The Happy Pilgrims. Psalm 122:1-9

Transcription

1 1 The Happy Pilgrims Psalm 122:1-9

2 2 The Happy Pilgrims Commentary by Clyde M. Miller Text: Psalm 122:1-9, 1. I rejoiced with those who said to me, Let us go to the house of the LORD. 2. Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. 3. Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. 4. That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. 5. there the thrones for judgment stqand, the thrones of the house of David. 6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. 7. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. 8. For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, Peace be within you. 9. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. NIV

3 3 Introduction: I. The title in most manuscripts of the LXX and the Vulgate omit the phrase of David. A. For the rest of the superscription, see the introduction to Psalm 120. II. The psalm gives evidence of having been written during the monarchal period, since both palace and temple are mentioned. A. In all likelihood, it was written during the period of the united monarchy, since all the tribes seem to be accustomed to going up for the festivals. 1. This psalm gives more evidence of having been written as a pilgrim psalm than any others among the Psalms of Ascents (Psalm ), with the possible exception of the last one. 2. Other Psalms of Zion may refer to pilgrimages also (Psalms 48 and Psalms 84). a. Psalm 48:1-14, Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress. When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together, they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror. Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman

4 4 in labor. You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever. Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. NIV b. Psalm 84:1-12, How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, O LORD God

5 5 Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thou sand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield;the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. NIV III. The psalmist combines three Zion motifs which may be found in Zion psalms: (1) the city as a symbol of national security under divine protection, Psalm 122:3 and 6-9; and Psalm 46 48; (2) the worship assemblies at the temple, where God symbolically dwelt, Psalm 122:4,9; Psalm 84 and Psalm 87 and (3) the king's palace, where justice was administered Psalm 122:5; Psalm 45:2 and 6-7; Psalm 72:1-4 and A. Psalm 122:3, 6-9, Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. NIV B. Psalm 46: 1-11, God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice,

6 6 the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. NIV C. Psalm 47:1-9, Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our in heritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted. NIV D. Psalm 48:1-14, Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphron is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress. When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together, they saw her and were as tounded; they fled in terror. Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor. You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD

7 7 Almighty, in the city of our God; God makes her secure forever. Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. NIV E. Psalm 122:4 and 9, That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. NIV F. Psalm 84:1-12, How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a

8 8 thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a door keeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. NIV G. Psalm 87:1-7, He has set his foundation on the holy mountain; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush and will say, This one was born in Zion. Indeed, of Zion it will be said, This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her. The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: This one was born in Zion. As they make music they will sing, All my fountains are in you. NIV H. Psalm 122:5, There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. NIV I. Psalm 45:2, 6-7, You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. NIV J. Psalm 72:1-4, 12-14, Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will judge

9 9 your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. NIV Commentary: Let Us Go To The House of the Lord. Psalm 122:1, I rejoiced with those who said to me, Let us go to the house of the LORD. NIV I. This verse pictures the swelling crowd of pilgrims as they invite the residents of the towns and villages through which they pass to join them in their journey to the temple. A. A double joy would fill the hearts of the pilgrims: (1) the anticipation of coming into the presence of God at the temple; and (2) the fellowship of fellow-pilgrims on the journey. B. House of the LORD could refer to the tabernacle (1 Samuel 1:7, 24; 2 Samuel 12:20) as well as the temple Samuel 1:7, 24, This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of

10 10 flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. NIV 2. 2 Samuel 12:20, Do not be afraid, Samuel replied. You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD but serve the LORD with all your heart. NIV Psalm 122:2,Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. NIV I. Are standing translates the Hebrew perfect tense of the verb to be, plus the participle for standing. A. The phrase could be understood as a perfect of experience signifying action of the past continuing into the present. 1. The future tense (KJV) is incorrect. B. The psalm is to be recited in the temple precincts after the pilgrimage to the temple has been completed. Zion s Threefold Blessing Psalm 122:3-5, Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. NIV

11 11 Psalm 122:3, Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. NIV I. The topography of Jerusalem, situated on four hills, made this fortified city almost impregnable against the enemy. Psalm 122:4, That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. NIV I. As the natural topography and human fortifications of the city bound it together securely, so the annual worship assemblies bound the nation together under God in a bond of unity. Psalm 122:5, There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. NIV I. Provided the kings administered justice as God intended, the palace would also be a symbol of unity and security. The Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 122:6-9, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, Peace be within you. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. NIV Psalm 122:6-7, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. NIV I. It is not enough to have these outward symbols of security.

12 12 A. Hence, Israel needs to express her trust in the Lord by praying for the peace of Jerusalem. 1. Prosperity will come to those who love what Jerusalem symbolizes. B. There is a beautiful double word play involved in these two verses. 1. In Psalm 122:6, the last part of the word Jerusalem, shalam, means peace. 2. In Psalm 122:7, the word peace and the word security, shalwah, involve alliteration. C. Such devices were intended to catch and hold the attention of the worshiper. 1. Doubtless, Jesus made a similar word play on the word peace (Luke 19:42), and may possibly have been alluding to this psalm. a. Luke 19:42, Saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. KJV Psalm 122:8-9, For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, Peace be within you. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. NIV

13 13 I. A twofold motive prompts the prayer: (1) brotherly love, Psalm 122:8, and (2) love of God, Psalm 122:9, who symbolically dwells in the temple. Application: I. An opportunity for going to a worship assembly should always be an occasion of joy. A. There we join brothers and sisters of like precious faith, and there we meet God in spirit. B. Proper love for God and for fellow Christians will ensure that the assembly will be spiritually uplifting and beneficial. Questions Psalm 122:1-9 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. I with those who said to me, Let us go to the of the. Our are in your, O. 2. is like a that is. This is where the go up, the of the, to the of the according to the

14 14 given to. There the for stand, the of the of. 3. for the of : May those who you be. May there be within your and within your. For the of my and, I will say, be within you. For the of the of the our, I will your. 4. When and by whom was Psalm 122 written? 5. What three motifs may be found in Zion psalms? 6. Psalm 122:1 pictures the of as they the of the and through which they to them in their to the.

15 What double joy would fill the hearts of the pilgrims? 8. To what does the House of the LORD refer? 9. Psalm 122 is to be in the after the to the has been completed. 10. The of, situated on, made this almost against the. 11. As the and at the it together, so the the together under in a of. 12. of were not enough. needed to her in the by for the of.

16 Explain the use of the word play as found in verses 6 and What similar word play did Jesus use? 15. What twofold motive prompted the prayer referenced in verses 8 and 9? 16. What makes going to worship an occasion of joy? 17. Do you rejoice when you are invited to worship, when invited to go to the house of the LORD? If not, what would make it a happy occasion?

17 The psalmist directed, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Will this prayer ever be answered? Give reasons to support your answer. 19. Let us pray for the peace of the church. What can we do to help bring this about? 20. How can we produce peace within our individual hearts and lives?