John Calvin Commentary Psalms 122:1

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of Jehovah." — Psalms 122:1 (ASV)

I was glad when they said to me. God had often told Moses that His sanctuary would one day have a certain and fixed place of abode; yet from the time of Moses, for more than a thousand years, the Ark of the Covenant had been moved from place to place, as if it had been in a state of pilgrimage.

Finally, it was revealed to David that Mount Zion was the spot where God wanted His ark to be settled and His temple built. Now, as David himself received this revelation with very great joy, he affirms that he was glad to find all the people agreeing to it with one consent.

This circumstance has not been properly considered, and the consequence is that interpreters have offered the unfortunate translation—I was glad with those that said to me. Such a translation, however, only makes the meaning somewhat obscure. But the translation of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, which assigns a neuter meaning to the second verb of the verse, entirely corrupts the meaning: I was glad in the things which were said to me. I indeed admit that literally the reading is—I was glad in those who said to me; but it is not uncommon for the letter ב , beth, which commonly signifies in, to be interpreted as the adverb of time when; and here the context of the text requires such a translation.

David testifies that he felt a double joy in his heart on observing that all the people concurred in obeying the oracle which declared Mount Zion to be the place God had chosen for His solemn worship. By this example we are taught that our joy, likewise, should be doubled when God by His Holy Spirit not only shapes each of us to obey His word, but also produces the same effect in others, so that we may be united in the same faith.

So stubborn and rebellious is human nature that the great majority of mankind invariably murmur against God whenever He speaks. We have, therefore, no small ground for rejoicing when all harmoniously align themselves with us on God's side. Those who translate it as with those who said to me, deduce this meaning: I take delight in the company of those who encourage me to the service of God and offer to be my companions, so that we may go to the sanctuary together. But from the second verse it will be even more obvious that the joy David speaks of came from his seeing the people, with the ready obedience of faith, consenting to the utterance of the heavenly oracle regarding the place chosen to be the lawful and permanent seat of the Ark of the Covenant.