Psalms 122:1

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. As Psalms 121:1 was sung in sight of Jerusalem's distant hills, so this psalm at the gates, when the pilgrims halted to form the procession to the sanctuary. Psalms 122:1. Introduction (Psalms 122:1); excellency of Jerusalem, the civil and religious capital of all Israel (Psalms 122:3); prayers for its peace, as involving the interests of the whole national brotherhood, and of the house of God (Psalms 122:6). Compare...

1_I was glad when they said to me. _God had often told Moses, that his Sanctuary would one day have a certain and fixed place of abode; yet from the time of Moses, for the space of more than a thousand years, the Ark of the Covenant had been carried about from place to place, as if it had been in a state of pilgrimage. At length it was revealed to David, that mount Zion was the spot where God would have his ark to be settled, and his temple built. Now, as David himself received this revelation with exceeding great joy, so he affirms that he was glad to find the whole people with one consent agreeing thereto. This circumstance has not been duly considered, and the consequence is, that interpreters have given the unhappy translation—_I was glad with those that said to me. _Such a rendering, however, only renders the sense a little obscure; but the translation of the Septuagint and the Vulg...

1-5 The pleasure and profit from means of grace, should make us disregard trouble and fatigue in going to them; and we should quicken one another to what is good. We should desire our Christian friends, when they have any good work in hand, to call for us, and take us with them. With what readiness should we think of the heavenly Jerusalem! How cheerfully should we bear the cross and welcome death, in hopes of a crown of glory! Jerusalem is called the beautiful city. It was a type of the gospel church, which is compact together in holy love and Christian communion, so that it is all as one city. If all the disciples of Christ were of one mind, and kept the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, their enemies would be deprived of their chief advantages against them. But Satan's maxim always has been, to divide that he may conquer; and few Christians are sufficiently aware of his design...

PSALM CXXII _The satisfaction of a gracious soul in the use of God's_ _ordinances_, 1, 2. _Description of the internal government of Jerusalem_, 3-5. _Prayers for its peace and prosperity_, 6-9. NOTES ON PSALM CXXII In the preceding Psalms we find the poor captives crying to God for deliverance; here they are returning thanks that they find they are permitted to return to their own land and to the ordinances of their God. Verse Psalms 122:1. _I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID_] When Cyrus published an edict for their return, the very first object of their thanks

I WAS GLAD - It was a subject; of joy to me. The return of the happy season when we were to go up to worship filled me with joy. The language is expressive of the, happiness which is felt by those who love God and his sanctuary, when the stated season of worship returns. The heart is drawn to the house of prayer; the soul is filled with peace at the prospect of being again permitted to worship God. Who the speaker here is, is not known. It may have been David himself; more probably, however, it was designed by him to be used by those who should go up to worship, as expressive of their individual joy. WHEN THEY SAID UNTO ME - When it was said unto me. When the time arrived. When I was invited by others to go. The announcement was joyful; the invitation was welcome. It met the desires of my heart, and I embraced the invitation cheerfully and joyfully. Let us go into

EXPOSITION THE "title" assigns this psalm to David; and there seems to be no sufficient reason why his authorship should not be accepted. The description of Jerusalem exactly suits his day (Psalms 122:3). The "thrones of judgment, thrones of the house of David" (Psalms 122:5) would be his own throne and that of his son Solomon, whom he associated. The "house of the Lord" (Psalms 122:1) would be the tabernacle which David set up (2 Samuel 6:17). The "tribes of the Lord," which were all united under David (2 Samuel 5:5),

I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID UNTO ME,.... Or, "I rejoiced in", or "because of, those that said unto me" b; or, "in what was said unto me". For it may regard not only the time when he had this pleasure of mind, but the persons who gave it, as well as the ground and reason of the things said unto him, as follows: LET US GO INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD; the house of the sanctuary, as the Targum; the tabernacle, the place of divine worship, typical of the church of God; which is an house of his building, beautifying, and repairing, and where he dwells: it has all the essentiality of a house; its materials are lively stones; its foundation Christ; its pillars ministers of the word; the beams of it stable believers; its windows the ordinances; and the door into it faith in Christ, and a profession of it. Now it is both the duty and privilege of believers to go into it; here they find spiritual ple...

We will read two portions of Scripture relating to public worship; the first will be Psalms 122:1 , one of David's «Songs of degrees.» (See Luke 18:1 for second portion.) Psalms 122:1. _I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD._ «I was glad for my own sake, for I hungered and thirsted to go into the house of the Lord; I was glad for the sake of those who offered to go with me, for I delight to see in others a longing desire to profit by the means of grace; I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.'» Psalms 122:2. Our feet shall sta

A SONG OF DEGREES Literally, "of ascents." Perhaps chanted by the people as they went up to Jerusalem to the feasts. See, for example (Psalms 112:1); (Psalms 112:2)....

PSALM 120-134 The Psalms of Degrees Fifteen brief Psalms follow, called songs of degrees, or, ascents. They were in all probability used by Israel going up to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the feasts of the Lord--”Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, a testimony for Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.” They are indeed Psalms of “the goings-up” for we rise higher and higher as we read through them. Prophetically they give us again the steps from trial and suffering to the glorious consummation. As they are so simple in language and construction no lengthy annotations are needed. Psalms 120:1 begins with distress, picturing again the suffering of the righteous godly remnant. In Psalms 121:1 the Keeper of Israel, the Covenant Keeping God, is revealed