Psalm 87:1-7 ASV, Psalm 88:1-18 ASV, Psalm 89:1-52 ASV and Psalm 90:1-17 ASV

87:1-7- ‘Glorious things are said of you, O city of God... The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion”. As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in You”’(3,6-7). The ‘city of God’is our glorious destination - ‘we are looking for the city that is to come’, ‘the Holy City’(Hebrews 13:14; Revelation 21:2). It is also the place of our heavenly birth - ‘This one was born in Zion’. The heavenly birth - This is where our journey to the ‘city of God’begins: ‘No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above’(John 3:3). Between our heavenly birth and our glorious destination, there is life in the Spirit: The Psalmist says, ‘All my fountains are in You’. Jesus says, ‘Rivers of living water shall flow from the heart of anyone who believes in Me’(John7:38).
88:1-18- The Psalmist is really ‘down in the dumps’. He feels like he is ‘in the depths of the Pit”, He feels like he is ‘in the darkest depths’(6). This is the way he feels, but he has not stopped praying - ‘O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before You... I call to You, O Lord, every day... I cry to You for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before You’(1,9,13). His prayer doesn’t make pleasant reading: ‘My soul is full of trouble... I am like a man without strength... Your wrath lies heavily upon me... the darkness is my closest friend’(3-4,7,18). How can we be helped when we feel like this? We can be helped by Jesus. He knows what it feels like. For us, He has entered the ‘darkness’- ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?’. For us, He has triumphed - ‘risen from the dead’(Matthew 27:45-46; 28:5-7).
89:1-37- ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness through all generations’(1). Many years have passed since these words were written by the Psalmist. Many generations have come and gone since Jesus Christ came to our world. The years come and go. The centuries run their course. One generation gives way to another generation. Time moves on relentlessly. None of us can halt the march of time. Many changes have taken place over the course of time. There is something which must never change. The Lord is to be praised ‘for ever’. He is to be praised ‘through all generations’. We must look back and remember. Jesus Christ was crucified for us. Jesus Christ has risen for us. This is the Good News which inspires our praise: ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever...’.
89:38-90:17- ‘Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations... From everlasting to everlasting, You are God’(1-2). The Bible begins with the words, ‘In the beginning, God...’. Before the world began, there was God - ‘the eternal God’. He is ‘the high and exalted One’. He is the God ‘who inhabits eternity’. He is the God ‘who lives for ever’. He has no beginning. He has no end. He is ‘the beginning and the end’. Our life on earth has a beginning. It has an end. Trusting in ‘the eternal God’, we rejoice in His precious promises - ‘The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms’; ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’; ‘The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 33:27; Isaiah 57:15; Revelation 21:6; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 6:23).