(9) Because . . .--Now for the first time the religious motive of the pilgrimage appears, rendered all the more emphatic by being kept for the concluding verse.

Verse 9. - Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good. The tabernacle set up by David in Jerusalem is called "the house of the Lord" in Psalm 5:7; Psalm 27:4; Psalm 52:8; and Psalm 55:14. God "dwelt there," as he dwelt in the tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34, 35) and in the temple of Solomon subsequently (2 Chronicles 5:13, 14). The good of Jerusalem was to be sought for two reasons:

(1) because God's people were there; and

(2) because God's house was there (see Calvin, ad loc.).

122:6-9 Those who can do nothing else for the peace of Jerusalem, may pray for it. Let us consider all who seek the glory of the Redeemer, as our brethren and fellow-travellers, without regarding differences which do not affect our eternal welfare. Blessed Spirit of peace and love, who didst dwell in the soul of the holy Jesus, descend into his church, and fill those who compose it with his heavenly tempers; cause bitter contentions to cease, and make us to be of one mind. Love of the brethren and love to God, ought to stir us up to seek to be like the Lord Jesus in fervent prayer and unwearied labour, for the salvation of men, and the Divine glory.Because of the house of the Lord our God,.... Not because of his own palace, nor because of his own house and family; nor because of his own personal interest; though all were concerned in the peace of Jerusalem: but chiefly because of the sanctuary of the Lord, as the Targum; because of the worship and service of God in it; because of his great love and zeal for the house and church of the living God, which ate him up, Psalm 69:9;

I will seek thy good; the good of Jerusalem, the good of the church of God; do all the good he could to it both with his purse and prayers, and by stirring up others to do the same; see Psalm 51:18.