“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!”” Psalm 122:6-7 ESV
Reflection: what is the “biggest” prayer, the most significant thing you have ever asked God for?
Prayer is interesting. We speak to someone we cannot see, about something we cannot do, nor even fully understand. Yet, we do it. Even trust that it is heard and will be answered. Prayer is, perhaps the biggest exercise of our faith. It is clearly an acknowledgment that there is a God, that God is so much higher than us, so much more powerful. That He is Almighty. And yet, He can hear each of us pray to Him. And, that He even cares about the little things in our daily lives. It is just so mind boggling when you stop for a moment to think about it. With our prayers, we also acknowledge that the reality we live in, is so much grander than we can physically see and comprehend. That things are not necessarily as they appear. But we can sense that there are battles beyond the physical reality we see. That there is an unseen realm, yet a reality, that we just don’t see.
The Bible is filled with imagery of this hidden reality. Of the existence beyond what we physically can see. And, when we read the Bible, we can sort of “drift” between the realities of the seen and unseen. If you go to the home page of TwoThumbsMinistry website and scroll down, you will see the phrase
“While God is unseen, He can be known”.
The Bible describes who He is. And, by studying His word, we can understand Him, and we can validate that He is who He says He is through experience. That what He says is in fact true. He wants us to validate, because He wants us to know Him. Not for the purpose of testing Him, but so that we can have a real relationship with Him. Ok, so far, so good.
Now, as we read the focus verse today, let’s stretch our thinking, our understanding, from the seen to the unseen. Let’s first read from the book of Revelation. “Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,” Revelation 21:9-10 ESV. If you have time, read Revelation 21:1-22:5. Let me ask you, is this the seen or unseen realm John is describing? Rhetorical question, obviously, as it is clearly the unseen realm, since John says “carried me away in the Spirit”. He is describing the holy city Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, from God. John tries to describe how beautiful this city is, using the most exquisite language he has.
Jerusalem, the city of God, coming down.
As we have this imagery in mind, we can read psalm 122. “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” Psalm 122:1-9 ESV.
While we certainly can pray for peace in the Middle East, for the physical Jerusalem, the reference here that David is talking about is so much bigger. Not a physical kingdom, but the holy city of God, the heavenly city, and for all of God’s people, going “up to worship”. Let me point out an interesting little detail here to consider. The physical, the seen Jerusalem, is literally on a mountain. This is why the people said “going up” to Jerusalem, as this psalm is called “Song of Ascents, of David”. While the people were physically “ascending” from the valley below to Jerusalem, they also were spiritually ascending to the Lord. To the temple of the Lord, because we see also in the unseen Jerusalem John described “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem”. When we pray, our prayers ascend as incense to the Lord, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!” Psalm 141:2 ESV
As we study the Bible, let’s not get stuck in only looking at our physical reality, physical world. Rather, let us ask the question of what does the word mean in an eternal perspective. Let’s always keep in mind that much of what is written is not to be limited to just what our physical eyes can see. The seen is often a picture, a reflection of something much greater.