Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

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Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

Psalm 122 with John Calvin – Praying for Unity Jerusalem is built (v. 3). Here David begins to celebrate Jerusalem in order to encourage the people to persevere steadfastly in their obedience. Instead of being drawn here and there, the minds of the godly were to be kept constantly fixed on that city, which facilitated holy unity. It is not surprising to find David endorsing so earnestly the place God had chosen, knowing that the success of the Church depended on the children of Abraham worshipping God there in purity, according to the appointed observances of the law. The success of the Church also depended on the peoples’ acknowledgment of the royal throne which God had established there by his own authority and had taken under his own protection. When it is said that Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together , it refers not only to the walls, or towers, or ditches of that city, but especially to the good order and holy administration that distinguished it from other cities. Jerusalem is a compact city to encourage the faithful, instead of gazing in all directions around them, to rest contented with the city which God had chosen, since they could nowhere find its equal. The excellence of Jerusalem’s construction represents its peaceable state. Thus the mutual agreement which reigns among the citizens of a city is compared to buildings compacted together by a skillful and elegant workmanship, so that they are joined together perfectly. By this David teaches us that the Church can only remain in a state of safety when holy unity prevails, being joined together by faith and love.