Praying for Peace
(NIV) Psalm 122:1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the LORD—
to praise the name in of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”
Psalm 122 is one of the fifteen Songs of Ascent. It is said that during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the high holy days, on each of the fifteen steps leading up to the temple songs would be sung.
When I study these psalms, I am reminded of the contrast with Jonah. You remember the story.
Jonah had received a word from God, one word, but then God was silent. So Jonah prayed fervently for another word. But, when he received it He no longer wanted it.
So, Jonah ran from God. He went down to get to the boat, then he went down in the boat, then the others threw him down into the waters to calm the seas, and he was swallowed by a fish where he went down into its belly. And it was dark.
What a contrast! Jonah, running from God’s will, descended into the darkness, but the pilgrimage to the Temple led people upward to that shining city upon the hill.
The psalm includes a very prescient instruction: to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Notice the idea is not a suggestion, but instead it is an instruction.
Today Israel is under attack, but instead of praying for peace, people around the world are calling for Israel’s destruction.
May we choose to pray for peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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