Psalms 87:1

The nature and glory of the church. The increase, honour, and comfort of the members thereof.

A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah.

Title. שׁיר מזמור קרח לבני libnei korach mizmor shiir.— The inscription of this psalm does not attribute it to David, nor is the occasion on which it was penned particularly mentioned. It is certain that it was written in praise of Jerusalem, and of the particular privileges of which it could boast above all other the most celebrated cities in the world: and by the manner of its beginning, I should think it was written when the author had completed his design in the repairing, enlarging, beautifying, and fortifying Jerusalem: and therefore I ascribe it to David, and think it was sent by him to the sons of Korah, to be sung by them on the solemn festival which was appointed to celebrate the foundation and building of the city. This conjecture is in some measure countenanced by the Chaldee paraphrast, who makes this psalm begin at the second verse: The Lord loveth the gates of Sion; and the first verse, His foundation is in the holy mountains, to be part of the inscription or title, which, according to him, must have been: "A song of the foundation in the mountains of holiness." Houbigant thinks the psalm was first sung upon laying the foundations of the temple in Mount Sion. But it is the city, and not the temple, which is spoken of as being founded in these mountains. The beginning of this psalm is striking, and, what a sudden exclamation of wonder and joy should be, abrupt and short: The ending, what every citizen of Jerusalem who knew and valued the privileges he was entitled to, would joyfully sing: All my springs are in thee. These circumstances, together with his glorying over it, for the preference which God gave it to all the other cities of Judah; his representing it as a greater honour to be born in, and an inhabitant of it, than to be a citizen of any of the most celebrated cities in the world; his assurance that God would protect and establish it: God's keeping a register of all the nations, and marking therein the citizens of Sion as his favourite people; and the joy and triumph of the inhabitants upon a review of their peculiar privileges, are beauties which will not be overlooked by a careful reader. See Dr. Chandler.

Psalms 87:1. His foundation is in the holy mountains, &c.— It is his foundation in the mountains of holiness: that is, "Sion is of God's founding." So Isaiah 14:32. The Lord hath founded Sion, &c. See Psalms 132:13. And as Jerusalem was built on several hills, mount Sion, mount Moriah, and other lesser ones, they are called holy mountains or hills, the whole city being consecrated to God; and the city itself the holy city, because God dwelt more especially therein, as it was the fixed abode of the ark of his presence. If we imagine the Psalmist to be surveying the new-built city from some eminence, or from the terrace on the roof of his palace, just as he had finished it, how natural was it for him to cry out with pleasure and gratitude to God, who had enabled him to complete this great design; It is his foundation in the mountains of holiness! Chandler.