1 By sons of Korah. -- A Psalm, a song. His foundation `is' in holy mountains.
A Song, a Psalm, by sons of Korah. Great `is' Jehovah, and praised greatly, In the city of our God -- His holy hill. Beautiful `for' elevation, A joy of all the land, `is' Mount Zion, The sides of the north, the city of a great king.
And it hath come to pass, In the latter end of the days, Established is the mount of Jehovah's house, Above the top of the mounts, And it hath been lifted up above the heights, And flowed unto it have all the nations. And gone have many peoples and said, `Come, and we go up unto the mount of Jehovah, Unto the house of the God of Jacob, And He doth teach us of His ways, And we walk in His paths, For from Zion goeth forth a law, And a word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being chief corner-`stone', in whom all the building fitly framed together doth increase to an holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom also ye are builded together, for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
to whom coming -- a living stone -- by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious, and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: `Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;' to you, then, who are believing `is' the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence -- who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving, -- to which also they were set;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 87
Commentary on Psalms 87 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 87
The foregoing psalm was very plain and easy, but in this are things dark and hard to be understood. It is an encomium of Zion, as a type and figure of the gospel-church, to which what is here spoken is very applicable. Zion, for the temple's sake, is here preferred,
Some think it was penned to express the joy of God's people when Zion was in a flourishing state; others think it was penned to encourage their faith and hope when Zion was in ruins and was to be rebuilt after the captivity. Though no man cared for her (Jer. 30:17, "This is Zion whom no man seeketh after'), yet God had done great things for her, and spoken glorious things of her, which should all have their perfection and accomplishment in the gospel-church; to that therefore we must have an eye in singing this psalm.
A psalm or song for the sons of Korah.
Psa 87:1-3
Some make the first words of the psalm to be part of the title; it is a psalm or song whose subject is the holy mountains-the temple built in Zion upon Mount Moriah. This is the foundation of the argument, or beginning of the psalm. Or we may suppose the psalmist had now the tabernacle or temple in view and was contemplating the glories of it, and at length he breaks out into this expression, which has reference, though not to what he had written before, yet to what he had thought of; every one knew what he meant when he said thus abruptly, Its foundation is in the holy mountains. Three things are here observed, in praise of the temple:-
Psa 87:4-7
Zion is here compared with other places, and preferred before them; the church of Christ is more glorious and excellent than the nations of the earth.