Songs of Ascent-
Psalms 120-135
Part 1
In biblical times, the people of Israel would journey to Jerusalem to worship at the temple on the three major feast days: Passover, Weeks (Pentecost) and Tabernacles (Succoth). The temple on Mount Zion is the high point in Israel, so you had to go up, regardless of which direction you were coming from. As they ascended the hills leading up to Jerusalem they would sing these psalms. There is a progression of these psalms that mirror the physical ascent to a spiritual journey, going up to the house of God, getting closer and closer to the heart of God. We can make that spiritual journey to get closer to God, even though there is no longer a physical temple on Mount Zion.
Psalm 120
Psalms 120:5 (NASB20)
Woe to me, for I reside in Meshech, For I have settled among the tents of Kedar!
We start our journey as far away from Jerusalem as the psalmist could imagine. The sons of Meshech were descendants of one of Noah’s grandsons, and migrated to the north, eventually reaching the lands around the Black Sea. The tribes of Kedar were nomads that dwelt in the Arabian desert to the south. These lands were both physically and spiritually far from God.
Psalms 120:1 (NASB20) A Song of Ascents.
Icried to the LORD in my trouble, And He answered me.
Psalms 120:6-7 (NASB20)
6 Toolong has my soul had its dwelling With those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace, but when I speak, They are for war.
When your heart is far from the Lord, you are going to have trouble and will be at war. Your first step back is to recognize that there is a place a peace. Every journey starts with a first step, and the journey back to God starts with calling out to Him to rescue you from your place of trouble:
Psalms 120:2 (NASB20)
Rescue my soul, LORD, from lying lips, From a deceitful tongue.
Psalm 121
Psalms 121:1-4 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents.
I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3 Hewill not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who watches over Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.
A journey also needs a destination. You can’t get there if you don’t have a vision of where you want to go. The psalmist begins his journey by looking up to the mountains of Israel. At first it may have only been a memory of Mount Zion, but as he walks on, eventually he will see the hills in the distance and know where he needs to go. I’ve never been to Israel, but I’ve been to Colorado, and going through Kansas or Nebraska you can see for miles, but there are no mountains. But eventually, you get into the foothills of Colorado and the Rockies begin to loom on the horizon. At first there is just a slight blue ridge on the horizon, but as you get closer, the mountains seem to rise out of the prairie like gigantic monuments. As your eyes look up, you naturally think of the majesty of creation, and if you are wise, you think of the creator that is the author of such majesty. The psalmist was thinking the same way. He begins to think of the Lord that created heaven and earth and then starts to remember how the Lord has guided and protected him. Even as he starts to climb up the steep mountain trails, with their loose rock and ruble, he remembers how the Lord has made his footsteps sure and has not allowed him to stumble.
Likewise, we need to take time to remember the greatness and majesty of the Lord. He is great enough to create all the heavens and the earth by His word, but yet he cares enough for us to watch our every step. He never slumbers or sleeps in His care for us.
Psalms 121:5-8 (NASB20)
5 The LORD is your protector; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not beat down on you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time and forever.
As we journey on, we come closer and closer to the Lord until we enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Psalm 122
Psalms 122:1-3 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents, of David.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to the house of the LORD.” 2 Our feet are standing Within your gates, Jerusalem, 3 Jerusalem, thathas been built As a city that is firmly joined together;
Psalm 100:4 (NASB20)
EnterHis gates with thanksgiving, And His courtyards with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
The gates of Jerusalem speak of salvation. Jesus himself taught us that he is the door of the sheepfold and is the way to the Father.
John 10:7-10 (NASB20)
7So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 “All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.
John 14:6 (NASB20)
Jesussaid to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
Thanksgiving and praise open the gates to allow us to approach the presence of the Lord, and Jesus himself is the only door that allows us to fellowship with the Lord God almighty! Jerusalem, the city of God, speaks of the church, the ecclesia, which is called out and bound together in fellowship with one another and with the Lord. So indeed, we should enter his gates with thanksgiving and enter his courts with praise, and give thanks and bless His name.
We started our in a land at war but have entered a place of peace, Jerusalem, which literally means “teaching of peace.”
Psalms 122:6-9 (NASB20)
6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. 7 “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.” 8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.
Now we are acutely aware in these days that physical Jerusalem is not a place of peace. However, we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We desire physical peace for the people of Jerusalem, but more than that we seek the spiritual peace that comes from entering into relationship with the one true Messiah. So let us pray for, and enter into, that place of peace with God.
Psalm 123
Psalms 123:1-4 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents.
To You I have raised my eyes, You who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us. 3 Be gracious to us, LORD, be gracious to us, For we have had much more than enough of contempt. 4 Our soul has had much more than enough Of the scoffing of those who are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud.
In the next psalm, we shift our focus from the city to God, to God himself. It is wonderful to be at peace and have fellowship with the people of God, but even better to have close fellowship with the Lord himself. In this psalm we remember the grace of God who sent Jesus to die for our sins. It is only through His mercy and grace that we have found our way into His presence. We worship HIm as lowly servants who owe everything to the master. In this place, and only in this place, will our souls find peace. So enough with the contempt and pride of the world, but let us instead turn our eyes upward to our Lord, who is gracious to us.
Psalm 124
In the next psalm, the psalmist takes one last look at the world he came from, and thanks the Lord for his deliverance from the anger and strife of his previous life. He blesses the Lord who has rescued him and affirms that his help is in the name of the Lord.
Psalms 124:1-8 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents, of David.
“Had it not been the LORD who was on our side,” Let Israel say, 2 “Had it not been the LORD who was on our side When people rose up againstus, 3 Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their anger was kindled against us; 4 Then the waters would have flooded over us, The stream would have swept over our souls; 5 Then the raging waters would have swept over our souls.”
6Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth. 7 Our souls have escaped like a bird from the trapper’s snare; The snare is broken and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
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