Day 650: Jerusalem's peace - Psalm 122

1-2 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3-5 Jerusalem! Built as a city that is bound firmly together to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. 6-7 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” 8-9 For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. (From the English Standard Version)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! That was the longing of true believers as they made the pilgrim journey to keep a holy festival at the temple in the city where God had put His name. It was a place where important matters could be settled and where thanksgiving was made to God for all His mercies. (vs 3-5). So the writer encourages others to ask God to watch over the city and to give it peace. That's the setting of this Psalm. But both history and God's word show that the fulfilment of this prayer goes beyond buildings of stone made by man.

History shows that the Babylonians and Romans plundered the city and twice it was left in total ruins. Even today it's a divided city where tensions are high. And yet, God's word speaks of a glory that will outshine the joy which the physical city brought to Old Testament saints. In Isaiah 2 vs 1-3 we read: “In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all, the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. People from many nations will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.' For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.”

Over 700 years later another Jewish believer wrote to those who'd become Christians and said “You haven't come to a physical mountain . . . you’ve come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.” (Hebrews 12:22)  Jesus gave his disciple John a vision of the ultimate glory (and peace) of this heavenly Jerusalem. John wrote: “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2) That surely refers to God's redeemed people. And John adds: “I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21:22).

It is good to pray for peace in physical Jerusalem even today. But we should also pray for peace in Beirut, Beijing and Washington! That's the implications of Paul's words in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 where he says: “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” Notice that he longed for the Church to experience peace - so that godliness would not be hindered and the message of salvation would spread.

Yes, let's pray for peace for the city of Jerusalem, especially the peace that comes from realizing Jesus is the Messiah who came to give Jews and Gentiles peace with God. But let's also pray fervently for the people of spiritual Jerusalem, that Christians will know God's peace in the midst of persecutions and sufferings. Note the two things in vs 8-9 'for whose sake' the writer says he will pray. We can apply that to the family of God.

May vs 1-2 of this Psalm be true of our hearts whenever we set off to gather together with those who belong to the heavenly Jerusalem. It's expressed well in Isaac Watts's hymn which says: “How pleased and blessed was I, to hear the people cry: ‘Come, let us seek our God today!’ Yes, with a cheerful zeal, we haste to Zion’s hill, and there our vows and honours pay.”