March 6
Reading: 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 have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem– built as a city
that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 There thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
Psalm 122 was written by David or for David and included in the Songs of Ascent for those who wish to share his joy in worshipping in the Temple in Jerusalem. By the third psalm in the Songs of Ascent, the pilgrim has lamented his distance from the Lord’s Holy City (Psalm 120) and has gotten on his way under the protection of the Lord (Psalm 121). Now, in Psalm 122, he is filled with anticipation on his journey to Jerusalem.
In this psalm we share the fact that, for the people of God, Jerusalem is a beloved city. Why? Why is it such a special place? Mount Zion is not particularly prominent. It is not even higher than the Mount of Olives right next door. But it was part of the Kingdom of Salem, of which Melchizedek was priest and king (Genesis 14:18). It is the mountain upon which Abraham went to sacrifice his son, Isaac, who was then rescued by God providing a substitutionary ram (Genesis 22). It corresponds to Mount Sinai in Arabia (Galatians 4:25). It is the city of David, capital of his kingdom. It is the location where King Solomon built the Temple of the Lord. It is the city where Jesus came to die, giving His life in exchange for ours. It is the shadow symbolizing the New Jerusalem that will be the perfect people of God in the New Creation (Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 21:2).
Jerusalem is the place where the people of God come together to worship Him. It is the place where sacrifices make a way for us to have a relationship with God. It is the presence of the Lord.
I grew up in my faith among people who took Psalm 122:6 to mean that we ought to pray for peace around Jerusalem, meaning that we want Jerusalem to enjoy political peace within and with her neighbors. There is certainly nothing wrong with praying this, but the passage must mean much more.
The final syllables of Jerusalem, Salem or Shalom, mean peace. Jerusalem is meant to be the city of God, where God’s peace reigns. So, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, praying that the peace that Jerusalem symbolizes will define all of God’s people everywhere. Pray for the peace of, that comes from, Jerusalem. We are praying for peace that comes from being close to God, peace with God, and peace among His people.