Psalms 87:7

Conclusion. The Psalm ends as abruptly as it began, with a verse which is enigmatic in its brevity. It is best explained as an outline picture of the universal rejoicing with which the citizens of Zion greet their mother.

And singing as well as dancing (shall they chant,)

-All my fountains are in thee."

The rendering dancingis preferable to playing on the flute(cp. A.V., R.V. marg.). For dancing as an expression of religious rejoicing see Psalms 30:11; Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4; Exo 15:20; 2 Samuel 6:16.

The second line is their anthem. It may even be a fragment of some well-known hymn. My fountainsis to be understood metaphorically, as -fountains of salvation" in Isaiah 12:3. Cp. Psalms 36:9 f.; Psalms 84:6; Ezekiel 47:1; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8. It is possible, but less satisfactory, to take the verse as the Psalmist's apostrophe to Zion:

Both they that sing and they that dance,

All my fountains are in thee:

"meaning that every source of pleasure, music, singing, &c. was to be found in Zion" (Bp Perowne). So Milton in his paraphrase:

Both they who sing and they who dance

With sacred songs are there;

In thee fresh brooks and soft streams glance,

And all my fountains clear.

The obscurity of the verse must however be acknowledged. Cheyne thinks that it may be "a fragment of a description of a joyous procession." Cp. Psalms 68:25. Is it possible that it is not, strictly speaking, part of the Psalm, but a liturgical direction to sing the anthem "All my fountains are in thee" at the end of the Psalm, as an expression of the joy of Zion's citizens?