Summer in the Psalms - Week Ten Gathering Place

Welcome, once again, to your Gathering Place girls! I could tell from some of your responses, that perhaps more than any other week, this week has genuinely required of you - in the sense that the scope of your reading was not only lengthy, but also deep and far reaching in it's content as well. However, because the sole intent of this particular exercise was to simply set our heart's upon pilgrimage, allowing these psalms to draw us ever closer to our God, discipline was also required of you, as you were not to take it any farther than to just drink of God's Word and to not try and over 'think' it.

Although there have been many books and studies written, regarding these particular psalms, and commentaries will give you even more information regarding them, I am encouraged to know that you have allowed God alone to guide you through His Word and minister to you as you yourself were placed by Him upon the pilgrim's path.

The title, 'Songs of Ascents', is a Hebrew title given to Psalms 120-134, it looks like this in Hebrew שיר המעלות, and it's transliteration is 'Shir Hama'aloth‎'. Over the centuries these 15 psalms have come to be known as 'The Gradual Psalms', 'The Songs of Degrees', 'The Songs of Steps' or 'The Pilgrim Songs'. I came across this picture on the right, which shows the Songs of Ascents written in Hebrew right into the walls at the entrance to the City of David in Jerusalem.

You probably noted in your reading that although we do not know for sure who wrote all of these psalms, four of them are clearly psalms written by David (122, 124, 131 and 133), and one (127) was written by David's son Solomon. If you look closely at 127, and if you have every studied the books of Samuel and Chronicles, you will undoubtedly see the significance of Solomon's words, "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;".

During the reign of his father David, it was in the heart of David to build a house for the Lord, but because David was a man of war the Lord chose his son Solomon to build the house (1 Kings 5:1-5, 2 Chronicles 6:7-10). Similarly, knowing the life of David will intensify his words in Psalm 133, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" David had known the love of Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-4), yet David's life was characterized by anything but unity. The first king of Israel, Saul, sought David to take his life; David's own sons were against each other, leading to the murder of one of them by the hand of his brother; one son schemed to kill David himself; one son raped his sister, David's house seemed to be a house divided and anything but unity seemed to reign. So his words in this psalm are deeply meaningful. David understood that the unity of God's people was pleasing to God, it sets them apart from the other nations, consecrating them as the oil that ran down the beard of Aaron the priest - this reminded me of our study in the book of John, where we learned, through the High Priestly prayer of Jesus, that His desire for us is that "(we) be one, just as We (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) are one;"

These psalms are significant in that they are songs of worship, sung by pilgrims as they made their ascent (way up) to Jerusalem to attend the three annual festivals - the Festival of Passover, the Festival of Pentecost and the Festival of Tabernacles. In her time, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, would have been counted among the number of these pilgrims (1 Samuel 1) who sang these Songs of Ascents as she made her way up to Jerusalem. In Luke 2:41-42 we see Jesus Himself, a pilgrim of 12 years of age, going up to Jerusalem for the Festival of Passover; He would also have been singing the Songs of Ascent, the Hallel, just as you yourself did this week.

Think upon Jesus, singing, along with his parents and the others on the pilgrimage path Psalm 121... "I will lift My eyes up to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip..." I cried as I read this, knowing that as Jesus sung this pilgrimage psalm, on His first journey to Jerusalem for the feast - that ahead of Him yet lay His wilderness temptations (Matthew 4:1-11), the persecution from His own (John 1:11) - yet lay ahead of Him Gethsemane, where His soul would be "deeply grieved to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38) - and yet lay ahead of Him the agony of the cross, the separation from the Father (Matthew 27:46).

He Himself was the "Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:2; John 1:1-3), yet He positioned Himself in submission to the Father and lifted His eyes to Him and Him alone - that I might today, on this side of the cross, claim these words as He Himself did, knowing that all has been accomplished through the pilgrimage of Jesus that ultimately took Him to the cross, for the forgiveness of my sins. These Songs of Ascent speak to me this... "STEP UP! STEP UP!" I do not know what yet lays ahead of me on this pilgrims path, but as I look up, keeping my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, He beckons me on.... "STEP UP! STEP UP!

The Songs of Ascents are also significant because they were also sung by the priests as they ascended the fifteen steps in the temple in Jerusalem, to minister to the people. And once again I hear, "STEP UP! STEP UP!"

Psalm 126 was also meaningful to me, as I saw that it was written upon the return of God's chosen people, from the Babylonian exile, back to Jerusalem. It describes their emotions upon their entering in... it was like a dream, mouths were filled with laughter, their tongues becoming the instruments of joyful shouting, "the LORD has done great things, we are glad". This took me back to the time of my own initial salvation, when God Himself delivered me out of the captivity of death and darkness and into Life and marvelous Light... and I sang this particular Song of Ascent as praise to my God.

Psalm 122 reminds me of the importance of praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Not human, wordly, governmental peace, but God's peace, for "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1) An ordinance has been given to Jerusalem, that thanks is to be given "to the Name of the LORD." We can pray for God's peace (shalom, meaning 'whole, complete, nothing broken, nothing missing') to be upon and within Jerusalem.

This week has been deeply meaningful to me, God has ministered to my thirsting soul and given me refreshment through His Word. And although each held meaning for me, it was Psalm 130 that was continually upon my heart, my memory verse being v.5-6...

"I wait for the LORD,

my soul does wait,

and in His Word do I hope.

My soul waits for the LORD

more than the watchmen for the morning;

indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning."

Now girls,

may the God of hope

fill you with all joy

and peace

in believing,

so that you will abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit...

Romans 15:13

I missed seeing you in the Comment Cafe last week at our Gathering Place, so I am really looking forward to seeing you there this time!

Until then,

love you like crazy!

Your sister-mama,