Toni’s Title
Glorious Things of You Are Spoken
ESV Title
Glorious Things of You Are Spoken
Literary Type
This is a hymn, a song of Zion.
Hymns
Hymns extol the glory and greatness of God as it is revealed in nature and history, and particularly in Israels’s history. Hymns praise God in general terms for his power and faithfulness as creator of the cosmos, ruler of history, and creator/redeemer of Israel to bring blessing to all the world. Israel’s hymns stress God’s active involvement in the life story of Israel. Hymns typically demonstrate motives for worshipping and praising God. A clear example is Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, just two verses:
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations; *
praise him, all you peoples.
2 For (= Hebrew ki) great is his loving-kindness towards us, *
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Hymns were used for exuberant worship in the temple and the synagogue. The people of God before the Incarnation invite us to celebrate and praise with them in hope of the kingdom of God and his Messiah. Hymns, like all psalms, show Christians how to praise God who has acted in creation, in revelation, and in redemption, and who is acting decisively in establishing his kingdom on earth. They do not ask anything; they simply rejoice in God’s presence.
Examples: Psalms 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 100, 103, 104, 145-150, and others
Songs of Zion
Several psalms express the view that God chose Zion as the earthly center of the divine rule. Mount Zion was the site of the Jerusalem temple. It was the place where God chose to be present in the midst of the people. So it became a sanctuary to which the people made pilgrimages. To the psalmists, Zon was the center of historical meaning that God had disclosed to Israel and, through Israel, to the whole world. The psalmists glorify Zion at that location. Zion came to represent the meeting place of heaven and earth and a foreshadowing of eternal life.
Examples: Psalms 46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 121, 122
NT Prayer Guide
Acts 1:8
Superscription
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.
87
Fundamenta ejus
1 The Lord loves the foundation which he has laid upon the holy hills; *
the gates of Zion are dearer to him than all the dwellings of Jacob.
2 Very excellent things are spoken of you, *
O city of God.
3 I will consider Egypt and Babylon *
among those who know me.
4 Behold Philistia also, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; *
each one was born in her.
5 And of Zion it shall be reported that each one was born in her, *
and the Most High shall establish her.
6 The Lord shall record it when he registers the people, *
that each one was born there.
7 The singers and the dancers also shall say, *
“All my fresh springs are in you.”