Category: Psalms of Ascent

For most of us, the consistent uncertainty of the world feels unlike any other time in our lives. It can feel like the only thing that is predictable is the unpredictability of the world around us. This has led to record high cases of anxiety and depression. Whenever we feel unsettled or insecure, Psalm 125 is a good reminder of how big and dependable our God is.  

If you have ever spent time near the Rocky Mountains (or any other mountain range), you know how majestic they are up close. The psalmist tells us that when we put our trust in the Lord, we become strong, steady, and faithful like a mountain. We cannot be moved because we trust in the One True God who cannot be moved. Because we rely upon an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God, we can have confidence that He surrounds us, constantly ready to provide protection (Psalm 34:19), guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6), and His Presence (Matthew 28:20).  

A scepter is a symbol of an earthly sovereign. The Israelites had been promised the holy land as their inheritance. In verse 3, the psalmist is reminding the Israelites that their inheritance will not always be controlled by the wicked and will be kept safe from the potential sin of those who purport to be righteous. Our inheritance is controlled and given by the Lord. Psalm 16:5 says, “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.” 

We may sometimes get discouraged because it seems that the wicked are “running the show” and getting ahead, but here the psalmist reminds us that the wicked will not always have their way, and the righteous will receive their promised inheritance from the Lord. 1 Peter 1:3-5 communicates the same promise “…He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”  

Some days, the brokenness of this world seems too much to bear. Too much hate, too much pain, too much loss, too much conflict…it can all feel like just too much. This is not a new condition for humankind and will not be an old condition until the eternal restoration of heaven on earth. So what are we supposed to do in the meantime? How do we cope with the chaos and conflict?

David and the people of Israel offer guidance in Psalm 124. The nation of Israel understood conflict. They endured pain and loss (see enslavement in Egypt and the aftermath in Exodus). They had been at war with their neighbors for generations and had kings in conflict with each other (see 1 and 2 Samuel). They lived in fear of famine, invasion, and deadly illness daily. Yet, they sang Psalm 124.

This psalm begins with an introduction and call to community worship. Can’t you hear the piano’s low and slow start of melody as the worship leader steps to the microphone and gratefully sings “If the Lord had not been on our side…” Everyone knows this song; we were raised on it, sang it at church camp, heard our grandparents sing it, and the intro ushers all the trials, triumphs, and trust in God that comes from His faithfulness to bring us through the brokenness of this world. The tears swell in our eyes and the peace pours over us as we let go of controlling the things of this world and grab hold of the joy of the Lord that can come only from the Holy Spirit.

“Let all of Israel say” the worship leader calls to us. This is not an isolated request; it is a group effort to share the stories, claim the promises, and demonstrate the Holy Spirit to a tired and broken nation. This is a call to us when this world is too much. The psalm describes how God saved Israel from the perils of this world. It ends with the joint proclamation, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” May we find peace and comfort in making this same proclamation together with our community, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

No matter where we are, some form of hierarchy is at play all around us. At the bank, the teller answers to the bank president. On an airplane, the flight attendant takes direction from the captain. At the pool, the lifeguard with the whistle reigns over the waters, even if that lifeguard is a teenager. We inherently acknowledge and respect hierarchies of authority. And within those rules, sometimes written and sometimes unwritten, we have expectations of how all parties should act. 

In Psalm 123, we see four different relationships at play, each with different expectations. The writer opens the psalm by looking up to God enthroned in heaven. That’s one relationship. Then he compares his own posture to a slave looking up to his master, or a maidservant looking up to her master. That’s three relationships. Man and God, a male slave and his slave owner, and a maidservant and her mistress. The fourth relationship is revealed in verse 4, when we discover that the people of God have endured contempt and ridicule from the proud, presumably from neighboring nations or those who reject the truth of God. One people group ridicules another people group. That’s four relationships. 

The cry of the psalmist, and the underlying motivation for writing this psalm, is for God to show Israel mercy. Our God is unique. His character is unique. We serve a God who offers mercy, who is marked by his merciful nature. He’s different from the slavemaster. He’s different from the strong nation mocking the rival nation. God does not proudly mock nor does He abuse His authority. He breaks the world’s expectations. We can be confident of His mercy because He has displayed it for generations. We serve a merciful God, even as we are subservient to Him. 

After a long pilgrimage, the Jewish people were at the gates of their beloved Jerusalem. The temple in Jerusalem would be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the throne of King David. With glad hearts, they said: “Let us go to the House of the Lord!” What a glorious time this must have been as they celebrated the priestly worship of God in the temple, as well as the kingly reverence of God at the throne of David. Their long pilgrimage had ended and it was time to gather for worship in the “House of the Lord”. 

The past couple of years have taught us many things, but one of the most notable is the importance of worshipping corporately alongside other believers. We know the church is not a building, but the assembly of God’s people gathered together. There is something undeniably powerful about gathering with the body of Christ for worship, prayer, fellowship, communion, baptisms and preaching.

Since Christ ascended back to Heaven, the body of Christ (His church) has gathered regularly for preaching, prayer, fellowship, communion, confession, and songs. It’s why Old Testament scholar Derek Kinder said; “What Jerusalem was to the Israelites, the Church is to the Christian.” Or in the words of 14th Century theologian Martin Luther: “Our Jerusalem is the Church and our temple is Christ. Wherever Christ is preached and the sacraments are rightly administered, there we are sure God dwells and there is our temple, our tabernacle, our cherubim, and our mercy seat. For there, God is present with us by His Word.”

The good news for the church today is Jesus is the true King. He reigns in His holy temple, full of glory and honor, and is worthy of our praise. May we gather as the people of God each week with our churches, lifting our voices in song and prayer, receiving communion, celebrating baptisms, hearts filled with the Holy Spirit, and minds renewed by the preaching of the Word.  

Psalm 121 is the second song of ascent and is believed to have been sung as pilgrims approached Jerusalem. The city, which is located up on a hill, was the site of numerous festivals. The first verse can be interpreted literally as the author is looking upon the physical hill in front of him and mentally preparing for the journey, but also metaphorically in the sense of remembering the trials that they have gone through in their life so far. With both interpretations, the message stays the same: The Lord guides through it all.

It’s after this proclamation of who God is in verse 2 that there is a shift in focus, from the speaker’s personal problems to focusing on who God is, now directly addressing the reader. We don’t hear the author complain about the journey or what else they are worried about, because when they approached a difficult journey, they immediately went to remembering what is true about who God is. When we take our eyes off of ourselves and instead remember who God is, it changes how we view everything, our circumstances, ourselves, and others all look different with this change in vision.

So what does the author see when he looks to God? That He is watching over us and helps us stay firm (v. 3). He does not forget us or turn His back on us –even when it feels like he does (v. 4). He helps us see clearly and has a plan for our life that is better than what we could plan (v. 5 & 7). This can all be summed up by the Hebrew word shamar, meaning to keep and preserve. It’s repeated six times throughout this chapter to clearly communicate that The Lord will preserve you. Even when we are doubting and turning away from God, He is constant and steady (v. 8).

We are often so quick to turn away from God when things get hard. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the world and to try to take control, but what we are being reminded of in this passage is that God is enough. While we are not enough for the trials we go through, the good news for us is that our God is more than enough! Take time today to meditate on these truths of who God is.

Psalms 120-134 are known as the “Psalms of Ascent” or “Pilgrim Songs”. Every year as the Jews traveled uphill towards the city of Jerusalem to participate in one of the three Jewish festivals, these are the songs they would sing. They became a staple of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem back then and now they serve as a helpful template for us as we worship today. 

We thought reading through these 15 psalms would be a great way to close out the year together!