented the meeting place of heaven and earth, the place where atonement was made and where God's presence dwelt in a uniquely concentrated way. The phrase “glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God” invites the reader to pause and reflect.

The word translated glorious in Hebrew carries the weight of weightiness itself, something of surpassing honor and worth. These are not human promotional claims about Jerusalem but divine declarations. Barnes' Notes points out that this expression anticipates everything Scripture will say about the city of God, stretching forward to the New Jerusalem of Revelation. The Selah that closes verse three is a musical and meditative pause, as if the composer wants the worshiper to simply sit with the wonder of what has just been declared before moving forward.

Core Teaching

Verses four through six form the theological heart of the psalm and contain one of the most remarkable statements in all the Old Testament regarding the scope of God's salvation. The psalmist envisions God declaring that individuals from Rahab, which is a poetic name for Egypt used here to denote a proud and ancient enemy nation, as well as from Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia, will be counted as though born in Zion. These were not marginal nations but the great powers and persistent adversaries of Israel. Egypt had enslaved the Hebrews for centuries.

Babylon would eventually destroy the very temple the psalmist is celebrating. Philistia and Tyre were near neighbors known for hostility and pagan religion. Ethiopia represented the distant ends of the known world. Yet God declares that people from each of these places will be registered as citizens of Zion.

The divine record keeping in verse six is especially striking. When God writes up the peoples, He marks beside individual names, “this man was born there,” meaning born in Zion, regardless of their earthly origin. Adam Clarke noted that this is a picture of spiritual adoption and registration, a kind of heavenly census in which belonging is determined not by natural birth but by covenant relationship with the God of Zion. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown connected this vision to the prophetic promise that the Gentiles would one day be fully incorporated into the people of God, and Paul himself in Romans and Ephesians grounds that incorporation in the finished work of Christ.

Commentary Insights

From an Adventist and Christ-centered perspective, the theological reach of Psalm 87 is extraordinary. The God who loves Zion is the same God who sent His Son to walk its streets, weep over it, and ultimately establish through the cross a new and greater Zion made without human hands. Ellen White in The Desire of Ages reflects on how Jesus wept over Jerusalem precisely because He saw what it was meant to be and what it had failed to become, yet even in that grief the eternal purpose of Zion's spiritual mission remained. The vision of Rahab and Babylon counted among Zion's born citizens finds its fulfillment in the gospel, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, but all are one in Christ Jesus.

The great controversy theme is also present here in a quiet but persistent way. Babylon, which represents in biblical prophecy the kingdom of spiritual confusion and opposition to God, is not ultimately triumphant. Its citizens are transformed and claimed. God's city outlasts every counterfeit city that human pride or satanic strategy can construct.

Reflection & Application

The final verse closes the psalm with a burst of joyful worship. Singers and players on instruments gather in Zion, and the great declaration is made: “All my springs are in thee.” The word springs here speaks of fountains, sources of life-giving water, and the image is deeply personal. The psalmist is not simply making a civic claim but a spiritual confession. Everything that refreshes, sustains, renews, and gives life flows from the city of God. This is the language of discipleship and devotion.

Go deeper — references Classic commentaries on this chapter

Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Adam Clarke's Commentary Adam Clarke (1760–1832) Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) Barnes' Notes on the Bible Albert Barnes (1798–1870) EGW Writings Ellen G. White Blue Letter Bible Study tools and lexicon

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