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PSALM 87
THE ARGUMENT
This Psalm was doubtless composed after the building of the temple; and, as learned men think, and it seems probable, when the people were newly returned out of Babylon, and laboured under many discouragements about the return of most of their brethren, and the difficulties which they met with in the rebuilding of their temple and city.
The prophet speaketh of the nature and glory of the endureth and God’s love to it, Psa_87:1-3; of the increase, honour, and comfort of the members thereof, Psa_87:4-7.
His foundation: whose foundation? Either,
1. The foundation, i.e. the argument or matter, of this Psalm or Song. So these words are thought to be a part of the title, the words lying thus in the Hebrew text,
For the sons of Korah, a Psalm or Song whose
foundation is in the Holy mountains. But,
1. The Hebrew word rendered foundation is no where used in that sense.
2. There is no example of any such like title in the Book of the Psalms. Or rather,
2. Of the city or temple of God, of which he speaks in the following verses. And whereas the beginning is somewhat abrupt, which seems to be the only ground of the foregoing exposition, that is no unusual thing in Scripture, and the pronoun relative, such as this is, is often put without any foregoing antecedent, and the antecedent is to be fetched out of the following words or verses, as Num_24:17, I shall see him, or it, to wit, the star, which follows afterward; Psa_105:19, his word, i.e. the Lord’s; Pro_7:8, to her house, i.e. the harlot’s, mentioned Pro_7:10; and especially Son_1:2, let him kiss, to wit, my beloved, who is there understood, but not expressed till Pro_7:14. And the ground of that abrupt and imperfect speech there seems to be the same with this here; for as the church was there in deep meditation and a great passion about her beloved, which caused that abruptness of speech, which is usual in such cases, so the psalmist’s thoughts were strongly fixed upon the temple and city of God; and therefore this relative his had a certain antecedent in his thoughts, though not in his words. The word foundations may possibly be emphatical, because this Psalm might probably be composed when the foundations of the second temple were newly laid, and the old men who had seen the glory of the former house were dejected at the sight of this, of which see Ezr_3:11,12. And so the meaning of this passage may be this, Be not discouraged, O ye Jews, that your temple is not yet erected and built, but only the foundations of it laid, and those too are mean and obscure in comparison of the magnificence of your former temple; but take comfort in this, that your temple hath its foundations laid, and those sure and firm; sure in themselves, because they are not laid in the sand, nor in boggy or fenny grounds, but in the mountains; and sure by Divine establishment, because those mountains are holy, consecrated to God, and therefore maintained and established by him. Or he may use this word foundations in opposition to the tabernacle, which was movable, and without foundations, to note the stability and perpetuity of this building.
In the holy mountains; or, among or within the holy mountains, to wit, in Jerusalem, which was encompassed with mountains, Psa_125:2, and in which were two famous mountains, to wit, Zion and Moriah. Or the plural number is here put for the singular, whereof we have seen examples formerly; and mountains are put for the mountain; either for Mount Moriah, upon which the temple stood; or for Mount Zion, which is mentioned in the next verse; which is often taken in a large and comprehensive sense, so as to include Moriah, in which sense the temple is said to be in Zion, Psa_74:2 76:2 Isa_8:18.