Psalms 122:1-9
1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Joy in God's House
As in the other psalms of the series there is here alternation between soloist and choir. In Psalms 122:1 the soloist rejoices in the proposal made to go on a pilgrimage. The chorus announces that the journey is already accomplished, Psalms 122:2. The Church of Christ is compacted, built together, by His tears, and blood, and risen power. In Psalms 122:6, the soloist bids the company salute Jerusalem, r.v. margin, and the chorus replies. In Psalms 122:7 the soloist announces three reasons why they should pray for Jerusalem's peace: They who love her prosper; those who reside within her precincts are our brethren and companions; hers is the house of God builded for His habitation.
The life of the pilgrim is full of sharp contrasts. Yesterday he was rejoicing in Jerusalem and sharing her peace; today he is grieved with the contempt of her foes. Hence this tiny psalm, which has been compared to “a sigh, an upward look, a sigh.” The oriental servant is an adept at reading the meaning of his master's slightest gesture, Psalms 123:2. Let us live, as our Savior did, with our eye fixed on the least indication of God's will. See Acts 16:1.