Psalm 122--Jerusalem and the U.S. during 1937

I enjoy reading "Meditations in the Book of Psalms" by Erling C. Olsen. He had a Sunday afternoon radio broadcast in the 1930s, later transcribed and published in 1939 which then went through several editions. Mine is c1967, 4th printing, 1985. He was not a preacher--just a businessman who studied the Bible and had the gift of talking plainly to people suffering during the Great Depression.

Here's what he said to his radio audience in Feb. 1937 about the current problems in Jerusalem as he commented on Psalm 122 [Pray for the peace of Jerusalem]. Keep in mind, there was no Israel nation at that time, and he was not a dispensationalist.

"If you wish to know how important that city [Jerusalem] is [to the world] consider that even in this present time one has but to read the current magazines and newspapers to discover that it is a city of trouble and disturbance, yet a place to which the eyes of the world are turned for salvation--I mean national salvation . . . " (p. 879)

He then digresses from Jerusalem and turns to the USA, his primary audience.

". . . For nearly ten years, here and there, men have raised their voices, calling attention to the dangers due to the inroads of the philosophy of communism in this country. Some of us have given them only a passive interest--we thought the situation was not serious, thought it never could be serious--it might develop in other countries, but NOT HERE. I am not so sure about that now! I repeat, conditions existing in our own land today are definite causes for deep concern (I think he is referring to FDR's policies, particularly the New Deal pt. 2, and the communists in his administration) and my earnest conviction is that there is only one possibility of our escaping serious trouble and that is by a return to the faith of our fathers, and to an earnest proclamation of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Unless this country returns to God, I frankly fear for it." (p. 883)