PILGRIMS ASCENDING – Psalms 120-134 are called "Songs of Ascent" which most likely refers to their use by pilgrims who made their way to Jerusalem from the four corners of the Fertile Crescent to offer sacrifice and to worship at the temple. Ideally, the Law required worshipers top appear before God at Jerusalem on the three occasions of Passover/Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Booths. [1]

TWO HOUSES IN JERUSALEM – There were two houses in Jerusalem that show up in this psalm—"the house of the lord" (vv. 1, 9) and "the house of David" (v. 5). That’s not unlike Jerusalem standing as a referent to "the city of God" and "the city of David." In this psalm, "the house of the lord" encases the house (dynasty) of David. That is to say, that the power and posterity of David’s house is derivative, an agency of God’s reign and borne along in the purpose of God. [2]

ADVENT AND PSALM 122 – You may be wondering what the relationship is between this psalm and beginning of Advent. Please note NIB’s comment on the relationship:

Advent maintains a dual focus on Christ’s second coming and Christ’s first coming—his birth—and so it effectively celebrates the good news that "the Lord is here" and will be here forever. Indeed, for the Gospel writers, Jesus represents what the Temple had symbolized; Jesus is the new locus of God’s revelation in space and time . . . because this is the case, the Christian reader cannot help hearing Psalm 122 in the light of Jesus’ reaction as he made a final pilgrimage to Jerusalem . . . tellingly, Jesus moves directly to the Temple, where he pronounces it a means of fleeing from justice rather than furthering the just purposes of God’s reign. [3]

connections

If most of your life has included Sunday morning church attendance, what were your attitudes about going to church each week? What were the attitudes of your parents?

Much patriotism is evident in this psalm—great emotion about the excellence of Jerusalem. What have you observed about patriotism in your lifetime—at its best? At its worst?

gambits

I probably would not use this psalm by itself for a homily, but perhaps this would be a fine supplement to the Isaiah 2 lesson. The first gives a bird’s eye view of Jerusalem’s two houses (see "scripture" section above), while Isaiah focuses on "the mountain of God.

You might consider doing the same, talk about the passion and patriotism that inspired Psalm 122, then move to Isaiah’s vision in chapter 2. Shift one final time to Jesus as the embodiment of God’s revelation in space and time.

_______________________________________________________
[1] The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002), page 872.
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996. page 1183.
[3] Ibid, page 1186.