Psalms 78:68

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of Joseph and refused the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁸But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved. ⁶⁹He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever.

Summary

This verse highlights God's intentional choice of Zion, specifically Mount Zion in Jerusalem, as His dwelling place. It signifies His presence among His people and His favor towards them. By selecting Zion, God establishes a special relationship with His chosen nation, Israel, demonstrating His faithfulness and sovereignty. The verse underscores the significance of Jerusalem as a sacred city in God's plan of redemption and His desire to be close to His people. It also symbolizes the spiritual connection between God and His followers, emphasizing the importance of worship and obedience in His presence.

Commentary

John Gill
Tyndale

John Gill Bible Commentary

And he built his sanctuary like high palaces,.... The temple at Jerusalem, called a sanctuary, or holy place, because separated and dedicated to holy use and service; where the holy God had his residence, and was worshipped, and was a figure of the holy place not made with hands: this is said to be built by the Lord, because the materials provided for it, and which David and his people so willingly offered, were his own; "of his own" they gave him; as well as the pattern after which it was made was had from the Spirit of God; and it was the Lord that put it into the heart of David to set such a work afoot, and encouraged Solomon to begin and finish it, and gave wisdom, health, and strength, to the workmen to accomplish it; and in reference to this are the words in Psa 127:1, "except the Lord build the house", &c. and this he built not like the "high places", where idolatry was committed; the temple was not built in imitation of them; but like what high and eminent men, like such buildings as: they erect; like stately palaces, so Aben Ezra and Kimchi, built for kings and great personages; and such a building was the temple, the most magnificent in all the world, as built by Solomon, and even as rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and repaired by Herod; see Mar 13:1 or it was built "on high", as the Syriac version, on a high hill, Mount Moriah: the Targum is, "as the horn of the unicorn;'' and so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions. Jarchi interprets it as the high heavens, of which it was a figure; it was like them for magnificence and glory, and like the earth for stability, as follows: like the earth, which he hath established for ever; as to the substance of it; though as to the qualities of it, it will be done away, and a new one arise; otherwise it will abide for ever, Ecc 1:4, this respects the continuance of the temple during the Jewish dispensation, when the Gospel temple, or Gospel church, should take place, which will continue to the end of the world: this is opposed to the frequent moves of the tabernacle and ark before the temple was built, when there was no abiding habitation provided for it.