Psalm 122
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Most translations, “A Song of Ascents. Of David.”
NLT, “A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.”
Psalm 120-134 are all psalms of ascent—psalms Jewish pilgrims would have used as they made their way to Jerusalem for one of the annual feasts.
Psalm 120 highlights the trials of the Jewish as a stranger in a strange land.
Psalm 121 emphasizes the hazards of his travel as he makes his way to the holy city.
Finally, in Psalm 122 he arrives in Jerusalem and rejoices in His God.
By the end of this group of psalms, we will see this Jewish pilgrim go to the ark, the priests, and the temple servants who ministered day and night in the house of the Lord.
Through these psalms, we get to join this pilgrim on his journey to Jerusalem even as we make our way toward the New Jerusalem from above.
MAJOR IDEAS
MAJOR IDEAS
THE PILGRIM’S JOY (vv. 1-2)
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,
Verse 1
Q: Who was it that first invited (or took) you to church?
Most translations, “I was glad when they said to me…”
CSB, “I rejoiced with those who said to me...”
LEB, “I rejoiced in those who said to me…”
This gladness is not just internal; it is expressed.
It is either expressed with those who invited David to the house of the Lord; in this case, the invited rejoices with the invited over going to the house of the Lord.
Or it may be that the rejoicing is in those who invited David to the house; in this case, the invited rejoices over the inviting, perhaps exclaiming, “Thank you God that these precious people invited me to the house of the Lord!”
Luther, “Our Jerusalem is the church, and our temple is Christ. Wheresoever Christ is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered, there we are sure God dwells; and there is our temple, our tabernacle, our cherubim, and our mercy-seat; for there God is present with us in His Word.”
What a blessing it is to go to the house of the Lord, to gather for worship with the church!
What a blessing those are to us who invite us to go to the house of the Lord!
Let us make sure that our rejoicing in these blessings (the blessings of God’s house and God’s people; i.e., rejoicing in the blessings of His church) is not just internally but also externally expressed.
Q: What are some blessings that you’ve experienced in the church?
Verse 2
English translations cover all the tenses with the verb tense in this verse.
NASB, LEB, NIV, “Our feet are standing…” (present tense)
NLV, “And now here we are, standing inside your gates...” (also present tense)
ESV, NKJV, “Our feet have been standing…” (past tense)
CSB, “Our feet were standing…” (also past tense)
KJV, “Our feet shall stand… “ (future tense)
So which is it? All of the above.
David is saying that he has stood worshipping in Jerusalem’s gates before, is doing so at present, and will do so again in the future.
Q. Have you ever fallen out attending church services? What brought you back?
Attending public worship should be our commitment even if it has always been our habit; we should present ourselves for rejoicing in the public worship of the church now and commit to doing so in the future.
THE PILGRIM’S THANKSGIVING (vv. 3-5)
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.
Verse 3
NASB, NKJV, KJV, NIV, “Jerusalem… compact(ed) together”
The idea of compact here is not ‘pressed together’ but ‘unified’ or ‘tied together’.
Different translations show this…
3 Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together,
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be, solidly united,
3 Jerusalem that is built as a city that is joined together,
Q. When have you seen the church disunited?
In the house of the Lord we must be bound firmly together; we must be solidly united. In Christ Jesus, we are God’s united house.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Verse 4
All the different tribes of Israel go up to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem during the three annual feasts. They have reason to go…
Reason one, they were commanded to go.
NASB, CSB, “ordinance” (ordinance: an authoritative command)
ESV, “decree(d)” (decree: an official order)
NIV, “statute” (statute: a written law)
KJV, NKJV, “testimony” (testimony: in this case, God’s Testimony in His Law)
18 When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.
In His Law, God commanded His people to gather in His Temple in Jerusalem for worship.
Q. How do you respond to people who say that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian?
Maybe something a little smart: You don’t have to go home to your spouse to be married, but it sure does help.
But let us remember that we have also been commanded to gather together as the church.
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
This command is reason enough for us to gather together with God’s people for worship.
Reason two, they (at least should have) wanted to go, so they could give thanks.
They gathered together because God told them to in the testimony of His Law, but they also had a testimony to share with the Lord and with others—a testimony of Thanksgiving to the Lord.
Q. What is something for which you were so thankful that you couldn’t wait to share it with God’s people?
God’s people should come together for worship eager to give thanks to God.
Counting up thanksgivings can motivate us to go to worship when we’re not feeling like it.
Verse 5
Jerusalem was not only ‘the house of the Lord,’ it was also the location of ‘The thrones of the house of David,’ the place from which the kings of God’s people distributed justice. (Or at least they were supposed to.)
The Israelites in David’s day rejoiced in their king, but these thrones point us to the descendent of David who rules with perfect justice, the descendent that God promised to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13…
12 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
We know this promise is fulfilled in Jesus because Gabriel said to Mary in Luke 1:31-33…
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
The thrones of the house of David reach their eternal zenith in the throne of King Jesus.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
The Zeal of the Lord of hosts has accomplished this and will accomplish it still.
This is reason enough to give thanks this Sunday in worship.
THE PILGRIM’S PRAYER (vv. 6-9)
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.
Q. When are you most peaceful, most tranquil in your day or week?
Verse 6
Almost all translations, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…”
Only the CSB is different, “Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem…”
Almost all translations, “May they prosper who love you.”
ESV, CSB, NIV, “secure”
LEB, “ease”
This is prosperous tranquility.
The idea of prosperity here is the idea of being ‘worry-free’ or at rest as Jesus described in Matthew 11:28-30?
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Peace (Heb. shalom) and prosperity (Heb. shala) are the two alternating prayer requests for Jerusalem in this psalm.
This peace and prosperity, however, is ultimately the result of the Spirit and rule of King Jesus.
Jerusalem will not know peace and prosperity until it knows Jesus as Messiah.
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
This ought to be our prayer for earthly Jerusalem.
This ought to be our prayer for the church too—to the know the peace and rest that comes from following Jesus closely.
Verse 7
There may be trouble outside Jerusalem’s walls and palaces (a.k.a., towers, fortresses, citadels), but the prayer is for peace and prosperity to surround and invade Jerusalem.
Q. What troubles do you see the church facing today?
The troubles in the church will only be fixed by following Jesus and His Word closely.
The troubles outside the church can threaten, but if the church is following Jesus closely, she will have the peace of God around and the prosperity of God within.
Verse 8
For the sake of others, the psalmist says to/prays for Jerusalem, “May peace be within you.”
If there was peace in ancient Jerusalem, then God’s people could go up to the house of the Lord and find peace with God.
Q. Have you seen people abandon the church because there wasn’t peace in the church?
When peace is missing from the church, the church makes it harder for people to find peace with God.
Verse 9
For the sake of the house of the Lord, David says that he will seek Jerusalem’s good.
CSB has it best, “…I will pursue your prosperity.”
The themes of peace and prosperity for ancient Jerusalem have alternated with almost every line in vv. 6-9…
v. 6a, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem...”
v. 6b, “May they prosper who love you.”
v. 7a, “May peace be within your walls...”
v. 7b, “And prosperity within your palaces.”
v. 8, “For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be with you.’”
v. 9, “For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will pursue your prosperity,” (CSB).
Q. What are some ways we can seek the peace and prosperity of the church?
The church is a city on a hill to which people should be drawn to find spiritual peace and prosperity (i.e., rest) in Jesus Christ. Of course, disunity and unrest have turned many people away from the church. For the good of others and the glory of God, God’s people should repent of disunity and unrest, and do what Romans 14:19 commands…
19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus prayed for the old Jerusalem. He gave His life just outside its walls so that we could be saved from sin and death. We should pray for the people of the old Jerusalem to know Jesus crucified and resurrection; we should thank God that we do know Him and will one day live with Him in the New Jerusalem.
In that city, ruled by King Jesus, there will only ever be perfect peace and prosperity.
But we should also understand that through faith in King Jesus, we have already come to the New Jerusalem in the Spirit.
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
And as pilgrims who have arrived in the heavenly Jerusalem by way of the Holy Spirit, we ought to live according to the culture of that city.
1 Let love of the brethren continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. 4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” 6 so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” 7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
[PRAYER]