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.
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).
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]
As one of the Songs of Ascents (known in the Orthodox Church as the Eighteenth Kathisma), the Psalm is read towards the start of Vespers on weekdays during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th weeks of Great Lent, between September 22 and December 19, between January 15 and The Sunday of the Prodigal Son, and on all Fridays except Good Friday, except when these days either form part of an All-night vigil or fall the day after one.
According to the rule of St. Benedict set to 530, this Psalm was traditionally performed during the third act of the week, that is to say Tuesday – Saturday after Psalm 120 (119) and Psalm 121 (120).[9]
In the Liturgy of the Hours today, Psalm 122 is recited or sung at Vespers on Saturday of the fourth week. In the liturgy of the Mass, it is recited on the feast of Christ the King, the first Sunday of Advent in year A and 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.