Psalm 122:1-9 A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Jerusalem is the preeminent city above all other cities of antiquity and in the modern day. Jerusalem is mentioned over eight hundred times in the Scripture and is vitally essential historically, presently, and in the prophetic future.
In Psalm 122, King David wrote, “A song of degrees.” There, he expressed worshippers’ joy and gladness as they ascended to Jerusalem on their pilgrim journey. People of every tribe, north, south, east, and west, traveled upward to Zion, the city on a hill.
Singing as they climbed, worshippers could reflect on the city’s glorious past and, by faith, look to its magnificent future. Writing a song about Jerusalem, King David wrote a song for all times. The earthly city of Jerusalem reflects and mirrors a literal heavenly city and an eternal throne that will one day come to earth. David closed his 23rd Psalm with: “…and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” Believing pilgrims of all of the ages could and can sing, “Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.”
Jerusalem Is a Place of Blessing
At the first mention of Jerusalem, we see the “Alpha and Omega,” one who is without beginning and ending, blessing Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. Melchizedek, “Priest of the Most High God, the King of Salem.” (Gen. 14:18), will someday again rule and reign in that holy city, and this time without end.
Hebrews 7:2-3 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
King David conquered Zion from the Jebusites and moved his household from Hebron to Jerusalem. This is why Jerusalem is also called “the City of David.” David moved the Tabernacle into Jerusalem. David, like Father Abraham, was blessed by the presence of God in the Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 5:9-10 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. 2Sa 6:14-16a And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David,
When King Solomon erected the temple, the permanent structure of worship, the glory of the Lord rested in Jerusalem on the temple like it did the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 40:34-35; I Kings 8:10-11). In Britain, you can always tell whether the king is in residence at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, or any other royal estate because the royal standard flies high over the palace. The King of Kings made His presence known in Jerusalem by the Shekinah glory cloud. The royal standard of heaven hung over the temple, demonstrating that Jehovah’s presence was in Jerusalem!
The city of Jerusalem remained Israel’s capital and center of worship until it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s armies (2 Ki. 24:25). After Israel’s 70-year captivity in Babylon, Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt under the leadership of Ezra, Nehemiah, and the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. by Roman armies under General Titus. Jerusalem’s history from then until 1948 was one of subjection by a succession of Gentile powers—Arabs, Turks, European crusaders, Asian Tartars, Latins, and the British. In 1948, the new state of Israel was announced after the Jews miraculously won the war of independence against the united Arab armies. Jews began to return to Israel by the tens of thousands. In 1967, following the Six-day War with attacking Arab nations, Israel captured the Temple Mount and controlled the entire city from that time.
The Lord answered the prayer of a captive people longing for their holy city.
Psalm 137:4-6 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Jerusalem Is a Place of God’s Blessing and Is to Be Prayed For
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.”
Jerusalem today is the center of international controversy; the peace of the world, in many ways, depends on what happens in Jerusalem. Praying for Jerusalem invokes the aid of heaven against all of God’s enemies. By praying for Jerusalem, one looks forward by faith to the New Jerusalem and the royal reign of Christ born of the line of King David. Love for Jerusalem parallels one’s love for the Lord and equals one’s own prosperity and peace. “They shall prosper that love thee!” This promise looks forward to the day when Jerusalem will be the world’s gathering center. Once again, in the eternal reign, pilgrims will sing David’s Zion song, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord!”
Rev 21:10-11 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Come let us join our cheerful songs,
With angels round the throne,
Before Jehovah’s awe-ful throne,
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy;
How pleased and blest 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 homage pay.
— Isaac Watts
2 Chronicles 33:4 Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
Psalms 48:8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
Micah 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.