REJOICING AS WE REASSEMBLE
Psalm 122:1-9
For approximately 2 months we were unable to assemble together and worship as a church family. For the last 3 weeks we have had the glorious opportunity to reassemble and worship our Lord and Savior. I don’t know about you, but for me the new has not even begun to wear off. Due to our recent circumstances, I now have a far greater understanding of what David meant when he said “I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the LORD." Those words come from Psalm 122. This Psalm is identified as “A song of degrees”
Songs of degrees were Psalms that were sung by the Jewish people as they journeyed to Jerusalem to observe the specific feasts. These Psalms were designed to glorify the Lord and help prepare the hearts of the saints of God for worship. David rejoiced at the opportunity to go and worship the Lord. You and I have numerous reasons to rejoice today. We can rejoice because we belong to God; we are redeemed, set free and forgiven; we are Children of God, we are joint heirs with Jesus, we possess eternal life and we have been promised a home in Heaven.
It is exciting for us to assemble together once again. Some of you are taking a great risk by entering these doors. Unfortunately many are using the current situation as a good excuse to stay at home. We have asked those who are “high risk” to protect themselves and join us online; And we long for the day when they are able join us once again. However, there are some people who simply have no desire to attend church. People who truly belong to God should have an intense desire to worship the Lord, they should have a desire to hear from His word and they should desire to fellowship with His people.
I have been amazed by the joy that is seen in those who have returned to worship. Things are still far from what we would consider “normal”, but there is a sweet spirit in this place. I would like to look at Psalm 122 and see 3 reasons that we are able to rejoice today.
- As we do I want to preach on the thought “REJOICING AS WE REASSEMBLE”.
- Why do we rejoice?
1. We Rejoice Because We Can Obey The Lord’s Command
2. We Rejoice Because We Can Gather With The Lord’s People
3. We Rejoice Because We Can Praise The Lord’s Name
- Let’s begin by examining the fact that:
I. WE REJOICE BECAUSE WE CAN OBEY THE LORD’S COMMAND
v4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
Notice that David speaks of “the testimony of Israel”. This is a reference to God’s command to Israel to gather at the tabernacle, and later at the temple, for the three great Jewish feasts. These are:
1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread
2. The Feast of Pentecost
3. The Feast of Tabernacles
This verse shows one of the most important reasons for going up to the temple, and that is “To give thanks to the name of the LORD.” The people of Israel had many reasons to give thanks unto the Lord. Likewise, we have many reasons to give thanks to Him. Furthermore, we have the opportunity to give thanks unto the Lord. Not only do we have the opportunity, we have an obligation to worship Him.
Hebrews 10:25 (do not forsake) the assembling of yourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Attending church is a matter of obedience.
The Jews made long pilgrimages at appointed times to worship the Lord. They were required to do this, but they were also glad to do this! David said “I was glad when they said unto me ‘let us go into the house of the Lord”.
Not only should we attend worship… we should be glad to do so! There are some who attend but I’m not so sure they enjoy it! When we come to church we have the opportunity to commune with God. That should bring us great joy! We also have the opportunity to hear from God’s word every time we assemble together, I am thankful that everything we do is centered on God and His Word. Our teaching is Bible based, our singing consists of scriptural songs and our preaching comes directly from the Bible. It is all about Him and if it is not about Him it has no business in this place!
God’s word is essential!
Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
People who truly belong to God will have a desire to hear from His word!
The Jews had a desire to go to the Tabernacle and later to the Temple. They forged through great difficulty to go and offer their praises to the Lord. They knew that God was worthy of their praise. We cannot count the reasons that we have to praise His name. And I am glad that we have the opportunity to join together praise Him once again.
- Let us also consider the fact that
II. WE REJOICE BECAUSE WE CAN GATHER WITH THE LORD’S PEOPLE
v4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
David was not only excited about meeting with the Lord; He looked forward to meeting with the People of God. In verse one he said, “they said…Let us go”. Now here in verse 4 he talks about the “Tribes of the Lord”. There were 12 Tribes of Israel. All of the people in all of the tribes did not always get along. There were many disputes and disagreements among the tribes. But when they gathered at the Tabernacle they could forget about all of their troubles they could put aside their differences and focus on the Lord.
There are many differences among our faith family. We come from different backgrounds. We have different likes and dislikes, but when we come together it works! We have amazing unity within this assembly. The only way this is possible is because we are joined together by the common bond of Jesus Christ!
When we were separated we had a great longing to be together. Now that we are together there is great joy and celebration. Think about this for a moment: as good as this reunion is, it cannot compare to the reunion that we will experience one day. One day we will reunite with our loved ones who have gone on before us. We will join with saints of all the ages and we will worship Jesus face to face!
In this Psalm David speaks about the Tribes of Israel. They were a people who were blood relatives… they were family. The same is true for us! We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are redeemed and united by the precious blood of Jesus.
It is important for a family to spend time together. I hate it when my family is separated. When we are apart I can’t wait until we are reunited. Families that do not spend time together are not healthy families. In the same way, when certain members of a church family never come around it affects the health of the entire family unit! When you abandon your church family: communication suffers, fellowship is broken, and growth is hindered.
- I am glad that we can be back together and I long for the day when our whole family unit is back together!
III. WE REJOICE BECAUSE WE CAN PRAISE THE LORD’S NAME
v1 "Let us go into the house of the LORD."
v2 The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
v9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.
All throughout this Psalm David speaks of the Lord. It is clear that God was the focus of this Psalm. In the same way, God was the focus of the people who traveled to Jerusalem. He was the center of all that they did.
We all live busy, often hectic lives. I’m glad for a couple of hours a week we can come together and praise the name of our great God!
God has chosen to reveal Himself to man through His Names. There are over 300 names for God found in scripture. Each one of those names represents His character. There is great significance in the many names of God. In the Old Testament when you see the words "God" "LORD”, and "LORD GOD", each come from different Hebrew words. They are translated from the words Elohim, Jehovah and Adonai. Each of these words describe God's character and actions toward man. Notice the name:
ELOHIM
Elohim is God’s official title. Elohim describes what He is...HE IS GOD! The literal meaning of Elohim means "the source of power, the Strong One."
- Another name for God is:
Jehovah
In most cases when you see GOD & LORD this is translated from the Hebrew word Jehovah. Jehovah is the personal name of God. When this word is used in scripture it is connected with deliverance from God. In Exodus the Lord appeared to Moses and directed him to lead the people out of Egypt. Notice Moses' reply - Exodus 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Jehovah is the eternal "I Am". There is no past, present or future with Jehovah. He is the Self Existent, Eternal Present One. And He is the God that we are privileged to have a personal relationship with.
- The third name of God that I would like to consider is:
ADONAI
Adonai means master or owner. This speaks of one who owns or rules. Adonai refers to God's sovereignty. This Hebrew term is usually translated into English as “Lord.” When we use the name "The Lord Jesus Christ" we are saying "Jesus is my Master". Jesus said in - John 13:13 You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.
If Jesus is Lord to you, He is the one to whom you submit or bow down. As Christians He should be the ultimate authority in our lives. As God’s children, we owe our complete allegiance to Him. And we should have an innate desire to come together and praise His name.
I’m sure some of you would be honest enough to admit that you had reached a place where you came to church out of habit or obligation. Perhaps you came because you love the people and the fellowship. Maybe you came because you didn’t want to let someone down; maybe a spouse, parent friend or even your pastor. Now that the opportunity to worship was taken away from us for several weeks I hope that we have a new perspective. I hope that we will all come to realize that if we are not here because of our love for the Lord Jesus we are wasting our time.
We should assemble together because He desires our worship, we should assemble because He deserves our worship, and we should come because He demands our worship!
God the Father sent His only begotten Son to save us, God the Son came to earth and laid down His life for us and God the Holy Spirit has drawn us to the Savior and offered us salvation. We have been redeemed, set free and forgiven. We are children of God and we possess the promise of life eternal. For these and so many more reasons we should relish the opportunity to come into His house gather in His name and praise Him.
I hope that you belong to Jesus. If you have never been born again, you can be today. Trust in Jesus as your Savior, repent and turn to Him while there is time. If you do belong to Him then you have many reasons to rejoice as we reassemble. Why do we rejoice?
We Rejoice Because We Can Obey The Lord’s Command
We Rejoice Because We Can Gather With The Lord’s People
We Rejoice Because We Can Praise The Lord’s Name
