REJOICING IN APPROACHING THE ETERNAL HOUSE OF THE LORD This is the third of the psalms of Ascents, sung by those coming to Jerusalem, the symbol of the heavenly city, “the joy of the whole earth” (Psalm 48: 2): Zion, chosen by the Lord, He has desired for His habitation (Psalm 132: 13). In psalm 120 we heard the cry out of humanity to God, proclaiming its need for the Savior capable of saving it from its inner and outer anguish; and the proclamation of those coming to the house of the Lord that they are sojourners in this world. In psalm 121, the psalmist presents to us the features of this unique Savior. And those approaching the divine Mountains look at the mountains of the holy scriptures, ascending them with the spirit of joy and praise, seeking the protection of God. In the present psalm 122, the psalmist presents to us a magnificent portrait of the soul exulted for approaching the eternal house of the Lord with a great joy. Reaching to the holy city after such a long and exhausting journey, he who approaches it sees how the tribes hasten together toward the house of the Lord to worship God and to honor “the house of David”. In the house of the Lord, the believer experiences the unity of all together in peace with God, to get to enjoy the heavenly joy. In the Septuagint version, the title of this psalm came as “A journey to the house of the Lord”. 1- An angelic call to come forth to the house of the Lord 1 - 2 2- A collective church call 3 - 4 3- A royal call 5 4- Peace, comfort, joy, and goodness 6 – 9 1- AN ANGELIC CALL TO COME FORTH TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD: This is the end of our happy journey together with the Savior; bringing us forth from this world, the land of sojourn, to the house of our Father, where there is the true joy. Once our feet stand at the https://coptic-treasures.com/ 55 threshold of heaven, we experience an immeasurable joy: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor had entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2: 9). The believer sees that his soul has set forth to the Higher Jerusalem, singing: “Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem”; praising and glorifying God who preserves him from falling all along the way, and brings him blameless before His glorious presence with joy. A Song of Ascents. Of David “I was glad when they said to me: Let us go into the house of the Lord” (1) Who are they who are glad for our setting forth to the heavenly house of the Lord, but the angels who dwell in heaven?! They are our companions in our journey; and exhort us to ascend to join them there, and run toward it with joy. We moan in our journey, yet we shall rejoice in the heavenly city. We have the company of those who have already seen it, who exhort us to hasten toward it; whom the psalmist mean by saying: “I was glad when they said to me: Let us go to the house of the Lord” 1. (St. Augustine) Before captivity, many Hebrews used to despise the temple and to offer sacrifices to the idols on the hills and the mountains. But, after suffering the sorrows and anguish of captivity, they longed for the temple of God. And when they got the good news of the liberation from their bondage and the setting forth to Jerusalem, they were overwhelmed with joy, and started to say to one another: “Let us go to the house of the Lord”. That is the great profit that comes from sorrow and tribulation! (Father Onesimus of Jerusalem) By captivity they became in a better condition. Through that experience, those who ware lukewarm, despised the temple, disregarded the hearing the divine words, dedicated themselves to the great evil on the mountains, and the isolated valleys (in the idol worship); In them a great desire to go back to the old worship has been incited; they became zealous believers in the divine promise; 1 On Ps. 122 (121). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 56 got that befitting and upright transformation, and the exultation of the heart. They came to be hungry and thirsty, not hungry for bread, or thirsty for water, but for listening to the word of the Lord (Amos 8: 11) 1. Our presence in the church is nothing but a cry out to the divine Being, a demonstration of our servitude to Him, and a thanksgiving for the free grace He gave us, despite being enemies, adversaries, and non-submissive. He sent His only begotten Son from heaven to shed His precious blood, and to deliver His honored and pure body to redeem us; Remembering His glorious sufferings, we do these honorable and beloved rites under the veil of the nature of bread and wine, the sacraments of the given body and the shed blood; we have communion in these unique graces, united in those divine glories. (St. John Chrysostom) On the literal side, this joy was realized for some of the captives in Babylon, when Cyrus issued his decree allowing them to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple of the Lord. On the spiritual side this psalm was realized by the coming of the lord Christ, who opened before us the gates of heaven to go forth to our heavenly home. According to the apostle Paul: “All these things happened to them as examples, and were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10: 11). “Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem” (2) Together with enjoying the pleasure of the company of Christ with us in our journey in this world, in the midst of our sufferings; Yet our gladness will be realized in a magnificent way, when we come to stand at the gates of the Higher Jerusalem, when we are truly liberated from the captivity of sin, and would have no more battle with it. Trusting in God’s mercies and his work with us; and seeing by the spirit of prophecy what will be realized, the psalmist, in the past tense says: “Our feet have been standing …”; although it is a talk about the future. 1 On Ps. 122. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 57 St. John Chrysostom believes that he whose heart is on fire, longing to the Word of God, will find his deep satisfaction even in standing within the gates of the house of God, knocking on them with his hands, feeling his deep debt to the city, and the house of the lord, to enjoy his heavenly home. Notice that, although those people were still on their way to the city, yet they were truly hoping to be there, and to join their heavenly brethren. Although you are still on your way, put it before your eyes as though you already there standing within its gates; … as though you were unceasingly rejoicing together with the angels; … as though what is written is actually realized in you: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house” (Psalm 84: 4) 1. (St. Augustine) 2- A COLLECTIVE CHURCH CALL: Bringing us forth into the bosom of the Father, to let our souls exult with what he has prepared for us as His beloved; Our encounter grants us a new look at our unity with one another, as members of one glorious body. “Jerusalem – built as a city that is bound firmly together” (3) In the days of Jeroboam son of Solomon, the Jews were divided into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. But by returning from captivity, there was no more division among them; which was one of the fruits of captivity. The true believers will. Likewise, gather together in the Higher Jerusalem as one church bound firmly together. If the hearts of believers were on fire while standing within the gates of Jerusalem to hear the words of the Lord, and to have fellowship in the spiritual worship; they as living stones connect together by the spirit of love, for the Holy Spirit to set out of them a temple for the Lord, and a holy city – the Spiritual Jerusalem. According to St. Augustine, the psalmist sang as he sees from afar, by the spirit of prophecy, the earthly Jerusalem coming to be the city of God, that gathers together those who come from different 1 On Ps. 122 (121). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 58 places. We as well, see by the eyes of faith, the Higher Jerusalem being built along the generations, to be consummate by the second coming of the Lord; as according to Peter: “You also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2: 5). In the book of acts it came that the church was gathering every day those who were saved, as living stones, cut from the mountains by the hands of those preaching the truth, conformed in the water of baptism, in harmony by the work of the Holy Spirit of God through the strife of the church, until the building is consummated. Woe is he who gets rich through deception, and builds his city – namely his soul – by blood. Although it is so built like a city (Psalm 122: 3 LXX), yet greed would not preserve it, but would ignite a fire that burns it down. To build your city well, “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble” (see Proverbs 15: 16). Man’s riches should work for the sake of the salvation of his soul, not for its destruction. As there is salvation in the riches if it is well used, it would also be a snare in case man does not know how to use it well (See Proverbs 13: 8). What would be the benefit of man’s riches, if it is not to help him in his journey? 1 According to St. Augustine, Jerusalem is not a ‘city’, but “as a city”; being a spiritual city built by living stone, and its foundation is Jesus Christ up in the highs. He is speaking about a city that is being built now, out of living stones by faith; about which Peter says: “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2: 5); namely, the holy house of God. What does he mean by “as living stones, are built…”? If you believe, you will be the temple of God; which, according to the apostle Paul: “The temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3: 17). This city is now under construction; and the stones are cut off the hills by the hands of those who preach the Truth. They are cut as cubes to enter into the eternal establishments. There are still many stones in the hands of the Builder (God). I wish they do not fall from His hands, until the temple is complete. This then, is Jerusalem built as a city, whose foundation is Christ; about which the apostle Paul 1 In Letter 15. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 59 says: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3: 11). When a foundation is laid down in earth. Walls are built on it upwards, and their weight fall on it downwards. Our foundation, however, being in heaven; and we are spiritually built on a foundation up high; let us then run there where the building is set1. (St. Augustine) The psalmist confirms that the tribes gathered together in the city of God, being “the tribes of the Lord”; are distinguished tribes, each has its own features (Genesis 29; Deuteronomy 33). Yet having united together in the Lord, although having distinguished talents, yet they all belong to the Lord; What connect them is not blood relationship, but the Spirit of God, the Grantor of unity. All came to thank and praise god (4); forming together one musical band that plays a symphony of love and unity under the leadership of the Spirit of the Lord. “Where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord” (4) Those who dwell in it are tribes ascending toward the foundation, the heavenly Jesus Christ, bearing a testimony to Israel; namely, with no guile in them; as the Lord said about Nathanael: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1: 47). The people of all tribes used to go up to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the feasts of Passover, the tabernacles, and the weeks; And he who does not go up is counted as cut off the people of Israel. That symbolic portrait refers to the ascent of the believers, not only of all tribes, but of all nations, to celebrate the Savior Christ, our Feast, and through Him to enter into the High Jerusalem. Being “the tribes of the Lord”, the beauty and adornment of Jerusalem is the love that connects the tribes together in the Lord, that proclaims the glory of the name of the Lord. 3- A ROYAL CALL: “For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David” (5) The throne of the king, as a judge was set in Jerusalem, to judge in the serious cases, to put an end to injustice, and to realize 1 On Ps. 122 (121). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 60 justice and peace. All people used to rejoice going up to Jerusalem, the site of the throne and justice. We, as well, ascending every day toward the High Jerusalem, our souls exult, for we are going to stand before the throne of the Lord Christ, “of whose kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1: 33). It is amazing how the psalmist sees the thrones of judgment set in Jerusalem, to judge the devil and his hosts for their rebellion against God, through the enjoyment of the disciples and the apostles of great heavenly honors. What does the psalmist see in the house of the Lord – the High Jerusalem? Thrones of judgment, thrones of the house of David; all bound to the Lord Christ, the heavenly High Priest, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; in whom “they became kings and priests to His God and Father” (Revelation 1: 6); and they got an exalted royal feature, having overcome the devil, and being crowned with an eternal royal crown. According to St. Augustine, those chairs came in the Greek language as “thrones” – the thrones of the soul, namely, of wisdom andrighteousness. St. Augustine marvels at the expression of the psalmist that the thrones were set (or sat), he says: [There are thrones for the wisdom, about which the Lord says to His disciples: “You who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19: 28). They sit on twelve thrones of judgment; when they, themselves, are (thrones) of God, about whom it is said: “For thrones are set there”. … Who did sit? The thrones… Who are the thrones? Those about whom is written: “The soul of the righteous is a throne of wisdom “. ….. Where are the thrones? In heaven; … And what is heaven? It is about which the Lord says: “Heaven is My throne” (Isaiah 66: 1); … Therefore, the righteous, themselves, are thrones, and have thrones; and the thrones are set in Jerusalem1. 4- PEACE, COMFORT, JOY, AND GOODNESS: The psalm ends with a marvelous prayer of peace, in which the psalmist restores his feeling of peace, having come to be together with his brethren, enjoying the exalted peace of God. 1 On Ps. 122 (121). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 61 If the psalmist seeks from the believers to pray for the sake of the earthly Jerusalem; he calls them, as lovers of Jerusalem, to enjoy the High Jerusalem, with the peace of its high towers, eternal comfort, and heavenly goods. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May they prosper who love you” (6) As the thrones of judgment are set in Jerusalem; there will be no more dissension, but an exalted peace, comfort, and love. How could they ask for the peace in Jerusalem? According to St. Augustine: by practicing love themselves! “Peace be within your walls; prosperity within your palaces” (7) What are the ‘walls’ of Jerusalem, but the prophets, the apostles, the disciples, and the saints, on whom peace prevails. Whereas its palaces are the true believers who became a holy temple for the Lord. The power of love could not be expressed by a more exalted analogy: “Love is as strong as death” (Songs 8: 6). Who can oppose death, O brethren? Fire, waves, sword, all these, we can oppose! … We can oppose rulers and kings; … But death alone could never be opposed!… Nothing is stronger than it1! (St. Augustine) As war could bring a calamity on a city, we pray for the sake of its peace … Here, the psalmist prays for them, not only to be liberated from evils, but to enjoy limitless goods, peace, abundance, and prosperity2. (St. John Chrysostom) If controversies, dissensions, and divisions, happen among you because of me, I will depart away from you; with or without your consent; to let the flock of Christ live in peace with the priests ordained over them. … He who so does will bring upon himself a great glory in the Lord, and will be welcome anywhere he goes; as “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness” (Psalm 24: 1) 3. 1 On Ps. 122 (121). 2 On Ps. 122. 3 First Epistle, 54. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 62 (St. Clement of Rome) “For the sake of my brethren and friends, I will now say: ‘Peace be within you’” (8) The psalmist prays for the sake of his brethren and friends, to enjoy those heavenly blessings, not for any favor on their part, but for the sake of the glory of God, and for that of His holy heavenly house. So the prophet says, lest the Jews might assume that setting forth to Jerusalem was on account of their own goodness. He seeks peace for them for the sake of the prophets and the righteous who were with them, whom he calls his brethren; as well as for the sake of the honor of the house of God, the temple. This could also refer to the peace given by our Lord to us, Christians, through His disciples whom He called His brethren and friends. (Father Onesimus of Jerusalem) He says: “Peace be upon you”, For whose sake? For the sake of my brethren and friends; and not for the sake of my honor, wealth, or my own life1. (St. Augustine) 1 On Ps. 122 (121). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 63 AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 122 JOY, COMFORT, AND PEACE IN THE HOUSE OF MY GOD My depths exult, as I approach the house of my God; I hear a sweet angelic voice calling me: “Let us go to the house of the Lord”; On my way, I am joined by angels; Proclaiming their longing that humanity would set forth to the heavenly house of the Lord. To experience what they, themselves, enjoy. Once the old people crossed over the Red Sea; They praised God who saved them from their enemies; There, they felt as though their feet were within the gates of Jerusalem; As for us, we were brought through the water of baptism, to sonhood to God. We are granted the right to enter into heaven, to crush Loyathan and all his hosts. By hope we came to be within the gates of the High Jerusalem. My heart would not find comfort until my brethren find it with You; I will count myself in the High Jerusalem when all the elect enjoy it; I wish all mankind stand within its gates. My Savior, You are the foundation of Jerusalem; Your place is not in the lower depths, but high up; Draw us as living stones that do not fall down, but go up to unite with You; Grant us to run toward You. After the return from captivity, Israel reunited with Judah; All set forth with the spirit of unity to praise you; All returned as one temple for You, O the only Holy One! Remember the unity of the church from one end of the world to the other end; Remember Your church extending from Adam till the end of time; Which comes from all nations and tongues. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 64 You call us Your children, O King of kings, and grant us the spirit of royalty. To sit as though on thrones to judge the devil and all his hosts. We, the earthlies are to be counted among the heavenlies; When heavenly fell down to be judged by the dust; Out of Your prophets and apostles You set walls for Jerusalem; And out of the believers You set palaces; On which peace, comfort, joy, and goodness prevail; You are their Peace, Comfort, Joy, and Goodness.
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