The God of All Comfort: The Psalms for February 7- 13, 2021 The Songs of Zion

There are multiple references to “Zion” in the . “Zion” was another word for Jerusalem. This headquarters of King David, capital of Israel and place of the Jewish Temple was known by several names: Jerusalem, Zion, Mount Zion, the City of David, Salem, City of the Great King, and the Holy Mountain. Its Temple was called by these titles: House of the Lord, the Holy Hill, the Courts of the Lord, Dwelling Place of God, the Tabernacle, the Temple, and the Palace of God. Unlike anything we’ve experienced as American Christians, Jerusalem was the political, spiritual and cultural center of Israel and Judaism. It is thus called “The Holy City.” Jerusalem is also a “type”: a picture and foretaste of first, the Church and second, the New Heaven and New Earth. “Zion” is a sample and symbol of God’s Home: Heaven. Therefore, Zion was also called “The City of God.” The title “City of God” occurs in both the Old Testament and the for Israel, the Church and the Final Heaven. (See Ps. 46:4; Ps 48:1; Ps. 87:3; Ps. 101:8; Isa. 60:14; Heb. 11:10; Heb. 12:22; Heb. 13:14; Rev. 3:12; Rev. 11:2; Rev. 21:1, 10; Rev. 22:19.) These Songs of Zion celebrate the greatness of the City of God, the glory of His worship place, and the goodness that accrues to all who love “the dwelling place of God.” For us this greatness is found in the Church—the place of God’s headquarters in this world, the Living Temple in which He is worshipped and the goodness that comes to those who love and serve Christ. And they look forward to the greatness, glory and goodness of the New World yet to come and its capital, The City of God.

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and the church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24; NASB

These are the 7 Songs of Zion: Psalms 46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122 and 132. Some are included in other collections (Ps. 48 is a Daily Psalm; Pss. 122 and 132 are Pilgrim Songs or “Songs of Ascents.”) We will leave to the Daily Psalms, and replace it with Psalm 65, “A psalm of praise to the God who answers prayer and whose house is the Holy Temple in Zion.”

Songs of Zion: Psalms

• Sunday – : God is our Refuge

• Monday – : The Headquarters of God

• Tuesday – Psalm 84: A Day in God’s Courts

• Wednesday –Psalm 87: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken

• Thursday – Psalm 122: Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

• Friday –Psalm 132: Zion: God’s Chosen Habitation

• Saturday –Psalm 65: The God Who Answers Prayer

Martin Luther’s majestic hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” is based upon a paraphrase and expansion of the Song of Zion, Psalm 46. Our love for God must, like Luther’s, also include a love for His Bride, the Church. As one church father wrote: “He who would have God as his Father must have the Church as his mother.” Psalm 87 is paraphrased in John Newton’s famous hymn “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, Zion City of our God.” Its final line reminds us of the privilege and blessing that truly belongs to those who are members of The Church: “…solid joys and lasting treasures none but Zion’s children know.”

The God of All Comfort: Psalms Psalm 87 Resources | February 7, 2021

Books The Expositor’s Commentary on the Psalms by Willem VanGemeren Study notes in the Reformation Study Bible or ESV Study Bible Favorite Psalms, John Stott

Worship Resources Songs of Zion (read one per day) Ps. 46, 76, 84, 87,122, 132, 65

Psalm 87 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. 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.” 7 Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”

Questions for discussion and reflection • Which are the two cities in conflict throughout the Scripture, and human history? • Pastor Ross mentioned that the storyline of the Bible includes three things: a garden, a tree, and a city. How do these three things unfold in the Scriptures? • How are the Songs of Zion ultimately about the Church? Do you see the Church as "The City of God"? • Where is God's favorite place in the world? Why is this so? • What does Psalm 87 refer to when it talks about "those born in Zion"? • Is Peace PCA Church the "spring of your joy"? Why or why not? • St. Augustine said that the city of man was full of the love of self and contempt for God, and the City of God was full of the love of God, even to the contempt of self. How do you see that in America today? • What three truths have been discovered by Pastor Ross that have changed and shaped his life? Are these truths life-changing for you?