What Does It Mean to “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem”?
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” What exactly does that mean?
The phrase is found in Psalm 122:6. King David wrote Psalm 122 for the Israelites to sing as they went up to Jerusalem for their holy days. The word “Jerusalem” means “habitation of peace.” Peace and the City of Peace is the theme of this psalm.
All the tribes of Israel came “unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.” They came to Jerusalem to visit “the house of the LORD,” to be instructed in the Word of the LORD, and to praise the LORD.
In Jerusalem, there were “set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.” If citizens of Israel had legal disputes that they could not settle at home, they would bring them to the king in Jerusalem. The king was “of the house of David,” so he was sure to judge rightly.
Of such a city, David instructs God’s people in verse six, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Verses seven through nine reiterate the King’s call for people to pray for Jerusalem’s peace and prosperity.
The city that David describes in Psalm 122 does not exist today. In fact, it did not exist when Jesus came to earth around 2,000 years ago.
Instead, Jesus warned Jerusalem while He was there:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (Matthew 23:37, 38)
After Israel rejected its Messiah, Jesus, Romans desolated Jerusalem in AD 70. Today, Israel still rejects Jesus. Godly people can no longer find spiritual instruction, vibrant praise, and righteous judgments within Jerusalem. A descendant of David no longer reigns therein.
At this moment in time, Israel finds itself embroiled in a war with its Palestinian neighbors. As the battles rage, Jesus continues to call out to Israel, “In me ye might have peace” (John 16:33).
There will be no true peace in Israel until it submits to the Prince of Peace—Jesus. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is not praying for wars to cease. In fact, the Prophet Jeremiah speaks of an unprecedented “time of Jacob’s trouble” which will move Israel to “serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them” (Jeremiah 30:7-9).
A plain reading of the Scriptures indicates that Israel will one day return to its homeland and be blessed by God. However, Jesus states that before this happens,
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son … in that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. (Zechariah 12:10; 13:1)
Praying for the peace of Jerusalem means praying that the Jewish people will finally embrace their Messiah—Jesus. Until then, the Jewish people will continue to feel the loving, chastening hand of God heavy upon them.
Let us emulate the Apostle Paul who declared, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved” (Romans 10:1). Thankfully, Romans 11:26 promises that his prayers and ours will one day be answered when “all Israel shall be saved”!
C. D. Cauthorne Bio
C. D. Cauthorne Jr. earned his BA and MA at Bob Jones University during the 1990s. He and his wife Heather serve at Calvary Baptist Church near Clintwood, Virginia, where C. D. is pastor.
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I agree with the core thesis here, with a caveat. Praying for the ultimate peace of Jerusalem means praying for second advent, the fully realized Kingdom of God, and the faith of “all Israel.”
In the meantime, though, can’t we pray for ordinary peace in the present day city of Jerusalem?
I don’t see why not. Though we know things get worse before they get perfect, that doesn’t mean they can’t better before they get worse and cycle through those pendulum swings many times over before the end.
This is noteworthy in this context also…
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. (Ro 2:1–5)
I’ve bolded a key phrase.
We can pray for mercy and blessing on someone while, at the same time, praying for their repentance and faith.
But even just from the standpoint of caring for fellow humans, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem. People live there! Though mainly it’s a time to focus on praying for Gaza, though anything within missile range of an enemy or potential enemy (i.e., everywhere over there!) is a scary place to be.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
You say, "The city that David describes in Psalm 122 does not exist today. In fact, it did not exist when Jesus came to earth around 2,000 years ago."
The Bible explicitly speaks of Jerusalem as being "the holy city" and does so repeatedly even after it no longer had any Davidic king righteously ruling over it:
Neh. 11:1 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.
Neh. 11:18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four.
Dan. 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Matt. 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Matt. 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Matt. 4:5 and 27:53 explicitly teach us that the Jerusalem that was physically a city in the land of Israel in the time of Jesus was still "the holy city." These statements were true about it even though there was not a king righteously ruling in that city who was a descendant of David.
Jesus even spoke of Jerusalem as "the city of the great King":
Matthew 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
He was not referring to something that did not exist on the earth when He made this statement.
It may help to note this…
After Israel rejected its Messiah, Jesus, Romans desolated Jerusalem in AD 70.
I didn’t go through them in detail, but I think all of those passages refer to Jerusalem before AD 70. (Or maybe in some cases after the Second Advent?)
But if I understand C.D.’s view on that, his point is that the “Jerusalem” of Psalm 122:6 is one where a Davidic king reigns—so if there is no Davidic king, that Jerusalem doesn’t exist.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
"The city that David describes in Psalm 122 does not exist today."
Ok, in one sense that is true.... Just as one could legitimately say, "The Washington, D.C., of Ronald Reagan does not exist today." That is a very subjective statement, however. Of course, in terms of objective reality, it DOES exist. So that one is a stretch, at best, in my view.
If C.D. is saying that the Jerusalem of of Ps. 122 is not in existence today because it is not currently a place of peace ... then I'm wondering why we're told to pray for its peace, in the first place.
Here is where I am really struggling: Is this a nice way of saying, as so many are now coming forward to proclaim, that the Israel in the land today is not the Israel of Scripture ... even prophetic Scripture?
If so, my answer is an emphatic "NO." I will put the best construction on C.D.'s words and hope he is NOT saying that. He certainly is upholding a literal future for the people, nation and land of Israel, and I applaud him for that.
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Modern Jerusalem is NOT the same as the Psalm 122 Jerusalem
The city that David describes in Psalm 122 does not exist today. In fact, it did not exist when Jesus came to earth around 2,000 years ago.
I stand behind this statement based upon the context of Psalm 122:6.
Yes, Jerusalem is labeled in the Scriptures as the "holy city." But as the host of the largest LGBTQ+ rally in the Middle East (as one example of its depravity), it is certainly not now, in reality, a holy city. Holiness is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ -- whom Israel has rejected.
Where is the "house of the LORD?" Are the Scriptures taught there? Is the true God worshipped there? Does a descendent of David currently reign in righteousness from Jerusalem? These are all characteristics of the Jerusalem in Psalm 122. None of these traits are prevelant in modern Jerusalem. Peace and prosperity are not fitting for a city "which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt" (Revelation 11:8).
One day Jerusalem will be, in reality as well as in name, the holy city. This will only occur when Israel embraces its crucified Messiah and is saved. Therefore we, like the Apostle Paul, should pray to this end. Christ is the Key to peace! According to Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:26, and elsewhere in the Scriptures, such prayers shall be gloriously answered! Until then, there will be hard times for disobedient, apostate Israel.
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