Psalms 122

Psalms 122THEME: The pilgrim comes within sight of JerusalemThis is the third song of degrees. In Psalms 120 we saw the Jew in distress; he was in a neighborhood that was unfavorable to himhe was being talked about and lied about. He leaves that, takes his family, and goes up to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the feasts of the Jews. In Psalms 121 he comes within sight of the Judean hills. He continues traveling until he reaches the wonderful city of Jerusalem. This is where the tribes come to celebrate the feasts of the Lord.

Psalms 122:1

The weary pilgrims after their long journey stand at last in the gates of their beloved Jerusalem. They lift their eyes to the templethere it stands with its shining gold glittering in the bright sunlight. A glad cry passes from lip to lip, “Let us go into the house of the LORD!” This beautiful psalm is also a prophecy. It is a millennial psalm looking forward to the time when all the tribes will go up to Jerusalem and assemble themselves for worship. They have been out of their city for a long time. They actually do not have full possession of it today. They cannot build their temple on the temple site because the Mosque of Omar is there. All of the sacred places are pretty well covered by Gentiles. In Hos_3:4-5 we read, “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.” There is going to be a millennial Jerusalem. And what will the returning tribes find? Dr. Gaebelein describes it this way: “A magnificent city compacted together, not only architecturally, a vast, a great, a beautiful city, but compacted together spiritually. Her warfare is over. She is no longer in strife and in danger of attack” (The Book of Psalms, p. 447). This will be the city of Jerusalem in the Millennium. What a glorious prospect this psalm pictures!