Whenever we read the Old Testament, we need to remember that we are reading God's promises to His people that find their ultimate fulfilment in Christ. The Old Testament points forward to Jesus Christ and finds its true meaning in Him. It builds up our sure expectation that the Messiah will soon arrive. This is especially true in Psalm 87.

Psalm 87 praises Zion, the mountain on which Jerusalem was built. Of course, Jerusalem existed long before it became ″the holy mountain″ (v. 1). After David conquered the city (2 Samuel 5:6-12), he expressed his desire to build the temple there (7:1-2). The temple was symbolically God's dwelling place, the place where God chose to make His presence felt. God's presence in Zion made it the glorious ″city of God″ (Psalm 87:3).

Verses 4-6 are prophetic. The psalmist looks forward to the day when people from the pagan nations, like Egypt (″Rahab″ is a poetic name for Egypt) and Babylon, become citizens of Zion. One day, God's enemies will become His friends and worship Him in His presence. They'll be listed in the register of those who belong to God (v. 4; see Revelation 20:12-15), and find the fountain of life and salvation in the city of God (Psalm 87:7).

The temple in Jerusalem is no more. We can now worship God in spirit and in truth at any place (John 4:21-24), because of Christ's completed work on the cross. And since all God's people are in Christ, Paul can describe the church as ″God's temple″ (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Revelation gives us a glorious picture of the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-27). I believe it's not a literal city. It is the people of God, the bride of Christ: ″Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb . . . and showed me the Holy City″ (vv. 9-10; see also 19:7-8). The glory of the heavenly Zion is the glory of the transformed people of God. All the images of the city are symbolical. We are the gates made of pearl (v. 21), a people who are pure and resplendent. We are the streets of gold, a people precious in His sight.

How do Christians sing Psalm 87? First, we glory in the Lord Jesus, in whom the whole fullness of God dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is the fountain of life for all who know Him. Second, as Christians we can rejoice that we are the city of God. How amazing is the grace of God that the Lord of heaven and earth has made His home in us! That's worth singing about.