EXPOSITION. Ver. 2.-0ur feet sh&ll st&nd; rather, PSALM CXXII. stand, or are standing. The pilgrim-band he.a entered the oity, and is on its way to THB " title " &11signs this psalm to De. vid; God's houso, Within thy gates, 0 Jerusalem, and there seems to be no sufficient reason Jerusalem he.s its "we.Ila" (ver. 7) and its why his authorship shonld not be accepted. "gates" set up, which suits the time of The description of Jerusalem exactly suits David, not the.t of Ezra or Zerubbabel. Ver. 8.-Jerusalem is builded as e. oity his day ( vers. 3-7). The "thrones of judg- that is oompe.ct together; rather, Jef"1/,/lalem ment, thrones of the house of David" (ver. that art builded. The primary reference is 5) would be his own throne and that of his probably to the compact shape and look of BOD Solomon, whom he e.asocie.ted. The the ancient oity, which, e.s Josephus says, we.a "one e.nd entire," with no straggling " house of the Lord" (ver. I) would be the suburbs, abut in on the north by CL we.11, nnd te.berne.cle which David set up (2 Sam. vi. on the three other sides both by walls and 17). The "tribes of the Lord," which were by deep, rocky valleys. But the matorinl all nnited under David (2 60.m. v. 5), pro- "compactness " we.a perhaps to.ken to sym- bably began to " go up" to J erusa.lom as bolize the close internal union of the inlrnbi- BOon as David removed the e.rk thither. to.nts one with another, whereby they woro all kn.it together into one Church e.nd The strong love for J eruse.lem e.nd for the people. Lord's house, which animates the writer, Ver. 4.-Whither the tribes go up, the is e.lBO very che.re.cteristic of David. tribes of the Lord. This points to a time before the dispersion of" the tribes," which Ver. 1.-I was glad when they said unto rendered euob regulCLr "going up" impos- me, Let 111 go into the houee of the Lord sible. Unto the testimony of Isratl; rather, (comp. Pss. v. 7; xxviii. 2: c:nxviii. 2). a, a testimony unto l1rael-C1 wlt11eM to the PB. CXXII 1-9.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 193
whole no.lion thnt o.11 Israelites had covenant prosperity within thy pe.laoes. The prayer, privileges nt J ernsnlem. To give thanks wllich he would have others offer, the unto the Ne.me of the Lord. The three psalmist now offers himself. The prayer grent feasts whereto Israel we.a bound to embraces, first, the whole community; then, " go up " were e.11 of them see.sons of thanks- especially those who have the direction and giving. government of it. Ver. 5.-l!'or there e.re set thrones of judg- Ver. 8.-l!'or my brethren and companions' ment, the thrones of the house of David. Bllkes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Jerusalem we.a the civil, no less than the The inhabitants of Jerusalem are the writer's religious, centre. There David judged con• "brethren and CO'lllpan~." He is not a troversies, e.ud Absalom when he usurped mere pilgrim on a visit to the holy city. tlJe throne, and Solomon when David asso- Ver. 9.-:Beoause of the house of the Lord ciated him. But the plure.1 may be " a our God I will seek thy good. The tabernacle plural of dignity." set up by David in Jerusalem is called "the Ver. 6.-Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. house of the Lord" in Pijs. v. 7; xxvii. 4; Let all true Israelites "pray for the peace lii. 8; and Iv. H. God" dwelt there," as he of Jerusalem," i.e. for her tranquillity and dwelt in the tabernacle of Moses in the for her prosperity. They shall prosper that wilderness (Exod. xl. 34, 35) and in the love thee. A covert threat, e.s well e.s a temple of Solomon subseq nently (2 Chron. promise. "Such as love Jerusalem, and v. 13, 14). The good of Jerusalem was to pro.y for her pence, shall prosper; such as be sought for two reasons: (1) because God's do not love her shall lack prosperity." people were there; and (2) because God's Ver. 7.-Peace be within thy walls, and house was there (see Oal vin, ad loo.).
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-9.-The house of God and the Church Q/ Jema Christ. The "house of God" (vers. 1 and 9) mny stand for the Christian sanctuary, and the '' Jemsnlem," of which this psalm is full, may stand for the Church of JesllS Obrist. Thus regarded, we have- I. Tm: HOUSE OF Gon. 1. The Divine Presence. God's hollSe is the place where he dwells; where, in the fullest sense, he is. And though the Omnipresent cannot be said to be in one place more truly than in another, yet is there a sense in which ho ie especially present in his own "house." (1) Going there expressly to meet and to worship him, we 11re more conscious of his nearness to 119 than we are elsewhere. (2) He will and be does manifest himself in his revealing truth and in his gracioDS influence, as he does not elsewhere. 2. United worship. "Let us go into the house of the Lord." It is not enough for a mon to say that he can pray and sing and read at home. Nothing will compensate for united worship. There is a fervour in prayer, and a heartiness in praise when many souls are outpoured in the one, and many voices are united in the other, which solitary worship does not know ; thero is an influence in uttered truth, spoken in the sympathetic hearing of a hundred hearts, which no book can communicate in the silent chamber, 'l.'here is a sacred joy which gladdens the pure heart (ver. 1) in the anticipation and in the act of public worship, of which it is a serious mistake to deprive ourselves. 3. The duty of encouragement. "Let us go;" "Let him that hearcth say, Come." Those who are not able to cnrorce Divine claims or human obligations can graciously and elfoctually invite their neighbours to go where these great spiritual realities will be enforced by others. Andrew rendered his brother Simon, and the Church of Christ, an invaluable service when "he brought him to Jesus" to bear his word and to become hie disciple. II. THE CHURCH OF. JEsue CHRIST. Jerusalem was" the city of God." Tho "New Jerusalem" will be composed of the glorified spirits of men of every age and from every land. The spiritual Jerusalem to-day is the multitude of unrecognized men, but beloved of Christ, that, under every sky, are loving nnd serving him. 1. We must not be satisfied till we have been enrolled in this company; till we can say, "Our feet are Bt<J/Tlding within thy walls." 2. To belong to this Church is our most sacred duty; it was "a testimony" or ordinnnce "in Ismel" to go up to Jerusalem (ver. 4). It is the clear, decisive will of Chiist-and that is our "testimony" that constitutes our obligation-that we should become members of his Church on earth. 3. The strength of the Church is in the close association of its members; it must be" compact together" PSALMS-Ill, 0 194 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB, OXXII, 1-9,