The Songs Of Ascent – Part 4 – Psalm 122 – Where Does Your Desire Really Lie? Series

THE SONGS OF ASCENT – PART 4 – PSALM 122 – WHERE DOES YOUR DESIRE REALLY LIE?

PSALM 122:0 A SONG OF ASCENTS, OF DAVID.

[A]. THIS IS A MATTER OF COMMITMENT AND RELATIONSHIP

{{Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”}}

Let us hear from Justin:- “Well when I was asked to go to a church fellowship of God’s people my thoughts were, I was not glad. I had arranged a fishing trip.”

And from Barbara:- “My friend had a party last night and I promised her I would go and help her clean up. I see the people at church most weeks so it doesn’t matter.”

Lastly from Peter:- “Well they won’t miss me this week. Norman wants me to go and he said there was a missionary speaker from India, but I want to see if I can find where the leaks in the house guttering are while the rain has stopped. There is supposed to be rain in the next few days.”

Others may have had a camping trip, or went to attend a sporting fixture, or . . . or . . . .

Where are the priorities in each of our lives? What is it that stirs your soul and gives you the drive in life? Does the thought of being with God’s people put you off, or does it take you over with such a joy and expectation? Do you find it all too depressing to be in a church or bible study, and most of all – a prayer meeting? I suppose I can understand some people not happy with a particular church, but the moment the thought is expressed about being with the people of God, what is your reaction? Is it peace or resentment? Where would you rather be instead?

These are questions all about commitment. I am not asking you primarily about being committed to a church. I want to know about how you are committed to the Lord. This is also about relationship. Maybe I am simple in my understanding but those who are absolutely committed to the Lord are committed also to His true people. Those who are half hearted about their faith are half hearted about being in a church or having fellowship with God’s people.

Thus, this Psalm begins with a relationship matter. It was written by David who loved the house of the Lord (then is was the Tabernacle) and who loved being in the presence of God. So many of David’s psalms portray that special thought about the Lord’s presence. Every part of Psalm 122 reflects the importance of praise and worship, and of collective praise, and of the extreme importance of Jerusalem and Israel.

You can easily grasp the sweet psalmist of Israel wending his way also up the ascents to Jerusalem along with the throng of people going to the Feasts. I can see on one occasion his writing a psalm for that occasion. How joyfully would the pilgrims have sung this as they wended their way to Jerusalem! It so much reflected their ambition as they would end at the gates of Jerusalem and with great expectation they would enter God’s house. What an absolutely fitting psalm for the occasion.

[B]. O, THE GATES OF JERUSALEM, A CITY RESTORED

{{Psalm 122:2 “Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,

Psalm 122:3 Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together;”}}

The first four verses go together but I have separated them just for comment. There is a big time difference probably between verses 1 and 2. Verse 1 is the impetus for this pilgrimage and verse 2 is the achievement of it. The pilgrims are now in Jerusalem, actually standing in the gates of entry. What an achievement. They have sung their way up the ascent and at last their feet are about to enter through Jerusalem’s gates and stand before the House of the Lord. They sang right there and then, these two verses of praise.

You will see that Jerusalem is addressed because that city is just so important in the life of the devout Jew. Today there are secular Jews who don’t care much about Israel or Jerusalem especially if they are American. Then there is the devout Jew whose heart lies in Jerusalem. There is a lot more that can be said about Jerusalem but I will take that up later on.

There are things said about the Christian, when he departs this world, about standing before the gates of heaven, the heavenly city. I do not think it is like that. I don’t think heaven has gates for it is the dwelling place (location place) of the Lamb but figurative language will use gates and city. We sometimes say we are going to a heavenly city but we should know that means we are going into the presence of the Lord. How blessed that will be when absent from the body will see us in the Lord’s presence and I feel very positive that Jesus Himself will be there to welcome us, all individually when God calls us to Himself. We are not our own as we have been bought with a price and the Lord is merely gathering to Himself what is rightfully His. We enter heaven and stand before the glorious throne.