Psalms 122:7

Psa 122:7 Peace be within thy walls, [and] prosperity within thy palaces.

Ver. 7. Peace be within thy walls] David had no sooner admonished others of their duty, but himself beginneth to them, Quod iussit et gessit. what he ordered he accomplished.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_122:7-8

Peace be within thy walls.

The peace and prosperity of Jerusalem

The leading elements which constitute a prosperous Church are--

I. Purity of doctrine. It is fashionable to sneer at doctrine, to talk flippantly about gnawing at the dry bones of doctrine, to endorse the sentiment of the poet who would hand over doctrine to bigots to fight about and would be satisfied with the right life. There is a fallacy here. How can we tell what the right life is if we do not learn it from doctrine? As believers in the fact of a revelation, and that the Bible contains that revelation, we maintain that the man whose life is in the right is a man who knows what the doctrine of Gods Word is concerning right living.

II. Spirituality. True religion is a life as well as a belief, a life founded upon a belief, but always a life. That life is produced by the Holy Spirit, who takes the things which are Christs, and shows them unto us. True religion has to do with the spirit of man. It cleanses the fountain, and the streams which issue therefrom are pure. The man who has spirituality is a man of religious principle. He is the same whatever he does and wherever he goes. He is the same in politics as in ecclesiastics. He is a Christian in buying and in selling, a Christian at home and abroad, on land and on sea.

III. Brotherly love. The Church is a family, the Head of which is Christ. The same spirit that is found in the Head is also found in the members of the family. Now, just as the members of a family love one another because of their blood-tie--relationship--so the members of the household of faith should recognize and exemplify their oneness in Christ. A minister was once asked what he thought of the doctrine of the mutual recognition of the saints in heaven. He replied, I am much more concerned about the duty of my people to recognize one another here upon earth. The reply was caustic, but perhaps it was needed. Christians should love one another. They have the same Saviour and the same Spirit, and they travel the same journey. Alike they have encouragements and discouragements, conflicts and victories, duties and trials, and at last they shall be received into one everlasting home.

IV. Earnest work. By exercise muscle is developed and the whole system is maintained in a state of vigour. Persons engaged in mental or sedentary employments cannot with impunity disregard this law of health. Just so is it in the domain of the spiritual. Exercise is necessary for spiritual development and spiritual strength. Here is another view: God has made Christian work imperative. He is pleased to employ His people in saying to them, Go, work in My vineyard. As among them there is a great variety of talent, so in the vineyard there are many kinds of work. Every gift, no matter how humble, can find a field for exercise. (John Currie, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. (Psa 122:7) Peace be within thy rampart, and repose within thy palaces. Peace and repose from all distracting causes, of whatever nature. Rampart, breast-work, circumvallation. Rampart and palaces are put for the outer and inner masses of building. Compare Psa 48:14.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The favor of God prosper thee both within and without.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. Peace be within thy walls] This is the form of prayer that they are to use: "May prosperity ever reside within thy walls, on all the people that dwell there; and tranquillity within thy palaces or high places, among the rulers and governors of the people."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Peace be within thy bulwarks, etc. The two clauses express the same sentiment, and, therefore, the meaning of the first is gathered from the second. The term peace signifies nothing else than prosperity. The noun שלוה, shalvah, in the second clause, sometimes signifies rest, but it is more frequently taken for abundance or prosperity On this account I have translated the noun בחילך, bechelech, within thy bulwark Calvin’s meaning is, that as the nouns peace and prosperity have a corresponding signification, he was of opinion, that there existed a similar correspondence between the other two nouns.

The Latin copy here reads, “sed ad mores alludens;” but mores is evidently a typographical error for muros The French version has “mais sous ceste similitude des murs ”

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

7. walls … palaces] The same words are found in Psa_48:13. Chçl denotes the outer wall or rampart: armôn includes all conspicuous buildings, such as forts and towers as well as palaces.

There is an assonance between the words for ‘peace’ (shâlôm) and ‘prosperity’ (shalvâh) and the name Jerusalem. Whether the name of the city is etymologically connected with the root shlm is doubtful; but the sound of the name suggests the words for peace and prosperity, and the Psalmist prays that the nomen may be an omen, and that Jerusalem may enjoy the peace of which her name is an augury.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For my brethren and companions' sakes,.... Who were regenerated by the spirit of God; adopted into his family, and children of the same father; stood in the same relation to Christ the firstborn, and members of the same church; and so brethren: partners in the same blessings and promises of the covenant; partakers of the same grace; joined together in religious worship; shared in the same joys and griefs; travellers together to the same heavenly country, and entitled to the same glory and happiness. So David, though a king, reckoned his meanest subjects as such, who were spiritual men; and for their sakes, through the goodwill, love, and affection he bore to them, he would set praying souls an example, and by it enforce his own exhortation, as follows:

I will now say, peace be within thee; now and always put up this petition, and not put it off to longer time; that peace and prosperity may always attend the church of God, as well as the city of Jerusalem, literally considered, and the inhabitants of it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Peace be within thy walls - The word here rendered walls, means properly an host, an army; then a fortification, an entrenchment, especially the ditch or trench with the low wall or breastwork which surrounds it. Gesenius, Lexicon. It refers here to the fortifications or defenses around Jerusalem.

And prosperity - Peace; the same word which is used in the previous verse, and expressing the same idea - that of tranquility.

Within thy palaces - This word properly means a “fortress,” “castle;” then, a palace, a residence of a king or a prince, 1Ki 16:18; 2Ki 15:25; Isa 25:2. The idea is, that such places abounded in Jerusalem; and the prayer is, that in those abodes of power, where the rulers of the land resided, there might be peace. The particular reason for this prayer is suggested in the following verse.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Within thy walls; in all thy dwellings.

Within thy palaces; especially in the court and the dwellings of the princes and rulers, whose welfare is a public blessing to all the people.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 7. Peace be within thy walls. See how the poet personifies the church, and speaks to it: his heart is with Zion, and therefore his conversation runs in that direction. A second time is the sweet favour of peace earnestly sought after: "There is none like it, give it me." Walls were needed to keep out the foe, but it was asked of the Lord that those walls might prove sufficient for her security. May the munitions of rock so securely defend the city of God that no intruder may ever enter within her enclosure. May her ramparts repose in safety. Three walls environed her, and thus she had a trinity of security.

And prosperity within thy palaces, or "Repose within thy palaces." Peace is prosperity; there can be no prosperity which is not based on peace, nor can there long be peace if prosperity be gone, for decline of grace breeds decay of love. We wish for the church rest from internal dissension and external assault: war is not her element, but we read of old, "Then had the churches rest; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." The bird of Paradise is not a sternly petrel: her element is not the hurricane of debate, but the calm of communion.

Observe that our Jerusalem is a city of palaces: kings dwell within her walls, and God himself is there. The smallest Church is worthy of higher honour than the greatest confederacies of nobles. The order of the New Jerusalem is of more repute in heaven than the knights of the Golden Fleece. For the sake of all the saintly spirits which inhabit the city of God we may well entreat for her the boons of lasting peace and abounding prosperity.

Ver. 7. Peace be within thy walls. The Church is a war town, and a walled town, which is situated among enemies, and may not trust them who are without, but must be upon its keeping, as the type thereof, Jerusalem, with her walls and towers, did shadow forth. David Dickson.

Ver. 7. Within thy walls. Or, To thy outward wall. Josephus tells us (Book V.) that there were at Jerusalem three ranges or rows of walls. The sense here is, Let no enemy approach so much as to thy out works to disturb thee. Thomas Fenton.

Ver. 7.

1. Where peace is most desirable: "Within thy walls." Within town walls, within house walls, but principally within temple walls.

2. Where prosperity is most desirable.

a) In the closet.

b) In the church. These are the palaces of the Great King; "The ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad." G. R.

Ver. 7. The connection between peace and prosperity.

Ver. 7. Thy walls.

1. Enquire why the church needs walls.

2. Enquire what are the walls of a church.

3. Enquire on which side of them we are.

Ver. 7. The church a palace.

1. Intended for the great King.

2. Inhabited by the royal family.

3. Adorned with regal splendour.

4. Guarded by special power.

5. Known as the court of the blessed and only potentate.

Psalms 122:8*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. The prayer, which he would have others offer, the psalmist now offers himself. The prayer embraces, first, the whole community; then, especially those who have the direction and government of it.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.