Standing in the Gates

A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

- Psalm 122

Every year around the holidays I return to my father’s house and look forward to it very much. I think that all good children enjoy the prospect of returning to their home where they are loved. We can see in this psalm that David was glad merely at the invitation to go to the Lord’s house. We as brothers and sisters in Christ should rejoice when a sibling invites us to go where our desires already lie. But I must wonder how much greater our joy will be when we actually arrive there.

When I step into my father’s house, the joy that I had anticipated has been realized. No longer am I merely contemplating what it will be like; I am now fully realizing the joy that I had looked forward to. I wonder if we can say the same when we enter our worship halls today.

It is not a stretch to reckon Jerusalem to be the church today. We should be praying for peace within her walls. We should long for security within her walls and towers. We should be praying for and seeking the good for our brothers. However, that is not the main purpose of our return to our true home. No, it is to give thanks to the Lord.

There is a picture of unity in the first verse that I can not help but notice. Let us go to the house of the Lord. We have been longing to go and we are anxious to bring Him the praise. Perhaps if we remember this first we can better serve together with the unity of this psalm. Our feet may be standing within her gates but we are not fully there yet.