Psalm 122 - True Peace and Prosperity

Sunday's comin'! Are you as glad as you ought to be?

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8:29

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PSALM 122

A Song of Ascents, of David.

¹ I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

² Our feet are standing

Within your gates, O Jerusalem,

³ Jerusalem, that is built

As a city that is compact together;

⁴ To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD—

An ordinance for Israel—

To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

⁵ For there thrones were set for judgment,

The thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

⁷ “May peace be within your walls,

And prosperity within your palaces.”

⁸ For the sake of my brothers and my friends,

I will now say, “May peace be within you.”

⁹ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,

I will seek your good.

Belgic Confession

Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members

We believe that

since this holy assembly and congregation

is the gathering of those who are saved

and there is no salvation apart from it,

no one ought to withdraw from it,

content to be by himself,

regardless of his status or condition.

But all people are obliged

to join and unite with it,

keeping the unity of the church

by submitting to its instruction and discipline,

by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ,

and by serving to build up one another,

according to the gifts God has given them

as members of each other

in the same body.

And to preserve this unity more effectively,

it is the duty of all believers,

according to God’s Word,

to separate themselves

from those who do not belong to the church,

in order to join this assembly

wherever God has established it,

even if civil authorities and royal decrees forbid

and death and physical punishment result.

Summary

This section of the Psalter - Psalms 120 -134, known as the Psalms of Ascent - is the favorite part for many. These short songs were sung by travelers as they ascended the road to Jerusalem, which sat atop a hill. These songs express everything from distress and longing to confidence and joy, sung by pilgrims who were glad when it was said to them, Let us go to the house of the LORD.

David, a resident of Jerusalem wrote these words, but no matter where those singing it had traveled from, they longed for their feet to stand within Jerusalem's gates. But the attraction was much more than just their cultural heritage - Jerusalem represented God's dwelling place on earth. It's where thanks was to be given to the name of the LORD, and where thrones were set for judgment on the LORD's behalf, intended to guide, guard and protect His people. It was safe, just and a place of praise.

Songs like this psalm of ascent were joyfully sung, not just because they helped build anticipation, but also because they were fun to sing - an aspect that, even though our translations are very good, we don't quite appreciate when we read/sing them in English:

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

Sha'alu shelom Yerushalayim

“May they prosper (yishlayu) who love you.

⁷ “May peace (shalom) be within your walls,

And prosperity (shalvah) within your palaces.”

⁸ For the sake of my brothers and my friends,

I will now say, “May peace (shalom) be within you.”

But these lyrics are more than just words that sound good together; they teach a critically important lesson. True prosperity - that is, the ease, rest and security all people long for - comes only when true peace (shalom) has been achieved. This shalom is much more than just absence from conflict, it's when everything is the way it's supposed to be: physically, mentally, and especially spiritually.

That's why Psalm 122 ends with these words:

For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

True prosperity, unlike the mere facsimile the world offers, only comes to those who are glad when they're invited to the house of the LORD.

  Dig Deeper  

What do you think of when you hear the phrase the house of the LORD? A physical location wherein you look forward to gathering with the LORD's people on His day? A place in which the music and liturgy is is not just theologically sound, but also enjoyable - and often even fun - to participate in? A place that defines your heritage (even if you're brand new to it) and where you feel safe and secure as you praise the LORD?

If these things don't come to the forefront when you think of the house of the LORD, something's wrong. It's what these Psalm of Ascent helped ancient believers anticipate, and what you still ought to be gladly looking forward to yourself. If you're not, make it your top priority to figure out why; your peace and prosperity depends upon it!

But as important as physically gathering with the saints is, the house of the LORD represents much more than just a particular place. Professor Mark Futato writes,

Today, we need not make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or to any other city for that matter, in order to experience the presence of God (John 4:21), because the house of the Lord has come to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:14). And as we believe in him, we are the house where the Lord dwells by his Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Eph 2:21–22). We, like the psalmist, can rejoice daily in the presence of God, especially since one of the fruits of his Spirit is joy (Gal 5:22).

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose house we long to dwell in;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you be glad when you get to go to the house of the LORD;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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