Commentary on Psalms Volume 3 John Calvin
COMMENTARY ON PSALMS - VOLUME 3
David's posterity, until the true everlastingness of this kingdom should be manifested in the person of Christ.
Psalm 122:6-9
6. Pray ye for the peace of Jerusalem: may those who love thee prosper 7. Peace be within thy bulwarks 511 prosperity 512 within thy towers! 8. For the sake of my brethren and neighbors, I will now say, Peace be within thee! 9. Because of the house of Jehovah our God, I will seek thy good.
6. Pray ye for the peace of Jerusalem. David now exhorts all the devout worshippers of God to make supplication for the prosperity of the holy city. The more effectually to stir them up to such exercise, he promises that, in this way the divine blessing will descend upon them. The reason why he was so deeply concerned about the prosperity of Jerusalem was, as we have formerly stated — and he again repeats the same thing at the end of the Psalm—because the welfare of the whole Church was inseparably connected with that kingdom and priesthood. Now as each of us in particular, were the whole Church to be involved in ruin, must necessarily perish miserably, it is not surprising to find David recommending to all the children of God to cultivate this anxious concern about the Church. If we would order our prayers aright, let us always begin with pleading that the Lord would be pleased to preserve this sacred community. Whoever, confining his attention to his own personal advantage, is indifferent about the common weal, he not only gives evidence that he is destitute of all true feeling of godliness, but in vain desires his own prosperity, and will profit nothing by his prayers, since he does not observe the due order. 513 Similar is the drift of the promise which is added immediately after: They shall prosper that love thee; which, however, may be read in the form of a wish, May those who love thee prosper But the sense in either case is almost the same. Farther, although the Hebrew verb,שלהshalah, which the Prophet here uses, signifies to live in quietness or peace, yet as the Hebrew noun for peace, from which it is derived, is employed by him generally for a joyful and happy condition, I have no doubt that he here announces in general to all the godly who "Within thy walls. Josephus tells us, that there were at Jerusalem three ranges of walls surrounding the city. The sense of the passage is, 'May no enemy approach even to thy out-works to disturb thy prosperity'" — Warner.
"Ou, abondance." — Fr marg. "Or, abundance."
"Et ne proufiter arien par ses prieres, d'autant qu'il n'observe point l'ordre legitime " — Fr.