Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 122:9

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 122:9. Because of the house of the Lord our God — Particularly will I wish thee well, because thou art the seat of religion, the place where our merciful God has condescended to dwell.

To the captives in Babylon the Prophet Jeremiah had given this charge, Jeremiah 29:7: "And seek שלום shalom, the prosperity of the city, whither I have caused you to be carried captives, and pray unto the Lord for it; for in the prosperity thereof ye shall have prosperity."

Was this a duty for the captives? Yes. And is it the duty of every man for his own country? God, nature, common sense, and self-interest say, YES! And what must we think of the wretches who not only do not thus pray, but labour to destroy the public peace, to subvert the government of their country, to raise seditions, and to destroy all its civil and religious institutions? Think of them! Why, that hemp would be disgraced by hanging them.

There is a fine picture given us here of the state of Jerusalem after the restoration of the Jews. The walls were finished, the city rebuilt, beautiful, strong, and regular, the temple and its worship were restored, the courts of justice were re-established, the constituted authorities in Church and state were doing their duty; and God was pouring out his blessing upon all. Who could see this without praying, May God increase thy peace, and establish thy prosperity for ever!

ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SECOND PSALM

The psalmist, in the person of the people, -

I. Expresses his joy that he might join with the Church in God's service, Psalms 122:1-2.

II. Commends the Church, under the name of Jerusalem, for her unity, Psalms 122:3; religious worship, Psalms 122:4; civil and ecclesiastical policy, Psalms 122:5.

III. Exhorts all to pray for its peace and prosperity, Psalms 122:6; and puts the form of prayer into their mouths, Psalms 122:7.

IV. Shows his own readiness to do this, and offers up his supplications, Psalms 122:8-9.

I. The psalmist congratulates himself and the people on the restoration of God's worship: -

1. He expresses his own joy: "I was glad."

2. To hear of the unanimity of the people mutually exhorting each other to it: "When they said unto me."

3. "Let us go into the house of the Lord." Let us all go, hear his word, give him thanks, and make prayers and supplications to him.

II. He commends Jerusalem three ways: -

1. For its unity: it was compact together; it was united in itself; and united, both in politics and religion, in its inhabitants.

2. For its being the place of God's worship: 1. For "thither the tribes go up" thrice in the year, as was ordained, Exodus 23:14, to celebrate their deliverance from Egypt, in keeping the passover. 2. The giving of the law, in the feast of pentecost. 3. Their preservation in the wilderness, in the feast of tabernacles.

These tribes are "the tribes of the Lord." A very honourable title.

"Unto the testimony of Israel." To the ark of the covenant, the pledge of the covenant between God and the people.

The end for which they went up: "To give thanks unto the name of the Lord."

3. He commends Jerusalem for its civil and ecclesiastical policy: 1. "For there are set thrones of judgment." The tribunals and courts of justice are there. 2. "The thrones of the house of David." The court and throne of a legitimate sovereign.

III. He exhorts the tribes to pray for a continuance of its present happy state.

1. "Pray for the peace," c. It is our duty to pray for the prosperity of the nation and of the Church of God.

2. "They shall prosper that love thee." Those who love both are blessed, those who do not are cursed.

3. And that we may know the prayer that God will hear, he puts one in our mouth, "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." It is well to join peace and prosperity together. Peace without prosperity is but a secure possession of misery and prosperity without peace is but a dubious and uncertain felicity.

1. "Peace be within thy walls." Not only thy fortifications, civil and religious institutions, but also among all thy officers, soldiers, and inhabitants, for they constitute the strength and safety of the kingdom.

2. "And prosperity within thy palaces." In the king's house, his family, his ministers; if there be dissensions there, ruin will soon follow.

IV. The psalmist shows his own readiness to do this.

1. "I will now say, Peace be within thee." So should all the ministers of religion pray.

2. "I will seek thy good." So should the king and every officer of state resolve. All should be united in so good a work. They should not seek their own good, but the good, not the goods, of the people.

For this the psalmist gives these reasons: -

1. "For my brethren and companions' sakes." We are not only subjects of one king, citizens of the same city, but we have all one God and Father.

2. "Because of the house of the Lord." For the maintenance of true religion. If religion fail, the kingdom will fail; prosperity will be at an end; the nation will be divided, distracted, destroyed. Religion, the true religion in a country, is the consolation of the good, and the bridle that holds in the jaws of the wicked. Let us all pray for the prosperity of pure and undefiled religion, and the prosperity of the state!

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 120-124 To Jerusalem for worship

Each of the fifteen Psalms 120:0 to 134 is entitled ‘A Song of Ascents’ (RSV; NIV). These psalms were apparently sung by worshippers from the country areas as they made the journey up to Jerusalem for the various annual festivals.

Whether or not the psalms were written for this purpose, they have been arranged in a sequence that reflects the feelings of the travellers. They provide expressions of worship for the travellers as they set out from distant regions, travel through the country, come to Jerusalem, and finally join in the temple ceremonies.
The collection opens with a cry from one who lives in a distant region and is bitterly persecuted by his neighbours (120:1-2). Their insults pierce him like sharp arrows and burn him like red-hot coals. He prays that God’s punishment of them will be just as painful (3-4). He is tired of being victimized. He feels as if he lives in a far-off land where he is surrounded by attackers from hostile tribes. He will set out for Jerusalem and seek some peace and refreshment of spirit in God’s house (5-7).
As he journeys through the hill country, the man knows that God who made the hills cares for him (121:1-2). Even when he sleeps by the roadside at night, God, who never sleeps, watches over him (3-4). God protects him from dangers by day and by night (5-6). Surely, God will take him to Jerusalem and bring him safely home again (7-8).
In the excitement of anticipation, the traveller pictures his dream as fulfilled. He recalls a psalm of David and pictures himself at last standing in Jerusalem as David once did (122:1-2). He sees it as a beautiful, well-built city, where the tribes of Israel are united in their worship of God, and where God rules his people through the throne of David (3-5). He prays that God will always preserve the city and prosper its people (6-8). He himself will do all he can for the city’s good (9).
Ungodly people mock the poor traveller, and others who have now joined him, for putting up with such hardships just to attend a religious festival in Jerusalem. The worshippers ask God to give them some relief by silencing those who mock them (123:1-4).
The persecuted travellers once more recall the experience of David and sing one of his psalms that reflects their own experience. As David was persecuted, so are they. Only through God’s grace and power have they been kept from much worse treatment (124:1-3). Their enemies are as violent and destructive as a raging flood (4-5), as cruel as wild animals (6) and as cunning as bird-trappers (7), but the travellers have the great Creator on their side (8).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"For my brethren and companion's sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek thy good."

"I will seek thy good (Jerusalem's good)" These words cannot be made to fit the mouth of an ordinary pilgrim coming to Jerusalem to worship. The business of seeking the good of a great walled city is the business of a king, not that of an ordinary citizen.

The reasons here assigned for the concern and solicitation for the peace, prosperity and "good" of Jerusalem are: (1) for the sake of the psalmist's brethren; (2) for that of his companions; and (3) for the sake of the "house of Jehovah."

How, then did this psalm come to be among the psalms of the Little Psalter mentioned in the introduction to these fifteen psalms? There could have been nothing whatever in the way of adopting this "Psalm of David" as an appropriate addition to the little hymnal that the worshippers traveling to the three great annual festivals in Jerusalem would have found to be most appropriate.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good - Because of the sanctuary within thee; because that is the place where God is worshipped. The principal attraction in thee is the fact that in thee is the place where the worship of God is celebrated. It is this which gives its main importance in my view to the place; it is for this, and because I desire its influence to be perpetuated and extended, that I seek thy prosperity. This expresses a deep feeling in the mind of a pious man. To him the church of God is the most important of all objects, gives the principal interest to a place, and is everywhere to him the chief attraction. The church does more to adorn a place than anything else; it is that which exerts the best influence on a place, and sends the best influence abroad; it is that which to him is the source of chief comfort and delight. His heart is there; his main delight is there; his arrangements will be made so as best to enjoy the privileges of the sanctuary; and his plans of life will all contemplate the welfare, the extension, and the influence of the church of God. It is religion which in his view is the chief ornament of a place; religion which in any community is the principal fountain of its happiness and prosperity; religion which is the central and controlling influence on the private dwellings, and the public institutions, of a nation.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

9.Because of the house of Jehovah our God, etc. In this verse he adds a second reason why he cared for the Church — that he did so, because the worship of God so far from remaining entire would go to ruin unless Jerusalem continued standing. If then the salvation of our brethren is regarded by us as an object of importance, if religion is with us a matter of heart-work, we ought, at the same time, as much as in us lies, to take an interest in the prosperity of the Church. Whence it follows, that such are indifferent about her condition, are no less cruel than impious; for if she is “the pillar and foundation of truth,” the inevitable consequence of her destruction must be the extinction of true piety. And if the body is destroyed, how can each of the members fail to be involved in destruction? Farther, this passage teaches us that the Church is not an empty title, but must be sought for where the true religion prevails. Whence it appears, how foolish the Papists are, who, notwithstanding their having rejected and overthrown the doctrine of the Gospel, yet mightily boast of the name of the Church.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 122:1-9 continues. The idea is I'm traveling now towards Jerusalem. I'm with probably a company of fifty, a hundred people. They always got together for these trips to Jerusalem. That is why, actually, when Jesus was twelve years old, when his parents left Jerusalem, they left with a big company of people going back up towards Nazareth. And that's why they could get out a whole day's journey without missing Him. You know, He's probably with His cousins or you know, with part of the crowd. And it wasn't until dinnertime that they began to look around and couldn't find Him. And then is when they had to retrace their steps back to Jerusalem, because they would always travel with a big company.

And how glorious that must have been, coming towards Jerusalem with a large company of people. Of course, let us say that we here... say it was the big conclave that's going to be in San Bernardino. And we all decided you know, "Well, let's go and let's worship the Lord in San Bernardino. Or up at the conference center." So we get the idea of going up, but we didn't have cars. We're going to have to walk. So we all have our provisions. We start out together. We're singing as we're going down the road. The children are throwing rocks and taking sticks and beating trees and this kind of stuff, you know. And it's a big kind of an occasion going to worship the Lord.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the house of the LORD ( Psalms 122:1 ).

Someone suggested, "Well, let's go up this year. Come on, let's go up to the house of the Lord." All right. "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'"

For our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem ( Psalms 122:2 ).

The anticipation. Now there is something about Jerusalem, once your feet have stood within the gates, you always want to go back and stand again. There's something magnetic about that place. Once having stood there, there's always a yearning to go back.

Every year after our visit to Israel, Kay and I come home and we're trying to get over jet lag and we'll say, "Well, this is our last year. You know, this will be it. It's just, you know." But my, as the time approaches to leave again, we get so excited. We're all planning and getting things all set and ready to go, and we're eager and raring to go again. There's just something about the place; you just love to go back again and again. "Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem." Glorious anticipation.

For Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: Whither the tribes go up ( Psalms 122:3-4 ),

And that is, the people. All the word compact together means that all the people gather together within it in a compact type of a group. "Whither the tribes go up."

the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD ( Psalms 122:4 ).

So all of the people gathering together to give thanks to the Lord.

For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David ( Psalms 122:5 ).

Jerusalem is the capital. Jerusalem is the center.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee ( Psalms 122:6 ).

We had a fellow come in this past week who God has given the gift of giving. And he said, "I like to give where I know that God is going to bless me." And so a while back, he gave money designated to be distributed to the poor. Because the scriptures said, "He who lends to the poor lends to the Lord" ( Proverbs 19:17 ). He said, "I like to just lend some money to the Lord." So he said, "Just distribute this to the poor, because I know God's interested in the poor and God's going to bless me."

Well, he came back and he said, "Well, God has blessed me because I distributed to the poor." He said, "Now I want to give again where I know that God will bless. And God said that He would bless those that bless Israel. And so I want to give a gift just for the nation of Israel. Let it come from the church and I want you to take it over with you when you go." So we'll be taking a gift to Israel when we go over in January. We're going to give it to Prime Minister Begin and just tell him it's from the Christians at Calvary Chapel because we're praying for the peace of Jerusalem and we love them for preserving the Bible for us and for bringing us our Savior. And we're just going to give it in the name of the Lord to the nation. And if you'd like to contribute to that fund, you can just designate it. "They shall prosper," it says, "that love thee."

He said, "God has so blessed me for giving to the poor, loaning to Him for the poor. Now I want to give into something else that God has declared Himself for." So he gave me a check for $450,000 that I'll be taking over. He says, "My accountant says this is what I need to write off for the end of the year." So loaning to the poor pays pretty good interest.

Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee ( Psalms 122:7-8 ).

He tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and then he offers sort of a prayer, "Peace be within thy walls. For the companions' sake, I will now say, 'Peace be within thee.'"

Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good ( Psalms 122:9 ).

Still in the anticipation of gathering in Jerusalem to worship the Lord. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 122

David spoke of his delight in going up to the temple to worship God in this short psalm. He exhorted the Israelites to pray for the security of Jerusalem so that this blessing might continue. Such a condition, i.e., a peaceful state, would glorify God, as well as benefit His people.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Because of the house of the Lord our God,.... Not because of his own palace, nor because of his own house and family; nor because of his own personal interest; though all were concerned in the peace of Jerusalem: but chiefly because of the sanctuary of the Lord, as the Targum; because of the worship and service of God in it; because of his great love and zeal for the house and church of the living God, which ate him up, Psalms 69:9;

I will seek thy good; the good of Jerusalem, the good of the church of God; do all the good he could to it both with his purse and prayers, and by stirring up others to do the same; see Psalms 51:18.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.   7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.   8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.   9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

      Here, I. David calls upon others to which well to Jerusalem, Psalms 122:6; Psalms 122:7. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for the welfare of it, for all good to it, particularly for the uniting of the inhabitants among themselves and their preservation from the incursions of enemies. This we may truly desire, that in the peace thereof we may have peace; and this we must earnestly pray for, for it is the gift of God, and for it he will be enquired of. Those that can do nothing else for the peace of Jerusalem can pray for it, which is something more than showing their good-will; it is the appointed way of fetching in mercy. The peace and welfare of the gospel church, particularly in our land, is to be earnestly desired and prayed for by every one of us. Now, 1. We are here encouraged in our prayers for Jerusalem's peace: Those shall prosper that love thee. We must pray for Jerusalem, not out of custom, nor for fashion's sake, but out of a principle of love to God's government of man and man's worship of God; and, in seeking the public welfare, we seek our own, for so well does God love the gates of Zion that he will love all those that do love them, and therefore they cannot but prosper; at least their souls shall prosper by the ordinances they so dearly love. 2. We are here directed in our prayers for it and words are put into our mouths (Psalms 122:7; Psalms 122:7): Peace be within thy walls. He teaches us to pray, (1.) For all the inhabitants in general, all within the walls, from the least to the greatest. Peace be in thy fortifications; let them never be attacked, or, if they be, let them never be taken, but be an effectual security to the city. (2.) For the princes and rulers especially: Let prosperity be in the palaces of the great men that sit at the helm and have the direction of public affairs; for, if they prosper, it will be well for the public. The poorer sort are apt to envy the prosperity of the palaces, but they are here taught to pray for it.

      II. He resolves that whatever others do he will approve himself a faithful friend to Jerusalem, 1. In his prayers: "I will now say, now I see the tribes so cheerfully resorting hither to the testimony of Israel, and the matter settled, that Jerusalem must be the place where God will record his name, now I will say, Peace be within thee." He did not say, "Let others pray for the public peace, the priests and the prophets, whose business it is, and the people, that have nothing else to do, and I will fight for it and rule for it." No; "I will pray for it too." 2. In his endeavours, with which he will second his prayers: "I will, to the utmost of my power, seek thy good." Whatever lies within the sphere of our activity to do for the public good we must do it, else we are not sincere in praying for it. Now it might be said, No thanks to David to be so solicitous for the welfare of Jerusalem; it was his own city, and the interests of his family were lodged in it. This is true; yet he professes that this was not the reason why he was in such care for the welfare of Jerusalem, but it proceeded from the warm regard he had, (1.) To the communion of saints: It is for my brethren and companions' sakes, that is, for the sake of all true-hearted Israelites, whom I look upon as my brethren (so he called them, 1 Chronicles 28:2) and who have often been my companions in the worship of God, which has knit my heart to them. (2.) To the ordinances of God: He had set his affections to the house of his God (1 Chronicles 29:3); he took a great pleasure in public worship, and for that reason would pray for the good of Jerusalem. Then our concern for the public welfare is right when it is the effect of a sincere love to God's institutions and his faithful worshippers.