As I read these Psalms this morning, I think I will just jot down whatever each one means to me. Maybe that will help me remember them at the right occasion in the future.
Psalm 121. I always thought that David was “lifting his eyes to the hills” because that’s where help came from. But once I visited Jerusalem our Israelite guide pointed out to me that the Holy City is a lower elevation than the hills around it. (Think of some of the pictures you’ve seen of Jerusalem…you can see right inside the city…if the city was the high ground all you would see is the wall). Having your enemy able to perch on a hilltop close by and see everything going on inside the city isn’t the best situation. And when David says “I lift my eyes” he is saying that he looks up and sees that he is surrounded. I don’t know that this exact situation happened to David in Jerusalem, but it happened to him in other places several times. David reminded himself that when he is surrounded, God is his ever present help. Today I want to remember that when it looks like I am “surrounded” and there isn’t any help, God is still in control. I never need to panic, I never need to despair. I need to trust, and rely on God to do what only God can do. Should I work hard? Sure. But at the end of the day, it will be what God did that wins the day, not what I did.
Psalm 123-125. Here is the second reason that David “lifts his eyes”. Jerusalem is in the mountains, so in order to get there, you must walk uphill. Therefore, the “songs of ascent”. Some people would say “Let’s get to the temple, get organized, and then we will begin to praise”. But David has orchestrated praises to God to begin before you ever reach the city. I wonder what would happen if we did that before church every Sunday? I see here three movements: first, the choir calls out for mercy, in the second they begin to praise for deliverance in the past, and in the third they praise God for His benevolence toward the righteous, and they ask for His blessing…specifically the blessing of peace.
Missing from these hymns of confession and praise is any mention of requesting “things” for themselves. I’m sure they would ask later, but as they prepare to enter the city, their focus seems to be on their national condition, not personal. I wonder if their praises become more personal the closer they come to the Holy of Holies?
Psalm 128-130. Wow, these are short. I feel pretty good about reading 7 Psalms today, and it didn’t take as long as 3 Chapters normally does.
These three Psalms are also for the ascent to Jerusalem, and they are similar to the others, but in some cases I find them more personal. I see the word “I” in Psalm 130, which sort of dampens my theory about the songs becoming more personal as they grow closer. Oh well, it was a thought… This first psalm is a proclamation of God’s favor on those who obey Him. The implied command is “Obey the Lord”, which would be a great thing to be thinking about as you drew near to His temple. Thinking about services on Sunday, what would happen if every Sunday we all repeated (on our way to church) “Those who follow the Lord’s direction are blessed. Today I will follow whatever direction the Lord gives me”. Wouldn’t that re-focus our mind in new ways? If I believed that I was going to hear something special, I would be more attuned to listen for it.
Then, in the second of these three David is once again proclaiming God’s deliverance. The person described here sounds like one delivered from slavery. It could be a reference to the days of slavery past, or of deliverance from recent oppression. For me, it’s a reminder that God delivers me from the bondage to sin, and that even though sin has left scars on me, I am now a free man in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord! (Hey, these songs of ascent really work…) Finally the call out for forgiveness and mercy, and a profession of reliance upon God’s favor. You know, these three almost seem in reverse order of the first set of three we read. Here it ends with a confession, there it began with one. That makes me wonder if the songs of ascent didn’t surge back and forth between praises and confession like waves on the ocean…or like different notes being sung. Here’s what I’m thinking: what if each way that we praise or confess is subtly different and unique from each other way? like the difference between two notes? It takes a variety of notes to make a pleasing chorus, and it would take a variety of praises and confessions, each slightly different and unique to create a pleasing chorus before the Lord.
I wonder if God gets excited. Do you wonder things like that? I get excited, and God created me…excitement isn’t a sin…..so God must get excited. Huh. So, if God gets excited, I wonder how excited he would be hearing these praises as His people drew closer and closer to Jerusalem. I’ll bet by the time they reached the temple the God was so happy to see them! You know where I’m going with this…
Thinking of our time… I wonder how much excitement our preparation for worship generates in heaven…
I guess there’s always room for improvement, but I would like to think that as our thoughts turn to Jesus, and to worship together (even now!) that God is smiling.
Faithfully,
PR