Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary
Last part: The Jerusalem that David described
David described in Psalm 122 how Jerusalem should be. He showed how God wants Jerusalem to be. But Jerusalem has never been like that. So God’s people should pray.
They should pray that God will give peace to Jerusalem. It is only then that the city will know security. It is only then that the frequent wars will send.
The word ‘peace’ in the original language (called Hebrew) is interesting. It is the word ‘shalom’, and it appears in the name ‘Jerusalem’ (in other words, ‘Jeru-shalom’). The city’s name means ‘the peaceful city’. And the word ‘shalom’ (peace) is not just about no wars. It also includes the ideas of success and health. When God brings his peace to Jerusalem, all these things will happen too. Good things will happen in Jerusalem, and all of Israel will benefit.
In fact, the whole world will benefit when God gives peace to Jerusalem (Genesis 12:3; Zechariah 8:20-23; Romans 11:12).
Next part: A lesson from Psalm 122
See the word list for explanation of words with a *
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© 2015, Keith Simons.