Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 122
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 122
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 122
"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of Jehovah." — Psalms 122:1 (ASV)
Let us go. — Or, we will go. This verse is inscribed over the portico of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
"Our feet are standing Within thy gates, O Jerusalem," — Psalms 122:2 (ASV)
Our feet shall stand. —Rather, Our feet have been, and are now, standing. Here we stand at last at thy gates, O Jerusalem. We must imagine the pilgrims arresting their steps to gaze about them as they reach the gates.
"Jerusalem, that art builded As a city that is compact together;" — Psalms 122:3 (ASV)
This verse is somewhat perplexing. One explanation is that it refers to the rebuilding of the city and the reuniting of parts that had been disconnected during its destruction. Another interpretation, which is far better (see Introduction), is that it is a rustic’s impression on first seeing a compact city after being accustomed to straggling villages. The astonishment of Virgil’s shepherd is aptly compared: “Urbem quam dicunt Romam, Melibæe putavi, Stultus ego, huic nostræ similem.”
But a far more satisfactory meaning is suggested by the Septuagint. They (compare Symmachus) take the word rendered compact as a noun, meaning union. The verse then may run: Jerusalem, the (one) built like a city, union is in it together, i.e., it is the rallying point of all the tribes. (See next verse.)
"Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of Jehovah, [For] an ordinance for Israel, To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah." — Psalms 122:4 (ASV)
Unto the testimony. —This is erroneous. The words are parenthetical: There go (or, must and shall go) the tribes, the tribes of Judah (it is an ordinance for Israel) to praise the name of Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 16:16, regarding this regulation.)
"For there are set thrones for judgment, The thrones of the house of David." — Psalms 122:5 (ASV)
Thrones. —Jerusalem, at first a cause of wonder as a city, is now to the pilgrims a cause of admiration as the capital. The mention of the “House of David” itself settles the title. However, this does not prove that the monarchy was still in existence, since even the Sanhedrin might be said to administer justice from the throne of the house or successors of David.
The administration of justice was the original and principal duty of a monarch in time of peace (1 Kings 3:11 and following). The marginal note “do sit” gives the literal rendering of the Hebrew. This Hebrew use of sit, where English speakers would say stand, is exactly like provincial Scottish dialect.
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