When I lived in Sydney, every year I’d go to the nearby mountains and join thousands of other Christians for a week-long missions convention. We’d enjoy encouraging times of singing and Bible talks. We’d meet friends, many of whom we hadn’t seen since the last convention. The people of Israel felt that same excitement when, three times a year, they made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for one of their three festivals (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles).

Psalm 122 expresses the excitement of these pilgrims. These village dwellers were going not just to the big city, but to God’s city. In Jerusalem was the temple, or house of God (v. 1), and “the thrones of the house of David” (v. 5). More than just the wonder of the place was the joy of being together. People who usually lived in small communities gathered with a mighty throng as the tribes of the Lord went up together (v. 4).

In verses 6–9, David prays for “peace” for the city. This is the Hebrew word shalom, which speaks of rest, safety, security, well-being, and prosperity. Under the rule of David and Solomon, Jerusalem enjoyed this peace. Sadly, though, with the division of the kingdom, it was lost and never recovered.

When we read the psalms and, indeed, the whole Old Testament, ultimately we will read it through the lens of the New Testament to which it points and in which it finds its fulfilment.

For example, in today’s psalm, the writer longs to go to the “house of the Lord” (v. 1) and sings of his love for Jerusalem. The house of the Lord was the temple, which no longer exists, so how can Christians echo this verse in the present? In the New Testament, the Lord’s house is a spiritual house made up of God’s people (1 Peter 2:5). That’s why when we say that we love the Lord’s house, we can be expressing our desire to meet our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we don’t need a building for that.

How about praying “for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6)? The Jerusalem which is the Christian’s joy and hope is the “new Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:2). In Revelation 21:9, the angel shows John the bride of the Lamb—the church—and then shows him a glorious city. This city is a metaphor for God’s people from every tribe, nation, and tongue who will live with their Lord in the new creation. In this “city” we’ll enjoy our eternal peace. There’ll be no more death, crying, or pain (v. 4), and we’ll be free from the fear of any enemies (v. 25). Christians should also long to go to Jerusalem. Or, to express this in the way Revelation does, we long for the city which will come down “out of heaven from God” (v. 10).

As we read Psalm 122, let’s celebrate the joy of our fellowship with God and with one another. We experience it imperfectly now, but we will enjoy it wonderfully in the new Jerusalem.