Psalm 122 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 122 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!"
Verse 2Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Verse 3Jerusalem-built as a city that is bound firmly together.
Verse 4To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
Verse 5For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.
Verse 6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.
Verse 7Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers."
Verse 8For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, "Peace be within you."
Verse 9For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.
Devotion
This is one of the Songs of Zion. It begins by referring to Jerusalem, the longed-for goal of the pilgrim, the center of national worship and the seat of the royal house of David. The psalmist exhorts others to bless the holy city. There is joy in the pilgrimage, there is unity of national worship and there is peace. These are things most people are searching for and many are unable to find. Our days get bogged down with worry and stress. There is no unity to be found as churches continue to divide into different groups, and there is certainly not enough peace to go around. Instead of our feet standing within the gates, may we fall to our knees and pray for unity and peace, work for unity and peace, and claim the unity and peace Christ offers to us.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, forgive us and have mercy on us and restore us to the peace and unity for which you lived and died. Amen, may it be so!
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