Psalm 122 doesn’t tell you how you should interpret news from the Middle East. It describes how you should think about and live in the church.

Psalm 122 calls people to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and to seek her good (6, 9). Is the Psalm calling us to be politically pro-Israel, as some people interpret it today? Or is it teaching something more basic to your walk with God?

What Is the Psalm Saying?

The psalm is an ode to Jerusalem as the spiritual and political capital of the nation of Israel. Taken literally, the psalm tells readers to hold Jerusalem in their hearts, pray for her peace, and seek her good. It is, after all, no ordinary city. Scripture repeatedly calls it “the holy city” (e.g. Is. 52:1; Matt. 27:53). Its conquest is one of the lead stories in the book of Judges. David himself recaptured it from the Jebusites (1 Chron 11:4–5; cf. Judges 1:8). And of all the locations on the globe, it was the place where God decreed that his people should worship him. At least three times annually Israelite men were to go up to worship the Lord in this city that was centrally located among the twelve tribes (Ex. 23:17; Deut. 16:16). Even in Jesus’ day, it was correct to say that “in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship” (John 4:20).

So for pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the prescribed times of worship David provided a stirring song. The psalm taught God’s people a proper attitude about the city. Jerusalem was never meant to be viewed as a religious shrine. There was nothing magical about its location. God could have chosen any other city, just like he could have chosen any other tribe to be his people. As it is possible today for people to come to church without communing with God, so Jerusalem had no spiritual value for unbelieving pilgrims. But as God’s symbolic earthly seat it held huge spiritual significance. Jerusalem was special because, like a sacrament, it was a physical sign of God’s promise to be with his people. It was where God had chosen to place his name (2 Chron. 6:6), where he symbolically sat enthroned above the ark (2 Sam. 6:2, 12).

In this light David helps worshipers express the joy they should feel as they went up to worship. Suppose that as a serious believer you could only come to church a few times a year. You too would be glad when they said to you, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” (Ps. 122:1). The true pilgrim didn’t see the potentially long and arduous trip as a burden, but as a welcome opportunity to “give thanks to the name of the Lord” (Ps. 122:4). Israelites might also travel to Jerusalem to receive a decision on a case that was too difficult for local judges (Deut. 17:8–13). Going to Jerusalem to seek justice might have been something like learning that your case will be heard by the Supreme Court. “There the thrones for judgment were set” (Ps. 122:5). It was a great privilege for a pious Israelite to say, “Our feet have been standing within your gates O Jerusalem!” (Ps. 122:2). There his justice should reign and his mercy flow to every penitent person.

Read More