Worship.
"I was glad when they said unto me," etc. This beautiful ode is supposed to have been by one dwelling in the country, who had been invited to join, and had joined, a company of pilgrims on their way to one of the feasts at Jerusalem; on his return, this ode embodied the sentiments that had been inspired.
I. THE JOY OF WORSHIP. The delight of anticipation. (Psalms 122:1.) The brooding gladness which dwells on some anticipated great occasion. His imagination would draw pictures of Jerusalem and the temple on the way thither, and all their sacred historical and religious associations; as we try to think of heaven and of the scenes in which our nature shall be perfected.
II. THE JOY OF RETROSPECTION. (Psalms 122:2-5.)
1. He remembers with what awe and delight he was spellbound within the gates of the city and temple. Think how a Mohammedan would feel at Mecca, or a Roman Catholic at St. Peter's in Rome, or a modern Christian in visiting Calvary, or Bethlehem, or the sepulcher where Christ lay. But the awe and delight of spiritual worship transcend all the emotions inspired by hallowed places—"in spirit and in truth."
2. He was greatly moved by the sight of the stateliness and beauty of the city, which had been rebuilt after the Exile. (Psalms 122:3.) The restoration of a national structure, or of the nation itself after forfeiting its glory, or of a human life and character after loss and shame, greatly moves all sympathetic minds. The transition from darkness into light is very great.
3. The tribes gathered on such occasions, came up in obedience to the Divine law, to worship God with a national thanksgiving. (Psalms 122:4.) The author of the psalm was a grateful participant in the worship. The law of grateful worship is the law of all reasonable spiritual beings, the very necessity of their nature, and therefore full of delights.
4. The "thrones of judgment" for the civil law were under the shadow of the throne of mercy, or "the mercy-seat." The supreme tribunal was to be in the same place as the sanctuary (Deuteronomy 17:8, Deuteronomy 17:9). Law and mercy, both in God and in the best man, are always closely related.
5. The highest result of true worship is to produce the spirit of peace. (Psalms 122:6-9.) Between God and man, among nations and Churches, and between man and man.—S.
Psalms
Psalms 122 - psalms-122 - worlddic.com