LOVE, PEACE AND PROSPERITY

“Pray for the PEACE of Jerusalem: “May they PROSPER who LOVE you” – Psalm 122:6

LOVE is the basis for enduring PEACE and PROSPERITY: ““Pray for the PEACE of Jerusalem: “May they PROSPER who LOVE you” (v.6). Nothing in the world is meaningful without Love. We’ve devoted eighteen days to meditate on Love. It’s time to turn attention to Peace and Prosperity. Psalm 122 is a pilgrim-song which explains David’s joy on going to worship God. It depicts the pleasure felt at being invited to join a party going up to a feast in Jerusalem, with the joy and music of the journey and the impressions on arrival. It describes the delight of being in the holy city – a city beautifully built, well compacted, adorned with palaces, and strongly fortified. This Psalm contains three fruits of the spirit: love (v.6); joy (v.1); and peace (vv.6-8). It also connects four words – Praise, Prayer, Peace, and Prosperity – all based on a heart for God.

David had a Heart for God (vv.1-2). He rejoiced at every opportunity to go with other worshipers to praise the Lord. The words, “Let us go” sound weak, like an invitation to a tea. “We will go” is the better translation. This statement expressed determination and dedication. After the tent had been set up and the ark placed in it, no doubt David frequently went there to worship God, for his LOVE for God’s house was well known:

• “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psa. 27:4).

• “Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple” (Psa. 65:4).

David had a Heart for Praise (vv.3-5). The Lord had told His people that one day there would be a central place where they would worship – Jerusalem (Ex. 23:14-17; Deut. 12:5-19). He instructed David that the place on Mount Moriah where he had built the altar was to be the site for the temple (1 Chr. 21–22). He also gave David the plans for the structure (1 Chr. 28). This was originally a Jebusite stronghold before David captured it and made it his capital, “the city of David” (2 Sam. 5:6-10).

David’s perception of the city was one of unity and security. Just as the stones of the walls and houses were “compact together,” so the people were bound together in their worship of the Lord and respect for the throne. There the “tribes of the LORD” participated in worship (v.3). But above all, the praise of Jehovah was central (v. 4). God had commanded that His people go to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles – as worshippers, not spectators (Ex. 23:14-19; Jh. 4:20-21). Praise and Thanksgiving to the Lord was the people’s most significant task and greatest privilege.

David had a Heart for Prayer (vv.6-9). The name “Jerusalem” means “foundation of peace,” and yet the city has been a center of conflict for centuries. Prophetically, peace cannot be perfected in Jerusalem or on earth until the Prince of Peace reigns on David’s throne (Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1:26-33). So, when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we are actually praying, “Your Kingdom come” (Mt. 6:10) and “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). Jesus wept Jerusalem because its residents were ignorant of the peace God had for them (Lk.19:41-48) and had rejected their own Messiah (Jh.11:47-48). But our intercession must come from our hearts because we love God and love His people.

Peace and Prosperity are intricately connected. Both are words with extensive and expressive connotations, which require careful definitions. We cannot really overrate the value of peace and prosperity for nations, Churches, families, and individuals. In the Church for example, when the signs of spiritual prosperity such as love, fervour and zeal fail, then schisms and roots of bitterness spring up. God’s Will for His people is all-round prosperity with peace of heart and mind!