A song of ascents by David
122:Title See Ps 120.⚜
122
📚I was glad when they saidto me,
“Let us go into the house
of the LORD”.
2 📚Our feet stand within
your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 📚Jerusalem is built like a city
that is compacted together;
4 📚There the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
to the Testimony of Israel,
to give thanks to the name
of the LORD.
122:2-4 Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel, the center of rule and worship, the city of God. God intended it to be a unifying force among the twelve tribes. That is one reason He instructed His people to go there at least three times yearly for worship (Ex 34:22-23; Deut 12:4-5; 16:5-6, 16; 31:11). He wanted them to have one center, one heart, one faith. Believers now have no earthly center. Their city is the Jerusalem which is above (Gal 4:26; Heb 12:22). Their center is Christ. Compare Eph 4:13-16.⚜
5 📚For thrones of judgment
are set there,
the thrones of the house
of David.
6 📚Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem.
They who love you will prosper.
7 📚Peace be within your walls,
and prosperity
within your palaces.
8 📚For the sake of my brethren
and companions I will
now say,
“Peace be within you”.
9 📚I will seek your good because
of the house of the LORD
our God.
122:6-9 For Israel’s national unity the peace of Jerusalem was absolutely necessary. If quarreling and divisions occurred there, it would harm the whole life of the nation. The tribes would not be attracted to go up to a center filled with strife. So he prayed for peace for the sake of the people (v 8), and for the sake of God’s house (v 9). Today people are not attracted to churches and assemblies that are divided and quarreling. For the sake of the people of God and the honor of God we too must seek to maintain unity and peace in the Holy Spirit and in the truth (Rom 15:5-6; Eph 4:3; Col 3:15).⚜
122:9 An example to every Christian. We must always think of ways to do good to Christ’s church and people (Heb 10:24).⚜