The Lord Loves Zion and Welcomes the Nations

87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills. 87:2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 87:3 People say wonderful things about you, O city of God. (Selah) 87:4 I mention Rahab and Babylon to my followers. Here are Philistia and Tyre, along with Ethiopia. It is said of them, “This one was born there.” 87:5 But it is said of Zion’s residents, “Each one of these was born in her, and the sovereign One makes her secure.” 87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, “This one was born there.” (Selah) 87:7 As for the singers, as well as the pipers – all of them sing within your walls. Psalm 88 A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; a well-written song by Heman the Ezrachite.

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Psalm 87 celebrates Zion as the city the Lord founded and loves. It says that God can count people from other nations as belonging to her. Zion’s honor is not in her power, but in the Lord who secures her and gives her life and joy.

This psalm is a song about Zion, the holy city of God. It begins by saying that the Lord founded her and loves her more than the other dwellings of Jacob. Zion is special because God chose her as the place of his covenant presence and worship.

The psalm then turns to the nations. It names Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush. These nations stand for the wider world outside Israel. The surprising claim is that people from those places can be spoken of as if they were born in Zion. The point is not that their national identity is erased. The point is that God can give them belonging in his city.

The end of the psalm is harder to translate. The Hebrew of verse 7 is difficult, so the exact image is not certain. But the main thought is clear: Zion is full of praise, music, security, and life. The city the Lord founded is not weak or empty. It is made strong by his presence.

Overall, Psalm 87 teaches that God is sovereign in choosing, establishing, and including. He is not limited by human background, nation, or status. He can receive outsiders and count them among his people. At the same time, the psalm does not erase Zion’s Old Testament place in God’s covenant plan. It honors Jerusalem as the city the Lord chose, while also pointing to the widening of God’s people beyond Israel.

• The Lord founded Zion and loves her.
• Zion’s honor comes from God, not from human strength.
• God can count people from the nations as belonging to Zion.
• Ethnic pride has no place before the Lord.
• Zion is marked by security, joy, and worship.
• Verse 7 is difficult in Hebrew, so the closing image should be handled carefully.

• Warning: do not boast in ethnic descent or human status.
• Promise: God can include outsiders in his people by his own decree.
• Command: honor the Lord’s chosen city and his saving purpose.
• Warning: do not flatten Zion into a generic symbol and lose its covenant setting.

Psalm 87 belongs to the Zion-centered part of redemptive history, when Jerusalem was the covenant city of worship. It also looks beyond Israel by showing that the Lord can bring the nations into his people. In the wider biblical story, this line of hope grows until it is fulfilled in the Messiah and finally in the New Jerusalem.

Believers should humble themselves and not trust in family line, nation, or background. God alone decides who belongs to his city. This psalm should encourage worship, confidence in God’s preserving grace, and hope that the Lord will gather people from the nations to himself.

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