Psalm 87:3

Psalm 87:3

The city of our God

I umm’d and ahh’d about including the words of this old hymn but it seems to me that John Newton understood, in these words, the balance between the ancient City of Zion and the heavenly Zion that is the abode of our God. John had been a slave trader until he found Christ in a storm at sea. He went on to become an Anglican priest and to speak out against slavery in his later years. The Abolition of Slavery Bill was passed through Parliament shortly before his death.

1.     Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God!
He, whose Word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for His own abode;
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou mayst smile at all thy foes.

  1. See, the streams of living waters,
    Springing from eternal love,
    Well supply thy sons and daughters,
    And all fear of want remove:
    Who can faint while such a river
    Ever flows their thirst t’ assuage?
    Grace which, like the Lord, the giver,
    Never fails from age to age.
  2. Round each habitation hov’ring,
    See the cloud and fire appear,
    For a glory and a cov’ring,
    Showing that the Lord is near;
    Thus deriving from our banner
    Light by night and shade by day,
    Safe they feed upon the manna
    Which He gives them when they pray.
  3. Blest inhabitants of Zion,
    Washed in the Redeemer’s blood!
    Jesus, whom their souls rely on,
    Makes them kings and priests to God;
    ’Tis His love His people raises
    Over self to reign as kings,
    And as priests, His solemn praises
    Each for a thank off’ring brings.
  4. Saviour, if of Zion’s city,
    I through grace a member am,
    Let the world deride or pity,
    I will glory in Thy name;
    Fading is the worldling’s pleasure,
    All his boasted pomp and show;
    Solid joys and lasting treasure
    None but Zion’s children know.

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24

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