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[00:00:07] Welcome to Lessons From the Psalms. This is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. On this podcast we will be going over the book of Psalms. Let's open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:00:36] Friends, this is Psalm 87 and Psalm 87 is entitled, The Glories of the City of God. This is a beautiful psalm. Enjoy. His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.
[00:01:05] I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know me. Behold, O Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia. This one was born there. And of Zion it will be said, this one and that one were born in her. And the Most Holy Himself shall establish her.
[00:01:30] The Lord will record when he registers the peoples. This one was born there. Selah. Both the singers and the players on instruments say, all my springs are in you.
[00:01:47] Now, friends, Psalm 87 is what is referred to as a psalm of Zion. And there are not many of these in the book of Psalms. But every once in a while, the psalmist will let us know that God prefers the city of Zion, Jerusalem, more than any other place on earth.
[00:02:09] Originally, he established the city of Jerusalem. And that is where he wanted to be with his people. He told Solomon to build a temple for him so he could live among his people in the holy city of Jerusalem, the cradle of Christianity.
[00:02:32] Let's just break this verse down. It's a very short psalm. This is not going to take long. But let's look at the first three verses. His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.
[00:03:00] Now, Selah tells us to ponder, to meditate on what we've just heard. And we're talking about the goodness of God. We're talking about how God loves the city of Jerusalem. And he loves the Jewish people. But he now loves us as well. We may not be Jewish. Some of you listening may be Jewish.
[00:03:26] But even if you are not Jewish, God loves all of his people. Let's go to verses 4 through 6.
[00:03:58] The Lord will record, when he registers the peoples, this one. So these three verses are basically telling us that the city of Jerusalem is very large. And it encompasses people that have come from all over the world. Many people are enticed by the fact that this is basically the center of Christianity.
[00:04:28] This is where it all began. And so a lot of people flock to the city of Jerusalem. Let's close with verse 7. Both the singers and the players on instruments say, All my springs are in you. And basically, this verse celebrates the salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ himself.
[00:04:54] By what Jesus did on the cross, all of us now have our salvation. We have been freed from all of our sins. Thank you, Jesus, for that. Friends, please join me again soon as we take a closer look at Psalm 88.