When peace comes to Jerusalem there will be peace for all the world,
therefore the saints should earnestly pray for it.
Psalm 1
1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
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.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 122 – Joy in God’s House
As in the other psalms of the series there is here alternation between soloist and choir. In Psalm 122:1 the soloist rejoices in the proposal made to go on a pilgrimage. The chorus announces that the journey is already accomplished, Psalm 122:2-5. The Church of Christ is compacted, built together, by His tears, and blood, and risen power. In Psalm 122:6, the soloist bids the company salute Jerusalem, and the chorus replies. In Psalm 122:7-9 the soloist announces three reasons why they should pray for Jerusalem’s peace: They who love her prosper; those who reside within her precincts are our brethren and companions; hers is the house of God builded for His habitation. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 122:8—For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
What the earthly Jerusalem was to the Jews, that the holy Church, the Bride of the Lamb, the heavenly Jerusalem, which descends from God out of heaven, and includes within its limits all holy events, is to us. Let us pray for its peace and prosperity; let us esteem them above our own good, and let us be glad if our feet stand within its gates.
When the tribes of the Lord go up to give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, let us go with them. We may be alone in some distant land, or traversing the ocean to the swift steamer, bearing us from the land of religious observances, or confined to the sick chamber; but let as never forget that we belong to the holy mystical Church; let us ascend the staircases of prayer and praise; let as mingle our rivulet of adoring love to the mighty torrent that is setting in towards the throne of God and the Lamb; for we are come to the City of God, to an innumerable company of angels, to the spirits of just men made perfect and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than Abel’s. Wherever my brethren meet, in whatever section of the Church on earth, so long as they belong to the one Church, the Body of Christ, nothing shall stay me from wishing them prosperity and peace. They may not recognize me here, but five minutes in Heaven will do away with all these earthly estrangements.
When the Church is at peace within herself she flourishes best. “Then had the churches”, we are told (Acts 9:31), “rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified.” Peace is the condition of up-building and multiplication; but it is only consistent with Truth and Righteousness. First Righteousness, then Peace, then Prosperity. —Our Daily Homily