THE CITY OF GOD!
Notes
Transcript
SONGS FOR THE JOURNEY
The City of God!
Psalm 87
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.
INTRODUCTION
Do any of you remember the old movie, Miss Congeniality (2000) with Sandra Bullock where she is undercover as a beauty pagent contestant? There’s competition in several areas and then the obligatory question for each contestant “What is the one most important thing our society needs?”…I hope for world peace! That has been a dream of many in various times…maybe even your wish for today.
The third psalm in this second series of Korah psalms, Psalm 87 connects immediately to the preceding psalm: “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord” (86:9a). There is a reverse parallel between the Zion songs in the first Korah collection and Psalm 87. That is, Psalm 46 celebrates the “city of God” where “the Most High dwells” (46:4), and by his power the nations are subdued. In this second Korah collection, Psalm 87 reverses this message and celebrates the salvation of the nations rather than their subjection.
Psalm 87 describes a microcosm that God established to whet his people’s appetites for real hope as well but one that’s far more certain than world peace. And he wants this miniature model to make this hope ring in our ears and remain firmly established in our minds so we won’t ever forget it! What is this hope? It’s the predetermined metropolis of Jew and Gentile alike, the place of the coming conversion of old enemies and their full incorporation into the city of God, the spiritual home for the redeemed from every tribe, nation, and tongue. God has established this city to be the eternal hub of his worship and the habitation of his children.
Main Idea: God has established a city to be the eternal hub of his worship and the habitation of his children.
This passage is a prophecy of the future kingdom, when all nations will come to Jerusalem to worship (86:9; Isa. 2:1–5), and it is also a picture of the heavenly Zion where the children of God have their spiritual citizenship (Luke 10:20; Gal. 4:21–31; Phil. 3:20–21; Heb. 12:18–24). This psalm shows us this city and its purpose in three simple divisions.
I. The Consecration of God’s City (Psalm 87:1-3)
1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah
The psalm begins by describing Zion, the historical city God set apart to be the hub of his worship. The writer leaves no doubt that he’s talking about that special place God consecrated from all other locales throughout all of history—past, present, and future. It’s the city Israel’s God chose as his residence (2 Chr 6:5-6), that served as a constant source of delight to Israel’s songwriters (e.g., Pss 48:1; 78:68-70; 132:13), and that became a consistent source of envy for Israel’s opposers (68:15-16). Here the psalmist specifically notes three reasons for this city’s uniqueness.
First, this city is consecrated because God established it (v. 1). In Hebrew the word founded actually opens the psalm and provides an emphatic introduction. It’s the work of God, not of men. And as a result of God’s establishment, its location is rightly called “the holy mountains” because he’s there. God is holy, and his dwelling place has taken on his nature. “Mountains,” plural, refer either to the multitude of hills in the Jerusalem area or simply to the magnification of the place where God dwells. The Lord chose this spot for his dwelling place, and that sets it apart forever from all other hills on the planet.
Second, the city of God is consecrated because God loves it (v. 2). The verb loves is an active participle and connects God’s establishment with his endless affection (cf. Deut 7:6-8). Ross says, “He established Zion as his dwelling-place by elective love, and his love for it as his dwelling-place remained constant” (Ross, Psalms, vol. 2, 794). While the word translated “dwellings” certainly is metaphorical for all other possible abodes, it is a common designation for the Lord’s sanctuary. So the psalmist may be contrasting this city with other sanctuary cities (e.g., Gilgal, Bethel, Shiloh). God didn’t choose other religious centers for his dwelling place. He chose this one as the center of his worship.
The object of God’s love for Jerusalem is specifically identified as “Zion’s city gates” (v. 2), a metaphorical substitution that represents the city as a whole. The gates of the city not only provided protection from enemies but also served as the primary pathway of entrance, where both visitors and citizens gained access. Inside the gates usually was a plaza where friends met together, the people bought and sold their goods, city officials pronounced legal decisions, and preparations were made for entering the place of worship. In essence, Zion’s gates represented Israel’s heart and soul (Ross, Psalms, vol. 2, 794). God set his delight on the essence of their very being.
Third, the city of Zion is set apart because God exalts it. The general commentary on what he’s done in choosing Jerusalem is in verse 3. The word said designates the introduction to an oracle from God. While praise for the city—both spoken and sung—is offered by those who experience and observe its wonder, their words actually articulate God’s perspective. Through their voices he lauds all that has happened in the holy city that attests to his divine presence. He founded it. He loves it. He has established it as the hub of his worship in all the world. He has made it a place where his glory is witnessed and proclaimed!
God’s establishment, esteem, and exaltation of the historical and physical city of Jerusalem was not his end game, however. In the songs of Zion, praise is due the city of God, not just because of its physical and earthly splendor but for its spiritual and eternal significance.
For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his home: “This is my resting place forever; I will make my home here because I have desired it” (Ps 132:13-14).
In Revelation 21–22 John sees this larger purpose in vivid detail when God unfolds for him the vision of what believers often refer to as heaven, God’s eternal kingdom. It’s here where the earthly city finds its ultimate purpose. The “new Jerusalem” (Rev 21:2; cf. 21:10)—as it’s called here—is described as “coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:2).
The voice emanating “from the throne” (Rev 21:3) of God introduces the heavenly city as the place he has been preparing for his children, much like a bride would be prepared for her husband. This reality becomes clear as God declares, “Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God” (Rev 21:3). God determined long ago to make this city his final and eternal abode with redeemed mankind. When God came to earth, he dwelt temporarily with mankind in the flesh of Christ Jesus (John 1:14). When mankind goes to heaven, they will dwell eternally with God through ultimate union with Christ Jesus.
A number of things will be noticeably different about this new city, demonstrating its obvious superiority over the earthly model. For example, unlike the historical Jerusalem, God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away” (Rev 21:4). This verse contains one of the most glorious truths in the whole Bible! As believers in Christ Jesus, we long for this day when there will be no more cancer, broken relationships, loss of loved ones, domestic violence, sexual abuse, loneliness, abandonment, murder, or anything else that causes us to shed tears and harbor broken hearts. Certainly, in all of its conflict through the years, this is something that can’t be said of the present-day earthly city. Nor can it be said of any human being’s current status. But it is the certain hope to which we now cling.
Another difference is that there will be no “temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev 21:22). A physical temple will be irrelevant because God’s people will experience perfect, intimate, and perennial communion with him through Christ Jesus.
Another difference between the two cities is that the heavenly one “does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev 21:23; cf. 21:11). Again, this can’t be said for the earthly city.
The forever dwelling place of God with man. The true temple of God. The full and brilliant radiance of God’s glory. Finally, all that God intended for his children—when he consecrated an earthly city to be a foretaste of his glory—will be realized in the new Jerusalem.
II. The Citizens of God’s City (Psalm 87:4-6)
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—“This one was born there,” they say. 5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. 6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah
The Lord is described as a king taking a royal census and registering individual names (“this one … that one …”), but the remarkable thing is that these people are Gentiles and that God is making them His own children and citizens of His holy city! Even more, the nations named are the avowed enemies of the Jews! The emphasis in all three verses is on birth, indicating that the people who enter the future glorious kingdom will experience a “new birth” and belong to the family of God. Like Paul, they will be citizens by birth (Acts 22:25–29) and not by purchase. The phrase “those that know me” indicates more than an intellectual appreciation of the Lord. It describes a personal relationship with Him, like that of husband and wife (Gen. 4:1; 19:8; 1 Sam. 2:12; 3:7).
“Rahab” refers to Egypt (89:10; Isa. 51:9), Israel’s enemy in the south, and the word means “arrogant, boisterous.” Egypt enslaved the Jews and yet will share with them citizenship in the city of God and membership in the family of God! (Isa. 19:18–25). Israel’s northern enemy, Babylon, would one day destroy Jerusalem and ravage the kingdom of Judah, and the Jews would vow to pay her back (137:1, 8–9), but she, too, will be part of the glorious kingdom! Philistia and Tyre on the west were always a threat to Israel, but they will be included. Ethiopia is “Cush,” a nation in Africa. Of course, of all these nations, only Egypt is still on the map, but the message is clear: when the Lord establishes His glorious kingdom, and Messiah reigns from Jerusalem, Israel’s enemies will be transformed into fellow citizens. Through the preaching of the Gospel today, this miracle is happening in His church (Eph. 2:11–22; Gal. 3:26–29). The Old Testament prophets promised that believers from all the nations of the earth would be included in Messiah’s reign (Isa. 2:1–5; Mic. 4:1–5; Zech. 8:23; 14:16–20), and so did the psalmists (22:27; 46:10; 47:9; 57:5, 11; 98:2–3; 99:2–3). “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14, nkjv).
The “glorious things” (v. 3) that make up Jerusalem’s high reputation aren’t all left to the reader’s or singer’s imagination or knowledge of history. Some particulars are provided in verses 4-6. The bottom line is that Zion’s grandeur largely will be seen in the diversity of those citizens of the city who were not naturally born there.
Moreover, this diversity will be the prophetic fulfillment of the gathering of people from all nations who will make up the city’s membership register. As Isaiah prophesied, This city is not just for Israelites but for people from “all nations” and tribes and tongues under the sun. God is worthy of the worship of every person on the planet, and the glory of his city was always intended to reflect that merit.
The official and permanent status of these foreign-born citizens in God’s city is stated strongly in three ways in these verses. First, God identifies each one as being “of those who know me” (v. 4). These Gentiles are ones who—by faith—trust in him, acknowledge his words, and worship him in obedience because they’ve now been adopted by him. Although they were born as citizens of nations that worshiped a myriad of false gods, they now know the one true God, Yahweh of Israel.
Second, God says, “The Most High himself will establish her” (v. 5). This composition of such a diverse and undeserved privilege of citizenship in Zion is his doing. While the great city was founded as a literal and historical city, God says he’s orchestrating its true establishment and will ultimately open its gates to the nations and “peoples will stream to it”
Third, God claims himself to be the one that’s actually recording names in the citizenship registry (vv. 5-6; cf. v. 4). It’s the cosmic clerk of the universe who’s logging people into the archives (see Exod 32:32-33; Ezek 13:9; Mal 3:16), and he’s the one who’s guaranteeing these foreigners their rightful position as citizens. Because God is the one keeping the roll, they will be as natural-born citizens forever, as if they had been so from the beginning.
The obvious emphasis in these verses is the citizenship that results from one’s newly declared birth. Regardless of the location and nationality of a person’s physical birth, citizenship in Jerusalem comes about when God declares him or her to have been born there. The physical birth grants one citizenship in an earthly kingdom. The spiritual birth makes one a citizen of God’s heavenly kingdom.
III. The Celebration in God’s City (Psalm 87:7)
7 Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
The adoption of people from every tribe, nation, and tongue into the citizenship of God’s glorious city will prompt a big party! This festivity is represented by “singers and dancers,” icons of two of Israel’s most cheerful forms of celebration (cf. 68:25; 150:4). The city will pull out all the stops to rejoice in this amalgamation of individuals from so many different backgrounds into the makeup of God’s people.
This celebration, however, isn’t prompted merely by the diversity of people in God’s city. The gladness ultimately is the result of the sustenance and blessing these citizens get to experience as a result of being in God’s presence. In the Old Testament springs are metaphorical images for true life, the life that only God can give (e.g., 36:9; Jer 2:13). Here the psalmist acknowledges Zion as the “source” of both physical and spiritual sustenance that comes from him. The psalmist previously said of the city, “There is a river—its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns” (Ps 46:4-5; cf. Ezek 47:1-12). The true reason for celebration is that people from every nation get to experience the true life that only God can give!
The image of a water source and fountains as representing the true, eternal life that comes only from God continues in the New Testament with our Lord. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water” (John 4:10). Then a while later, on the last day of one of the Jews’ treasured feasts, Jesus interrupts the festivities by standing up in the middle of the crowd and crying out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:37-38). Jesus clearly and confidently claims to be the source and supplier of the true life from God.
The description of these events that the psalmist declares of the earthly Jerusalem find their ultimate fulfillment in the New Jerusalem, God’s heavenly city. Revelation 4–5 contains mysterious descriptions of the awe-inspiring praise God will receive from elders, living creatures, tens of thousands of angels, and every creature in the universe. Then in Revelation 7 John sees,
. . . a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen. (Rev 7:9-12)
As with the “singers and dancers” (Ps 87:7) in historic Jerusalem, there will be a great celebration of worship at the throne of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenly city.
Furthermore, as in the earthly Jerusalem, the celebration in the celestial city will be fostered by the new life the redeemed of mankind get to experience in God’s presence. This time the life is forever. Here God’s children will experience his redemption and restoration in Christ in its fullness. Not only will he “wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more” (Rev 21:4), but he will provide them with something that is curiously reminiscent of the psalmist’s reference to a “source” in Psalm 87:7. John says,
Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.” (Rev 21:5-6)
In Jesus Christ, God freely restores to his children the life he created them to have (Gen 1:25-26), a life that had been forfeited because of sin, and a life that none of us deserved to get back.
God isn’t finished. John says,
Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. (Rev 22:1-3)
The eradication of sin and its effects among people from every tribe, nation, and tongue will mark the DNA of the New Jerusalem, a nature the old Jerusalem could only foreshadow. In God’s heavenly city people from every nation will experience healing from sin forever, and they will worship him accordingly.
Conclusion
John appropriately concludes the record of his glimpse into eternity with a passionate invitation: “Both the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears, say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17). That’s what the gospel does. It gives all people—regardless of ethnicity, geographic location, track record, family upbringing, skeletons in the closet, or any other thing that characterizes their physical birth or life history—the opportunity to drink from the fountain of God’s true life. The gospel provides the only sure hope of the forgiveness of sins and true life forever in God’s presence. It makes heavenly citizens out of all kinds of people from all kinds of earthly kingdoms.
One line in Psalm 87—“Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God” (v. 3 KJV)—was the inspiration for John Newton’s great hymn, “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” which he published in 1779 as part of the Olney Hymns hymnal. Although Newton wrote other great hymns like “Amazing Grace,” this particular one is considered by many to be his best composition. Why? The songs in that hymnal were written for use in the Anglican clergyman’s rural parish, which was made up of relatively poor and uneducated congregants. “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” is the only joyful hymn in the hymnal. Newton apparently understood that expressing the wonders of God’s city and anticipating its habitation served a special purpose in lifting the spirits of the hopeless. That same hope of the New Jerusalem gives us a song to sing that God doesn’t ever want us to get out of our heads. He doesn’t ever want us to forget that our citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. So with that tune stuck in our heads, let’s spend our lives telling others the good news that participation in this heavenly city of God is not by ethnicity or socioeconomic status but by faith.
Pastor Jim Kelley
(910) 353-5403
pastorjim@ec.rr.com