Deeper Commentary
I was glad when they said to me, Let’s go up to Yahweh’s house!-
This may have begun as David's prophetic anticipation of the day when
the temple would be built, and he would be invited to go up there in
worship- implying his faith in bodily resurrection, seeing he had been
told that such a temple would not be built in his lifetime. But the Psalm
is obviously used in hope that the temple would be restored and the exiles
with joy would receive the invitation to "go up" there. But the reality
was so different; the majority of them refused to "go up" when invited to
by Cyrus, preferring exile in opulent Persia. And so these things are
reapplied to a new Israel and a new temple.
Psa 122:2
This is the more pertinent to the exiles when we recall that the
gates of Jerusalem were totally broken down.
Psa 122:3
Again we recall that at the time of the exiles, Jerusalem was not at
all "built" but was in ruins. The exiles were invited to return and build
it into a compact city, rather than a broken down set of ruins. "Compact
together" could be translated to the effect that it was built in
fellowship together, perhaps referring to the unity of the builders and
the unity to be found within it. But the majority turned down the
invitation and remained in Persia / Babylon; and the exiles were anything
but united, as the records in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai-Malachi make clear.
These things therefore come ultimately true in the things of the new
Jerusalem which the New Testament speaks of.
Psa 122:4
The implication is that the true Israel go up to keep the feasts at
the sanctuary. The fact most of the exiles didn't want to "go up"
therefore precluded them from being the true Israel. The Psalm had its
historical origin in David's longing to be able to get to the sanctuary to
keep the feasts (Ps. 42:2 etc.). This was to be the longing of the exiles
to return to Zion; but generally, they preferred to remain in exile.
Psa 122:5
This was a Psalm by David, originally (:1). He looked for the day
when his throne would be established in Jerusalem, replacing the throne of
Saul. "Thrones" may be an intensive plural for the one great throne- that
of David, which would also be the time of judgment on all those who had
opposed him. This will finally be fulfilled in the reestablishment of
David's throne, when the Lord Jesus returns to Jerusalem. And that throne
will also be the throne of His judgment, which will also be in Jerusalem
(rather than in Sinai, as some curiously believe).
Psa 122:6
Peace was impossible for Jerusalem until Judah repented (Jer. 4:10;
Ez. 13:16). "Peace" in the Bible is often 'peace with God'. The desire was
therefore for the day to come when Judah would repent, and the restoration
prophecies of Judah's peace would come true. Peace will only finally go
forth from Jerusalem when the latter day invaders are destroyed and the
Lord Jesus establishes His Kingdom there (Zech. 9:10 s.w.).
Psa 122:7
This was to be in contrast with how the enemies of Zion apparently
prospered in her destruction (s.w. Lam. 1:5). This is a prayer that the
current situation will be inverted. Zion's destruction had been because
"prosperity" had led them to turn away from their God (s.w. Jer. 22:21;
Ez. 16:49). The prayer was that prosperity would come without the tendency
to unspirituality which it brings in a secular sense.
Psa 122:8
The returning exiles were to be aware that their desire for the peace
of Jerusalem, the fulfilment of the restoration prophecies and the end of
the 70 year exile, were not to be simply for their own sake; but for the
sake of their distant brothers and also their companions with them on the
journey. We likewise must not wish our place in the Kingdom or the coming
of that Kingdom purely for our own sakes; but for that of the wider
community.
Psa 122:9
'Seeking the good' of Jerusalem is exactly the phrase used in the context
of the restoration in Neh. 2:10. And in response, God would 'seek the
good' of all who sought the good of Jerusalem (s.w. Ezra 8:22). The idea
may be that the returning exiles were to seek the good of their brethren
(:8) for the sake of the restored Kingdom / house of God. "The good" of
both their brethren and the Kingdom of God was one and the same- the
restored Kingdom to the glory of Yahweh.
Previous Chapter
