God has expressed a particular affection for Jerusalem because there He met and conversed with His people and showed them the great tokens of His favor.
Because His love is set upon it,
His people also should hold it in reverent regard.
Psalm 1
1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
6 The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.
7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 87 – Citizens of Zion
This psalm blends in one great congregation the ancient foes of Israel and the Chosen People. It is a vision of the Holy Universal Church. The Selahs divide it into three parts:
Psalm 87:1-3
This is an outburst of rapturous praise. Zion’s foundations are in the mountains, and her gates are dear to God. Far and wide men recount her glories and triumphs. But how much greater is the glory of the Church, which is founded on Christ’s finished work and ruled by Him from heaven. The Church is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and a light shines from her into all the world.
Psalm 87:4-6
The ancient enemies of Zion contribute their children to the Church. Egypt or Rahab no longer dreaded and despised; Babylon no longer detested for its tyranny; Philistia and Ethiopia, once far off, now made nigh. They come from the East and West, and sit down at the feast of fat things of which Isaiah sang, Isaiah 25:6.
Psalm 87:7
A triumphal procession passes before us, confessing that the springs of the true life are to be found in the Church, because they are fed from the great depths of Eternal Love and Life. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 87:7—All my springs are in Thee.
“All my springs.” Perennial freshness! This is our portion. We have only to abide in Christ in daily, hourly faith, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, for where that is secured there need be no further effort; naturally, perennially, plentifully, there will arise in us the fountains whose source is God, and the ultimate destination of whose waters are the wildernesses and deserts around.
Do you want freshness in your love? The vintages of other years cannot provide you with the ruddy clusters and the wine of sacrifice required for present day needs. You want new enthusiasm, tenderness, and interest in those around you. Deepen your union with God by faith and prayer. Your fresh springs are in Him; He will Himself be in you a spring of living water, rising up to everlasting life and love.
Do you want freshness in your views of truth? There are such constant demands made on your teaching powers, that you are sometimes fearful of exhaustion. But if you keep your heart open to God, and your soul perpetually nourished by Scripture, you will find that God’s thoughts will come freshly and brightly to you—new as each morning, fresh as spring.
Do you want freshness in your religious life? This, too, is his gift, because the life we live in the flesh is, after all, not our own life, but his. Jesus is in us, the Hope and Fount of the true life. All He wants is to have orifices, channels, openings in the rocky soil, and He will arise in us heavenward and God-ward, as fountains in the sunny air. Rise up in us, Thou Blessed One, who art evermore the resurrection and the life! —Our Daily Homily