PRAYING FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM Charles L. Feinberg, Th.D., Ph.D* T HE greatest devotional literature in the world is to be found in the Old Testament Book of Psalms.
third in this group is the one to occupy our attention now. Psalm 122 (R.V.) reads as follows: “ A Song of Ascents; of David.” “ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of the Lord. Our feet are standing Within thy gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art builded as a city that is compact together; Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, For an ordinance for Israel, To give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusa lem: They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, And pros perity within thy palaces. For my breth ren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee: For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.” The Psalm begins with an invitation to go up to the house of the Lord, then proceeds to speak of the joy of the pilgrim when his feet at last stand within the gates of the beloved city. His mind and heart turn to the prominence of the city in spiritual and in governmental matters, and in just that order. The Psalm concludes with a heartfelt exhortation to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. This exhortation of the Psalmist David combines three distinct elements. The first is The Command: Prayer There are many voices that fill the air today, and many of them are strident as they proclaim their versions of the solu tion for Jerusalem’s problems. The Zionist says nationalize. He seeks by every means to lay heavy emphasis on the need for a national consciousness and united action. In the case of Israel it is like carrying the proverbial coals to the proverbial Newcastle. It is like attempting to make fire hot. God Him self has set within the heart of the Jew a concern for Jerusalem and the nation which cannot be erased. The confirmed nationalist advocates to mobilize. For him the way to accomplish the highest good for God’s people is to muster the greatest forces to make the national will known and felt in the councils of the nations of the world. All Israel or Jerusalem needs is to marshal sufficient *Director; Professor of Semities & O.T., Talbot Theological Seminary, affili ated with The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc.
and various arrangements of them. One group of Psalms has been called the pilgrim songs. They are Psalms 120 through 134. They were sung as the caravans of pilgrims wended their way from different parts of the land of Canaan up to the holy city of Jerusalem for the annual festival occasions. The
A superficial reading of some of these songs of praise may lead one to conclude that they are separate and unrelated poems. Strictly speaking, this is not true. There are combinations of Psalms
Old and new civilizations mingle in “ the city of the great King.” The Psalmist sa/id concerning the Holy City: “If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. I f I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy” (Psa. 187:5,6). JANUARY, 1 9 5 3
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