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Psalm One
Hundred Twenty-two
Psalm 122
Chapter Contents
Esteem for Jerusalem. (1-5) Concern for its welfare.
(6-9)
Commentary on Psalm 122:1-5
(Read Psalm 122:1-5)
The pleasure and profit from means of grace, should make
us disregard trouble and fatigue in going to them; and we should quicken one another
to what is good. We should desire our Christian friends, when they have any
good work in hand, to call for us, and take us with them. With what readiness
should we think of the heavenly Jerusalem! How cheerfully should we bear the
cross and welcome death, in hopes of a crown of glory! Jerusalem is called the
beautiful city. It was a type of the gospel church, which is compact together
in holy love and Christian communion, so that it is all as one city. If all the
disciples of Christ were of one mind, and kept the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace, their enemies would be deprived of their chief advantages
against them. But Satan's maxim always has been, to divide that he may conquer;
and few Christians are sufficiently aware of his designs.
Commentary on Psalm 122:6-9
(Read Psalm 122:6-9)
Those who can do nothing else for the peace of Jerusalem,
may pray for it. Let us consider all who seek the glory of the Redeemer, as our
brethren and fellow-travellers, without regarding differences which do not
affect our eternal welfare. Blessed Spirit of peace and love, who didst dwell
in the soul of the holy Jesus, descend into his church, and fill those who
compose it with his heavenly tempers; cause bitter contentions to cease, and
make us to be of one mind. Love of the brethren and love to God, ought to stir
us up to seek to be like the Lord Jesus in fervent prayer and unwearied labour,
for the salvation of men, and the Divine glory.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 122
Verse 4
[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.
The tribes — Whom God has chosen to be his
people.
Unto — Unto the ark, called the testimony, because of the
tables of the covenant laid up in it, which are called God's testimony, and the
tables of the testimony. And this is called the testimony of, or to Israel,
because it was given by God to them.
Give thanks — To worship God; this one eminent
part thereof being put for all the rest.
Verse 5
[5] For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of
the house of David.
Judgment — The supreme courts of justice for ecclesiastical and
civil affairs.
Thrones — The royal throne allotted by God to David and to his
posterity, and the inferior seats of justice under his authority.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Other Works
TITLE AND
SUBJECT. This brief but spirited Psalm is entitled "A Song of
Degrees of David", and thus we are informed as go its author, and the
occasion for which it was designed: David wrote it for the people to sing at
the time of their goings up to the holy feasts at Jerusalem. It comes third in
the series, and appears to be suitable to be sung when the people had entered
the gates, and their feet stood within the city. It was most natural that they
should sing of Jerusalem itself, and invoke peace and prosperity upon the Holy
City, for it was the centre of their worship, and the place where the Lord
revealed himself above the mercy seat. Possibly the city was not all built in
David's day, but he wrote under the spirit of prophecy, and spoke of it as it
would be in the age of Solomon; a poet has license to speak of things, not only
as they are, but as they will be when they come to their perfection. Jerusalem,
or the Habitation of Peace, is used as the key word of this Psalm, wherein we
have in the original many happy allusions to the salem, or peace, which they
implored upon Jerusalem. When they stood within the triple walls, all things
around the pilgrims helped to explain the words which they sang within her
ramparts of strength. One voice led the Psalm with its personal "I, "
but ten thousand brethren and companions united with the first musician and
swelled the chorus of the strain.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of
the LORD. Good children are pleased to go home, and glad to hear their
brothers and sisters call them thither. David's heart was in the worship of
God, and he was delighted when he found others inviting him to go where his
desires had already gone: it helps the ardour of the most ardent to hear others
inviting them to a holy duty. The word was not "go, "but "let us
go"; hence the ear of the Psalmist found a double joy in it. He was glad for
the sake of others:glad that they wished to go themselves, glad that they
had the courage and liberality to invite others. He knew that it would do them
good; nothing better can happen to men and their friends than to love the place
where God's honour dwelleth. What a glorious day shall that be when many people
shall go and say, "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will
walk in his paths." But David was glad for his own sake:he loved
the invitation to the holy place, he delighted in being called to go to worship
in company, and, moreover, he rejoiced that good people thought enough of him
to extend their invitation to him. Some men would have been offended, and would
have said, "Mind your own business. Let my religion alone; "but not so
King David, though he had mote dignity than any of us, and less need to be
reminded of his duty. He was not teased but pleased by being pressed to attend
holy services. He was glad to go into the house of the Lord, glad to go in holy
company, glad to find good men and women willing to have him in their society.
He may have been sad before, but this happy suggestion cheered him up: he
pricked up his ears, as the proverb puts it, at the very mention of his
Father's house. Is it so with us? Are we glad when others invite us to public
worship, or to church fellowship? Then we shall be glad when the spirits above
shall call us to the house of the Lord not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens.
"Hark!
they whisper: angels say,
Sister spirit, come away."
If
we are glad to be called by others to our Father's house, how much more glad
shall we be actually to go there. We love our Lord, and therefore we love his
house, and pangs of strong desire are upon us that we may soon reach the
eternal abode of his glory. An aged saint: when dying, cheered herself with
this evidence of grace, for she cried, "I have loved the habitation of
thine house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth, "and therefore she
begged that she might join the holy congregation of those who for ever behold
the King in his beauty. Our gladness at the bare thought of being in God's
house is detective as to our character, and prophetic of our being one day
happy in the Father's house on high. What a sweet Sabbath Psalm is this! In
prospect of the Lord's day, and all its hallowed associations, our soul
rejoices. How well, also, may it refer to the, church! We are happy when we see
numerous bands ready to unite themselves with the people of God. The pastor is
specially glad when many come forward and ask of him assistance in entering
into fellowship with the church. No language is more cheering to him than the
humble request, "Let us go into the house of the Lord."
Verse
2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem; or,
better, "our feet are standing." The words imply present and joyous
standing within the walls of the city of peace; or perhaps the pilgrims felt so
sure of getting there that they antedated the joy, and spoke as if they were
already there, though they were as yet only on the road. If we are within the
church we may well triumph in the fact. While our feet are standing in
Jerusalem our lips may well be singing. Outside the gates all is danger, and
one day all will be destruction; but within the gates all is safely, seclusion,
serenity, salvation, and glory. The gates are opened that we may pass in, and
they are only shut that our enemies may not follow us. The Lord loveth the
gates of Zion, and so do we when we are enclosed within them. What a choice
favour, to be a citizen of the New Jerusalem! Why are we so greatly
favoured? Many feet are running the downward road, or kicking against the
pricks, or held by snares, or sliding to an awful fall; but our feet, through
grace divine, are "standing"—an honourable posture, "within thy
gates, O Jerusalem"—an honourable position, and there shall they stand for
ever—an honourable future.
Verse
3. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together.
David saw in vision the city built; no more a waste, or a mere collection of
tents, or a city upon paper, commenced but not completed. God's mercy to the
Israelitish nation allowed of peace and plenty, sufficient for the uprise and
perfecting of its capital: that City flourished in happy times, even as the
church is only built up when all the people of God are prospering. Thanks be to
God, Jerusalem is builded: the Lord by his glorious appearing has built up
Zion. Furthermore, it is not erected as a set of booths, or a conglomeration of
hovels, but as a city, substantial, architectural, designed, arranged, and
defended. The church is a permanent and important institution, founded on a
rock, builded with art, and arranged with wisdom. The city of God had this
peculiarity about it, that it was not a long, straggling street, or a city of
magnificent distances (as some mere skeleton places have been styled), but the
allotted space was filled, the buildings were a solid block, a massive unity:
this struck the dwellers in villages, and conveyed to them the idea of close
neighbourhood, sure standing, and strong defence. No quarter could be surprised
and sacked while other portions of the town were unaware of the assault: the
ramparts surrounded every part of the metropolis, which was singularly one and
indivisible. There was no flaw in this diamond of the world, this pearl of
cities. In a church one of the most delightful conditions is the compactness of
unity: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." A church should be one in
creed and one in heart, one in testimony and one in service, one in aspiration
and one in sympathy. They greatly injure our Jerusalem who would build dividing
walls within her; she needs compacting, not dividing. There is no joy in going
up to a church which is rent with internal dissension: the gladness of holy men
is aroused by the adhesiveness of love, the unity of life; it would be their
sadness if they saw the church to be a house divided against itself. Some
bodies of Christians appear to be periodically blown to fragments, and no
gracious man is glad to be in the way when the explosions take place: thither
the tribes do not go up, for strife and contention are not attractive forces.
Verse
4. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD. When
there is unity within there will be gatherings from without: the tribes go up
to a compact centre. Note that Israel was one people, but yet it was in a sense
divided by the mere surface distinction of tribes; and this may be a lesson to
us that all Christendom is essentially one, though from various causes we are
divided into tribes. Let us as much as possible sink the tribal individuality
in the national unity, so that the church may be many waves, but one sea; many
branches, but one tree; many members, but one body. Observe that the tribes
were all of them the Lord's; whether Judah or Benjamin, Manasseh or Ephraim,
they were all the Lord's. Oh that all the regiments of the Christian army may
be all and equally the Lord's own, alike chosen, redeemed, accepted, and upheld
by Jehovah. Unto the testimony of Israel. They went up to the holy city to hear
and to bear testimony. Everything in the temple was a testimony unto the Lord,
and the annual journeys of the tribes to the hallowed shrine partook of the
same testifying character, for these journeys were Israel's open avowal that
Jehovah was their God, and that he was the one only living and true God. When
we assemble on the Sabbath a large part of our business is giving out and
receiving testimony: we are God's witnesses; all the tribes of the one church
of Jesus Christ bear witness unto the Lord.
To
give thanks unto the name of the LORD. Another part of our delightful duty is
to praise the Lord. Sacred praise is a chief design of the assembling of
ourselves together. All Israel had been fed by the fruit of the field, and they
went up to give thanks unto the name of their great Husbandman: we, too, have
countless mercies, and it becomes us unitedly in our solemn gatherings to
magnify the name of our loving Lord. Testimony should be mingled with thanks,
and thanks with testimony, for in combination they bless both God and man, and
tend to spread themselves over the hearts of our companions; who, seeing our
joyful gratitude, are the more inclined to hearken to our witness bearing.
Here, then, was part of the cause of the gladness of the pious Israelite when he
had an invitation to join the caravan which was going to Zion: he would there
meet with representatives of all the clans of his nation, and aid them in the
double object of their holy assemblies, namely, testimony and thanksgiving. The
very anticipation of such delightful engagements filled him to overflowing with
sacred gladness.
Verse
5. For there are set thrones of judgment. If discontented
with the petty judgments of their village lords, the people could bring their
hard matters to the royal seat, and the beloved King would be sure to decide
aright; for the judgment thrones were The thrones of the house of David. We who
come to the church and its public worship are charmed to come to the throne of
God, and to the throne of the reigning Saviour.
"He
reigns! Ye saints, exalt your strains:
Your God is King, your Father reigns:
And he is at the Father's side,
The Man of love, the Crucified."
To
a true saint the throne is never more amiable than in its judicial capacity;
righteous men love judgment, and are glad that right will be rewarded and
iniquity will be punished. To see God reigning in the Son of David and evermore
avenging the just cause is a thing which is good for weeping eyes, and cheering
for disconsolate hearts. They sang of old as they went towards the throne, and
so do we. "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." The throne of
judgment is not removed, but firmly "set, "and there it shall
remain till the work of justice is accomplished, and truth and right are set on
the throne with their King. Happy people to be under so glorious a rule.
Verse
6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Peace was her name, pray
that her condition may verify her title. Abode of Peace, peace be to thee. Here
was a most sufficient reason for rejoicing at the thought of going up to the
house of the Lord, since that sacred shrine stood in the centre of an area of
peace: well might Israel pray that such peace should be continued. In a church
peace is to be desired, expected, promoted, and enjoyed. If we may not say "Peace
at any price, "yet we may certainly cry "Peace at the highest
price." Those who are daily fluttered by rude alarms are charmed to reach
their nest in a holy fellowship, and abide in it. In a church one of the main
ingredients of success is internal peace: strife, suspicion, party spirit,
division,—these are deadly things. Those who break the peace of the church
deserve to suffer, and those who sustain it win a great blessing. Peace in the
church should be our daily prayer, and in so praying we shall bring down peace
upon ourselves; for the Psalmist goes on to say, They shall prosper that love
thee, or, perhaps we may read it as a prayer, "May they have peace that
love thee." Whether the passage be regarded as a promise or as a prayer
matters not, for prayer pleads the promise, and the promise is the ground of
prayer. Prosperity of soul is already enjoyed by those who take a deep interest
in the church and cause of God: they are men of peace, and find peace in their
holy endeavours: God's people pray for them, and God himself delights in them.
Prosperity of worldly condition often comes to the lovers of the church if they
are able to bear it: many a time the house of Obededom is blessed because of
the ark of the Lord. Because the Egyptian midwives feared the Lord, therefore
the Lord made them houses. No man shall ever be a permanent loser by the house
of the Lord: in peace of heart alone. If in nothing else, we find recompense
enough for all that we can do in promoting the interests of Zion.
Verse
7. Peace be within thy walls. See how the poet personifies
the church, and speaks to it: his heart is with Zion, and therefore his
conversation runs in that direction. A second time is the sweet favour of peace
earnestly sought after: "There is none like it, give it me." Walls
were needed to keep out the foe, but it was asked of the Lord that those walls
might prove sufficient for her security. May the munitions of rock so securely
defend the city of God that no intruder may ever enter within her enclosure.
May her ramparts repose in safety. Three walls environed her, and thus she had
a trinity of security. And prosperity within thy palaces, or "Repose
within thy palaces." Peace is prosperity; there can be no prosperity which
is not based on peace, nor can there long be peace if prosperity be gone, for
decline of grace breeds decay of love. We wish for the church rest from
internal dissension and external assault: war is not her element, but we read
of old, "Then had the churches rest; and walking in the fear of the Lord,
and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." The bird of
Paradise is not a sternly petrel: her element is not the hurricane of debate,
but the calm of communion. Observe that our Jerusalem is a city of palaces:
kings dwell within her walls, and God himself is there. The smallest Church is
worthy of higher honour than the greatest confederacies of nobles. The order of
the New Jerusalem is of more repute in heaven than the knights of the Golden
Fleece. For the sake of all the saintly spirits which inhabit the city of God
we may well entreat for her the boons of lasting peace and abounding
prosperity.
Verse
8. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace
be within thee. It is to the advantage of all Israel that there should be
peace in Jerusalem. It is for the good of every Christian, yea, of every man,
that there should be peace and prosperity in the church. Here our humanity and
our common philanthropy assist our religious prayer. By a flourishing church
our children, our neighbours, our fellow countrymen are likely to be blest.
Moreover, we cannot but pray for a cause with which our dearest relatives and
choicest friends are associated: if they labour for it, we must and will pray
for it. Here peace is mentioned for the third time. Are not these frequent
threes some hint of the Trinity? It would be hard to believe that the triple
form of so many parts of the Old Testament is merely accidental. At least, the
repetition of the desire displays the writer's high valuation of the blessing
mentioned; he would not again and again have invoked peace had he not perceived
its extreme desirableness.
Verse
9. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
He prays for Jerusalem because of Zion. How the church salts and savours all
around it. The presence of Jehovah, our God, endears to us every place wherein
he reveals his glory. Well may we seek her good within whose walls there dwells
God who alone is good. We are to live for God's cause, and to be ready to die
for it. First we love it (Ps 122:6) and then we labour for it, as in this
passage: we see its good, and then seek its good. If we can do nothing else we
can intercede for it. Our covenant relation to Jehovah as our God binds us to
pray for his people,—they are "the house of the Lord our God." If we
honour our God we desire the prosperity of the church which he has chosen for
his indwelling. Thus is the poet glad of an invitation to join with others in
the Lord's service. He goes with them and rejoices, and then he turns his
delight into devotion, and intercedes for the city of the great King. O church
of the living God, we hail thine assemblies, and on bended knee we pray that
thou mayest have peace and felicity. May our Jehovah so send it. Amen.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. Foxe, in his "Acts and Monuments, "relates of Wolfgang
Schuch, the martyr, of Lothareng in Germany, that upon hearing the sentence
that he was to be burned pronounced upon him, he began to sing the hundred and
twenty second Psalm, Laetus sum in his quae dicta suni mihi. etc.
Whole
Psalm. Perhaps the true text of this Psalm is found in its designation,
"A Song of Degrees." Every verse is treated as a degree of
advancement in the spiritual life, beginning with "help" from the
eternal "hills" for the trials of time, closing with preservation
"for evermore." Henry Melvill.
Verse
1. I was glad when they said unto me, etc. Gregory Nazianzen
writeth that his father being a heathen, and often besought by his wife to
become a Christian, had this verse suggested unto him in a dream, and was much
wrought upon thereby. John Trapp.
Verse
1. I was glad when they said, etc. These words seem to be
very simple, and to contain in them no great matter; but if you look into the
same with spiritual eyes, there appeareth a wonderful great majesty in them;
which because our Papists cannot see, they do so coldly and negligently pray,
read, and sing this Psalm and others, that a man would think there were no tale
so foolish or vain, which they would not either recite or hear with more
courage and delight. These words, therefore, must be unfolded and laid before
the eyes of the faithful: for when he saith, We will go into the house of
the Lord, what notable thing can we see in these words, if we only behold the
stones, timber, gold, and other ornaments of the material temple? But to go
into the house of the Lord signifieth another manner of thing; namely, to come
together where we may have God present with us, hear his word, call upon his
holy name, and receive help and succour in our necessity. Therefore it is a
false definition of the temple which the Papists make; that it is a house built
with stones and timber to the honour of God. What this temple is they
themselves know not; for the temple of Solomon was not therefore beautiful
because it was adorned with gold and silver, and other precious ornaments; but
the true beauty of the temple was, because in that place the people heard the
word of the Lord, called upon his name, found him merciful, giving peace and
remission of sins, etc. This is rightly to behold the temple, and not as the
visored bishops behold their idolatrous temple when they consecrate it. Martin
Luther.
Verse
1. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us (or, We will) go,
etc. You have here,
1.
David's delight.
2. The object or reason of it.
In
the object there are circumstances enough to raise his joy to the highest note.
First,
A company, either a tribe, or many of, or all, the people: "They
said unto me." So, in another place, he speaketh of "walking to the
house of God in company:" Ps 55:14. A glorious sight, a representation of
heaven itself, of all the angels crying aloud, the Seraphim to the Cherubim,
and the Cherubim echoing back again to the Seraphim, "Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of Sabaoth."
Secondly,
Their resolution to serve the Lord: Dixerunt, "They said
it:" and "to say" in Scripture is to resolve. "We will go,
"is either a lie, or a resolution.
Thirdly,
Their agreement and joint consent: "We, "This is as a circle,
and taketh in all within its compass. If there be any dissenting, unwilling
person, he is not within this circumference, he is none of the "We."
A Turk, a Jew, and a Christian cannot say, "We will serve the Lord;
"and the schismatic or separatist shutteth himself out of the house of the
Lord. "We" is a bond of peace, keepeth us at unity, and maketh many
as one.
Fourthly,
Their cheerfulness and alacrity. They speak like men going out of a
dungeon into the light, as those who had been long absent from what they loved,
and were now approaching unto it, and in fair hope to enjoy what they most
earnestly desired: "We will go; "we will make haste, and delay no
longer. Ipsa festinatio tarda est; "Speed itself is but slow
paced." We cannot be there soon enough.
Fifthly
and lastly: The place where they will serve God:not one of their own
choosing; not the groves, or hills, or high places; no oratory which pride, or
malice, or faction had erected; but a place appointed and set apart by God
himself. Servient Domino in domo sua:"They will serve the Lord in
his own house." They said unto me, "We will go into the house of the
Lord." Anthony Farindon.
Verse
1. Let us go into the house of the Lord. "Let us go, "
spoken by one hundred men in any city to those over whom they have influence,
would raise a monster meeting... But who among those who thus single out the
working classes, have gone to them and said, "Let us go—let us go together
into the house of the Lord"? The religious adviser, standing at a distance
from the multitude, has advised, and warned, and pleaded, saying, "Go, or
you will not escape perdition; ""Why don't you go?" The
Christian visitor has likewise used this kind of influence; but how few have
taken the working man by the hand, and said, "Let us go together"?
You can bring multitudes whom you never can send. Many who would never
come alone would come most willingly under the shadow of your company. Then,
brethren, to your nonattending neighbour say, "Let us go"; to
reluctant members of your own family say, "Let us go"; to those who
once went to the house of God in your company, but who have backslidden from
worship say, "Let us go"; to all whose ear, and mind, and heart, you
can command for such a purpose say, "Let us go—let us go together into the
house of the Lord." Samuel Martin (1817-1878), in a Sermon
entitled "Gladness in the Prospect of Public Worship."
Verse
1. I was glad when they said unto me, etc. Such in kind, but
far greater in degree, is the gladness, which the pious soul experiences when
she is called hence; when descending angels say unto her, Thy labour and sorrow
are at an end, and the hour of thy enlargement is come; put off immortality and
misery at once; quit thy house of bondage, and the land of thy captivity; fly
forth, and "let us go together into the house of the Lord, not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens." George Horne.
Verses
1-2. This is a mutual exhortation. The members of the church invite
each other: "Let us go into the house of the Lord." It is not enough
to say, Go you to church, and I shall stop at home. That will never do. We must
invite by example as well as by precept. Mark the plural forms: "Let us
go into the house of God. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O
Jerusalem." We are to speak as Moses did to Hobab, his brother-in-law,
"Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken
good concerning Israel." The same duty is binding upon us, with regard to
those who make no profession of religion, and whose feet never stand in the
house of God. Zechariah, in an animated picture of the future glories of the
church, describes the newborn zeal of the converts as taking this direction.
They cannot but speak of what they have seen and heard, and others must share
in their joy. "And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another,
saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of
hosts: I will go also." N. M`michael.
Verse
2. With what a blessed hope do they, while they are here in this
mortal life, lift up their affections, desires, and thoughts to the heavenly
country, because they are able to say with the prophet, Our feet stand
within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Like those who haste to any place, they are
said to be always thinking as if they were already there, and in reality they
are there in mind though not in body, and are able greatly to comfort others.
What wonder, if a righteous man, wishing to comfort others, should thus speak, "Our
feet stand, "i.e., our desires, our contemplations, shall be fixed and
stable in thy courts, O Jerusalem; i.e., in the mansions of the heavenly
kingdom, so that our conversation shall be in heaven, and all our works be done
in relation to eternal life, for which we long with greatest intensity of
desire. This is not that Jerusalem which killed the prophets and stoned those
that were sent unto her, but that where the perfect vision of peace reigns. Paulus
Palanterius.
Verse
2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Dr.
Clarke, in his travels, speaking of the companies that were travelling from the
East to Jerusalem, represents the procession as being very long, and, after
climbing over the extended and heavy ranges of hills that bounded the way, some
of the foremost at length reached the top of the last hill, and, stretching up
their hands in gestures of joy, cried out, "The Holy City! The Holy
City!"—and fell down and worshipped; while those who were behind pressed
forward to see. So the dying Christian, when he gets on the last summit of
life, and stretches his vision to catch a glimpse of the heavenly city, may cry
out of its glories, and incite those who are behind to press forward to the
sight. Edward Payson, 1783-1827.
Verse
2. O Jerusalem. The celestial city is full in my view. Its
glories beam upon me, its breezes fan me, its odours are wafted to me, its
sounds strike upon my ears, and its spirit is breathed into my heart. Nothing
separates me from it but the river of death, which now appears but as an
insignificant rill, that may be crossed at a single step, whenever God shall
give permission. The Sun of Righteousness has been gradually drawing nearer and
nearer, appearing larger and brighter as he approached, and now he fills the
whole hemisphere; pouring forth a flood of glory, in which I seem to float like
an insect in the beams of the sun; exulting, yet almost trembling, while I gaze
on this excessive brightness, and wondering, with unutterable wonder, why God
should deign thus to shine upon a sinful worm. Edward Payson's dying
experience.
Verse
2. O Jerusalem
Lo,
towered Jerusalem salutes the eyes!
A thousand pointing fingers tell the tale;
"Jerusalem!" a thousand voices cry,
"All hail, Jerusalem!" hill, down, and dale
Catch the glad sounds, and shout "Jerusalem, all hail."
—Torquato Tasso, 1544-1595.
Verse
4. The tribes are "the tribes of the Lord, "as
being the keepers of his commandments. H. T. Armfield.
Verse
4. Unto the testimony of Israel, and to give thanks unto the name
of the Lord. These two mean nothing else than that in Jerusalem was the
appointed place where the word was to be taught and prayer offered. But these
ought to be written in golden letters, because David says nothing about the
other services, but only of these two. He does not say that the Temple was
divinely appointed, that there the victims should be sacrificed; that there
incense should be offered; that oblations and sacrifices should be brought;
that each one should by his gifts show his gratitude. He says nothing about
these things, although only in the Temple were they commanded to be done. He
makes mention only of prayer and of thanksgiving. Martin Luther.
Verse
4. The testimony of Israel. The object which is represented
in the Psalm as having power to attract all hearts, and command the ready
attendance of the tribes, is "the testimony of Israel, "the revelation,
in other words, which God made to that people of his character, feelings, and
purposes, as most holy, yet ready to forgive, a just God and the Saviour. This
discovery of the nature of that great Being before whom all must appear, is
justly regarded as a ground of joy. Robert Nisbet.
Verses
4-5. Observe what a goodly sight it was to see the testimony of
Israel and the thrones of judgment such near neighbours; and they
are good neighbours, which may greatly befriend one another. Let "the
testimony of Israel" direct the "thrones of judgment, "and
the "thrones of judgment" protect "the testimony of
lsrael." Matthew Henry.
Verse
5. Thrones of judgment. On a throne of ivory, brought from
Africa or India, the throne of many an Arabian legend, the kings of Judah were
solemnly seated on the day of their accession. From its lofty seat, and under
that high gateway, Solomon and his successors after him delivered their solemn
judgments. That "porch" or "gate of justice, "still kept
alive the likeness of the old patriarchal custom of sitting in judgment at the
gate; exactly as the Gate of Justice still recalls it to us at Granada, and the
Sublime Porte—"the Lofty Gate" at Constantinople. He sat on the back
of a golden bull, its head turned over its shoulder, probably the ox or bull of
Ephraim; under his feet, on each side of the steps, were six golden lions,
probably the lions of Judah. This was "the seat of judgment." This
was the throne of the house of David. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, in
"Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church."
Verse
5. It was a worthy commendation that David uttered in the praise of
Jerusalem when he said, There is the seat for judgment; the which
appointing of that seat for judgment was an argument that they loved justice.
And first, the place wherein it was set assures us hereof, for it was set in
the gate, where through men might have passage to and from the judgment seat.
Secondly, the manner of framing the seat in the gate, namely, that the judges
of force must sit with their faces towards the rising of the sun, in token that
then judgment should be as pure from corruption, as the sun was clear in his
chiefest brightness. Oh happy house of David, whose seat was set so
conveniently, whose causes were heard so carefully, and matters judged so
justly! Henry Smith, 1560-1591.
Verse
6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. By praying for
Jerusalem's peace is meant such serene times wherein the people of God might
enjoy his pure worship without disturbance. The Church has always had her
vicissitudes, sometimes fair, and sometimes foul weather; but her winter
commonly longer than her summer; yea, at the same time that the Sun of peace
brings day to one part of it, another is wrapped up in the night of
persecution. Universal peace over all the churches is a great rarity. William
Gumall.
Verse
6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. When the Wesleyan
Methodists opened a chapel at Painswick, near his own meeting, the late
excellent Cornelius Winter prayed three times publicly the preceding Sabbath
for their encouragement and success. When Mr. Hoskins, of Bristol, the
Independent minister of Castle Green, opened a meeting in Temple Street; what
did the incomparable Easterbrooke, the Vicar of the parish? The morning it was
opened, he was almost the first that entered it, He seated himself near the
pulpit. When the service was over, he met the preacher at the foot of the
stairs, and shaking him with both hands, said aloud: "I thank you
cordially, my dear brother, for coming to my help—here is room enough for us
both; and work enough for us both; and much more than we can both accomplish:
and I hope the Lord will bless our cooperation in this good cause." William
Jay.
Verse
6. Pray (with this princely prophet) for the peace of Jerusalem.
I wish I could express the incomparable sweetness of this little hemistichium.
I guess, the Holy Ghost was pleased to let the Psalmist play the poet here: the
Psalms are holy poetry. The original words have such elegancy here, as (I
think) all the Scripture cannot parallel this verse. It is in English
inexpressible. For the point in hand only, he bids us pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Peace denominates Jerusalem, `tis the etymon of the word, it means the
vision of peace. David by that term most sweetly alludes to the name of the
city, yet conceals his wit; which could have been made more open: he said, Mlv
Mwlv wlav, "Pray for the peace of Salem." For so it was called
too, called first so, called still so (Ps 76:2) "At Salem is his
tabernacle." That word merely sounds peace: God would have his Church the
house of peace; and his temple there David might not build because he was a man
of war; but Solomon his son, who had his name of peace, must build it. Christ,
whose the church is, she his spouse, would not be born in Julius Caesar's
reign; he was a warrior too: but in Augustus's days, who reigned in peace. And
this may be a reason too, if you please, why David bids pray but for peace
only, an earthly blessing. That word most fitted his art here, and sounded
best. But under that word, by poetical synecdoche, he couched all
heavenly blessings. Richard Clarke, 1634.
Verse
6. Pray, etc. Our praying for the church giveth us a share in
all the church's prayers; we have a venture in every ship of prayer that maketh
a voyage for heaven, if our hearts be willing to pray for the church; and if
not, we have no share in it. Let no man flatter himself: they that pray not
for the church of God love not the church of God. Let them prosper
that love thee; that is, that pray for thee, the one is the
counterpart of the other. If we do not love it, we will not pray for it; and if
we do not pray for it, we do not love it. Yea, if we pray not for the church, we
lose our share in the prayers of the church. You will say that man hath a
great estate that hath a part in every ship at sea; and yet to have an
adventure in all the prayers that are made to heaven is better than all the
world. All the church's prayers are for all the living members of it, viz.—the
blessings will be to them, for a man to have a venture ill every ship of prayer
of all the churches throughout all the world. I would not (for my part) leave
my share in it for all the world; and that man hath no share in it that will
not afford a prayer for the church. John Stoughton, 1640.
Verse
6. They shall prosper that love thee. The word "prosper"
conveys an idea which is not in the original. The Hebrew word means to be
secure, tranquil, at rest, spoken especially of one who enjoys quiet
prosperity: Job 3:26 12:6. The essential idea is that of quietness or rest; and
the meaning here is, that those who love Zion will have peace; or, that
the tendency of that love is to produce peace. See Ro 5:1. The prayer was for
"peace"; the thought in connexion with that was naturally that those
who loved Zion would have peace. It is indeed true, in general, that
they who love Zion, or who serve God, will "prosper"; but that
is not the truth taught here. The idea is that they will have peace:—peace
with God; peace in their own consciences; peace in the prospect of death and of
the future world; peace amidst the storms and tempests of life; peace in death,
in the grave, and for ever. Albert Barnes.
Verse
6. They shall prosper that love thee. Seeing they prosper
that love and bear affection to Jerusalem, let men learn to show good will unto
Christ's church, though as yet they be no ripe scholars themselves in Christ's
school: though they be not grown to perfection let them express a good
affection. A good will and inclination, where strength yet faileth, is accepted,
and a ready disposition is not rejected: though thou be not yet of the saints,
yet love the saints. If thou likest and lovest that thou wouldst be, thou must
be that hereafter which yet thou art not. The little bird before she flieth
fluttereth with her wings in the nest: the child creepeth before he goeth: so
religion begins with affection, and devotion proceedeth from desire. A man must
first love that he would be, before he can be that which he loveth. It is a
good sign when a man affecteth that which he expects, and doth favour that
which he would more fully favour. He that loveth Sion shall prosper: he that
loveth virtue shall increase and prosper in it. The day of small things shall
not be despised (Zec 4:10), neither shall the smoking flax be quenched (Mt
12:20); but the smoke shall bring forth fire, and fire shall break forth into a
flame. Andrew Willett (1562-1621), in "Certaine Fruitfull
Meditations upon the 122. Psalme."
Verse
6. They shall prosper that love thee. The reverse is also true.
"None ever took a stone out of the Temple, but the dust did fly into his
eyes." Jewish Proverb.
Verses
6-9. In this cordial and even impassioned invocation, it is curious to
find one of those puns, or plays on words, which are characteristic of Hebrew
poetry. The leading words of the strophe are "peace" and "prosperity."
Now the Hebrew word for "peace" is shalom, and the
Hebrew word for "prosperity" is shalvah, while the
Hebrew form of "Jerusalem, "which means "City of Peace, "is
Yeru-shalaim. So that, in effect, the poet wishes shalom and shalvah
on shalaim—"peace" and "prosperity" on "the
City of Peace." Such an use of words may not strike us as indicating any
very subtle or profound sense of humour, or any remarkable artistic skill. But
we must always remember that it is always difficult for one race to appreciate
the humour, or wit, of another race. We must also remember that this art of
playing on words and the sound of words—an art of which we are growing
weary—was very novel and surprising to men not surfeited with it as we are, and
who were themselves for the most part quite incapable of the simplest
dexterities of speech. Samuel Cox.
Verse
7. Peace be within thy walls. The Church is a war town, and a
walled town, which is situated among enemies, and may not trust them who are
without, but must be upon its keeping, as the type thereof, Jerusalem, with her
walls and towers, did shadow forth. David Dickson.
Verse
7. Within thy walls. Or, To thy outward wall. Josephus tells
us (Book V.) that there were at Jerusalem three ranges or rows of walls. The
sense here is, Let no enemy approach so much as to thy out works to disturb
thee. Thomas Fenton.
Verse
8. For my brethren and companions' sakes. Because they dwell
there; or, because they go up there to worship; or, because they love thee, and
find their happiness in thee; or, because they are unconverted, and all my hope
of their salvation is to be derived from thee,—from the church, from the
influence of religion. Albert Barnes.
Verse
8. My brethren. On another occasion, an elderly native,
formerly a cannibal, addressing the Church members, said, "Brethren!"
and, pausing for a moment, continued, "Ah! that is a new name; we did not
know the true meaning of that word in our heathenism. It is the `Evangelia a
Jesu' that has taught us the meaning of `brethren.'" William Gill, in
"Gems from the Coral Islands, "1869.
Verse
9. Because of the house of the Lord. The city that was the
scene of so immense assemblies had necessarily a peculiar character of its own.
It existed for them, it lived by them. There were priests needed for the
conduct of the worship, twenty four courses of them and 20,000 men. There were
Levites, their servants, in immense numbers, needed to watch, maintain, clean
the temple—to do the menial and ministering work necessary to its elaborate
service and stupendous acts of worship. There were scribes needed for the
interpretation of the law, men skilled in the Scriptures and tradition, with
names like Gamaliel, so famed for wisdom as to draw young men like Saul from
distant Tarsus, or Apollos from rich Alexandria. There were synagogues, 480 of
them at least, where the rabbis read and the people heard the word which God
had in past times spoken unto the fathers by the prophets. The city was indeed
in a sense the religion of Israel, incorporated and localized, and the man who
loved the one turned daily his face toward the other, saying, "My soul
longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jahveh." A. M. Fairbairn,
in "Studies in the Life of Christ, "1881.
Verse
9. I will seek thy good. It is not a cold wish; it is not a
careless, loose seeking after it, that is the phrase in my text—"I will
seek thy good." It is not a careless, loose seeking after it, almost
as indifferently as a woman seeks after a pin which she has dropped; no, no;
effort is implied. "I will seek"; I will throw my energies
into it; my powers, my faculties, my property, my time, my influence, my
connections, my family, my house, all that I have under my command shall, as
far as I have power to command, and as far as God gives me ability to turn them
to such a use, be employed in an effort to promote the interests of Zion. Joseph
Irons, 1786-1852.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole
Psalm. Observe,
1.
The joy with which they were to go up to Jerusalem: Ps 122:1-2.
2.
The great esteem they were to have of Jerusalem: Ps 122:3-5.
3.
The great concern they were to have for Jerusalem, and the prayers they were to
put up for its welfare. M. Henry.
Verse
1.
1.
David was glad to go to the house of the Lord. It was the house of the Lord
therefore he desired to go. He preferred it to his own house.
2.
He was glad when others said to him, "Let us go." The distance may be
great, the weather may be rough, still, "Let us go."
3.
He was glad to say it to others, "Let us go, "and to persuade others
to accompany him. G. R.
Verse
1.
1.
Joy in prospect of religious worship.
a)
Because of the instruction we receive.
b) Because of the exercises in which we engage.
c) Because of the society in which we mingle.
d) Because of the sacred interests we promote.
2.
Joy in the invitation to religious worship.
a)
Because it shows others are interested in the service of God.
b) Because it shows their interest in us.
c) Because it furthers the interests of Zion. F.J.B.
Verse
1. Gladness of God's house. Are you "glad when, "etc.? Why
glad?
1.
That I have a house of the Lord to which I may go.
2. That any feel enough interest in me to say, "Let us go, " etc.
3. That I am able to go to God's house.
4. That I am disposed to go.
—J. G. Butler, in "The Preacher's Monthly, "1882.
Verse
1. I was glad, etc. So says,
1. The
devout worshipper, who is glad to be invited to God's earthly house. It is
his home, his school, his hospital, his bank.
2. The
adhesive Christian, who is glad to be invited to God's spiritual house.
Church is builded together, etc. There would he find a settled rest. Has no
sympathies with religious gipsies, or no church people.
3.
The dying saint, who is glad to be invited to God's heavenly house.
Simeon—Stephen—Peter—Paul. W. J.
Verse
1.
1.
The duty of attending the services of God's house.
2. The duty of exciting one another to go.
3. The benefit of being thus excited. F.J.B.
Verse
2. Here is,
1.
Personal attendance: "My feet shall stand," etc.
2. Personal security: "My feet shall stand."
3. Personal fellowship: "O Jerusalem." G. R.
Verse
2. The inside of the church. The honour, privilege, joy, and
fellowship of standing there.
Verse
3.
1.
A type of the New Jerusalem.
a)
As chosen by God.
b) As founded upon a rock.
c) As taken from an enemy.
2.
A type of its prosperity: "Builded as a city."
3.
A type of its perfection: "Compact together." G. R.
Verse
3. The unity of the church.
1.
Implied in all covenant dealings.
2. Suggested by all Scriptural metaphors.
3. Prayed for by our Lord.
4. Promoted by the gifts of the Spirit.
5. To be maintained by us all.
Verses
3-4. The united church the growing church.
Verse
4.
1.
The duty of public worship.
a)
In one place: "Whither the tribes go up."
b) In one company, though of many tribes: "Whither the tribes go
up."
2.
The design.
a)
For instruction: "Unto the testimony of Israel."
b) For praise: "To give thanks unto the name of the Lord." G. R.
Verse
5.
1.
There are thrones of judgment in the sanctuary. Men are judged there.
a)
By the law.
b) By their own consciences.
c) By the gospel.
2.
There are thrones of grace: "Of the house of David."
a)
Of David's Son in the hearts of his people.
b) Of his people in David's Son. G.R.
Verse
6.
1.
The prayer,
a)
"For Jerusalem": not for ourselves merely, or for the world; but for
the church. For the babes in grace; for the young men, and for the fathers. For
the pastors, with the deacons and elders.
b)
For the "peace" of Jerusalem. Inward peace and outward peace.
2.
The promise.
a)
To whom given: "They that love thee."
b)
The promise itself: "They shall prosper"—individually and
collectively.
Or,
1.
Love to Jerusalem is the effect of true piety.
2. Prayer for Jerusalem is the effect of that love.
3. The peace of Jerusalem is the effect of that prayer; and,
4. The prosperity of Jerusalem is the effect of that peace. G.R.
Verse
6. God has connected giving and receiving, scattering and
increasing, sowing and reaping, praying and prospering.
1.
What we must do if we would prosper—"Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem."
a)
Comprehensively: "Peace"—spiritual, social, ecclesiastical, national.
b)
Supremely: "Prefer Jerusalem above, "etc.
c)
Practically: "Let peace rule in your hearts." "Seek peace and
pursue it."
2.
What we shall gain if we pray thus—"Prosperity."
a)
Temporal prosperity may thus come. God turned again the captivity of Job when
he prayed for his friends.
b)
Spiritual prosperity shall thus come. Affairs of soul—holy exercises and
services.
c)
Numerical prosperity will thus come. "Increased with men as a flock."
W. J.
Verses
6-9.
1.
The blessings desired for the church.
a)
Peace.
b) Prosperity. Notice the order and connection of these two.
2.
The way to secure them.
a)
Prayer: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
b) Delight in the service of God: "I was glad, "etc.
c) Practical effort: "I will seek thy good."
3.
Reasons for seeking them.
a)
For our own sake: "They shall prosper," etc.
b) For our companions' sake.
c) For the sake of the "house of the Lord." F. J. B.
Verse
7.
1.
Where peace is most desirable: "Within thy walls." Within town walls,
within house walls, but principally within temple walls.
2.
Where prosperity is most desirable.
a)
In the closet.
b)
In the church. These are the palaces of the Great King; "The ivory palaces
whereby they have made thee glad." G. R.
Verse
7. The connection between peace and prosperity.
Verse
7. Thy walls.
1.
Enquire why the church needs walls.
2. Enquire what are the walls of a church.
3. Enquire on which side of them we are.
Verse
7. The church a palace.
1.
Intended for the great King.
2. Inhabited by the royal family.
3. Adorned with regal splendour.
4. Guarded by special power.
5. Known as the court of the blessed and only potentate.
Verses
8-9. Two great principles are here laid down why we should pray for
the church,
1.
Love to the brethren: "For my brethren and companions' sakes."
2.
Love to God: "Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy
good." N. M`michael.
Verse
9. I will seek thy good.
1.
By prayer for the church.
2. By service in the church.
3. By bringing others to attend.
4. By keeping the peace.
5. By living so as to commend religion.
WORKS UPON THE
HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SECOND PSALM
In "Chandler's
Life of David, "vol. 2. pp. 131-4, there is an Exposition of this
Psalm.
Ecclesia
Triumphans: That is, the Joy of the English Church, for the Happie
Coronation of the most vertuous and pious Prince.
IAMES by the grace
of God King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland. . . . With a briefe
Exposition of the 122. Psalme, and fit application to the time... The second
edition. By ANDREW WILLETT.] Printed by IOHN LEGAT, Printer to the Vniuersitie
of Cambridge, 1614. Folio. This Exposition is generally to be found bound up
with Willett's "Harmonie vpon the First Booke of Samuel."
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》