The author of the One hundred and twenty-second Psalm is a religious pilgrim from the hinterland who delights in the quiet stateliness of Israel’s rebuilt Temple. To be sure, lacking gateways like flowing gold and with no broad, sweeping courts, it falls far short of the edifice which Solomon built so magnificently and which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed so violently in 587 B.C. Nevertheless, this rallying point of the faithful catches the poet up in visions of the grandeur that was and its heritage redeemed. Accordingly, harboring no sadness over the past, he is conscious only of the Temple’s present sanctity.

Unity through Jerusalem

The psalmist opens his song with deep-felt gratitude. For he walks as one of a goodly company who share his reverence for the Temple. What is more, he is part o…