Psalm 86 & 87 - All Nations Will Come and Worship

LINK: Psalm 86 & 87

BACKGROUND

Psalm 86

This is the only psalm attributed to David in the entire third book of Psalms. The psalm is a collection of quotations from other psalms including Psalms 25-28, 40, and 54-57. It also includes quotations from Exodus 34. It is a psalm of prayer for protection (86:1-5), praise for his power (86:6-13), and petition for His strength (86:14-17).

Psalm 87

This psalm of the Sons of Korah (temple assistants) is an expansion of the idea expressed in Psalm 86:9:

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And they shall glorify Your name.

It is a song about the glories of Zion, the city of God. The psalmist describes how the nations will gather to her (See Isaiah 11:10 too).

This continues the theme that we have been talking about all along in the Bible Book Club, that all nations will someday worship the Lord! God's purpose is to reconcile people to Himself, and this psalm anticipates five nations will be among the peoples. "Rahab" is a name for a monster known in ancient Near East poetry as an enemy of God, and it represents Egypt (89:10; Isaiah 51:9). "Cush" is present-day southern Egypt, Sudan, and northern Ethiopia. These peoples will acknowledge Him proclaiming that all their sources of spiritual joy will be in God (Psalm 46:4; 84:6).

According to scholars, this psalm stands alone in the Psalms in that it "foresees the ingathering of the nations into Zion as fellow citizens with Israel" (NASB Study Bible, p. 829), "represents the future community of believers, [and] . . . looks ahead to the Holy City of God described in Revelation 21:10-27. The honor of living there will be granted to all whose names are recorded in the Lamb's book of life" (The Life Application Bible, p. 1000).

APPLICATION

Meditate on Revelation 21:10-27 today and pray for peoples throughout the world to come to Him through Jesus. Consider adopting an unreached people group to pray for on a regular basis. Click HERE for more information. 

Another application might be to pray for an unreached people group each day. There is an app HERE. It is a wonderful way to "stand in the gap" for people who do not know Jesus. 

PRAYER

Lord, we come to You in praise and adoration for who You are. You are the protector, forgiver, provider, and lover of our souls. Teach us to walk in Your way and with an undivided heart. Help us not to forget to stand in the gap for all peoples who do not yet worship You. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.