Psalm 122 is the 122nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I was glad" and in Latin entitled Laetatus sum. It is attributed to King David and one of the fifteen psalms described as A song of ascents (Shir Hama'alot). Its title, I was glad, is reflected in a number of choral introits by various composers.
In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 121.
Text
Hebrew
The following table shows the Hebrew text[1][2] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
King James Version
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Purpose
The psalm is attributed to King David;[3] however, Alexander Kirkpatrick suggests that its author lived "in the country, at a distance from Jerusalem. He recalls the joy with which he heard the invitation of his neighbours to join the company of pilgrims". He adds, "the psalm may best be explained thus, as the meditation of a pilgrim who, after returning to the quiet of his home, reflects upon the happy memories of his pilgrimage."[4]
Verses 7–9 are cited in Talmud Brachos 64a, which has been incorporated into various parts of the liturgy.[8]
Catholic Church
According to the Rule of St. Benedict, this Psalm was to be recited during the third act of the week, that is to say on Tuesday through Saturday, after Psalm 120 (119) and Psalm 121 (120).[9]
In the Liturgy of the Hours in general use today, Psalm 122 is recited or sung at Vespers on the Saturday of the fourth week of the four-week cycle. It is also used at Second Vespers in the Common texts for the feasts of both the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all Holy Women.
In the liturgy of the Mass, it is recited on the feast of Christ the King, the first Sunday of Advent in year A in the three-year cycle of Sunday readings and on the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time in year C.
Heinrich Schütz composed a metred paraphrase of the psalm in German, "Es ist ein Freud dem Herzen mein", SWV 227, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.
Charpentier set the same text in 1671, again as a motet, catalogued as H.161, for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings and continuo. In 1690, he set another "Laetatus sum" H.216, for soloists, chorus, 2 treble instruments and continuo.
^Règle de saint Benoît, traduction de Prosper Guéranger (réimpression ed.), Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, 2007, p. 46{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link).
^"The Book of Common Prayer". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 November 2016. The Psalms of David – Day 27. Morning
^Burgess, Francis (1921). The English Gradual, part 2. London: Plainchant Publications Committee.
.jpg)
