THE SONGS OF ASCENT – PART 1 – THE INTRODUCTION TO THESE PSALMS
We are going to embark on a journey with the study of 15 Psalms that are called “The Songs of Degrees” in the AV, but “The Songs of Ascent” in most other versions. These Psalms go together and were sung on a pilgrimage as the Jews walked the long ascent up to Mount Zion. Occasionally these Psalms are called “The Gradual Psalms” or the “Pilgrim Psalms”. They are Psalm 120-134. David wrote four of these 15 Psalms, Solomon one (Psalm127:1), and the other ten are anonymous, probably composed after the captivity.
This is in obedience to the command God gave to the nation – {{Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”}}
Three feasts are detailed in that Deuteronomy verse but there are seven feasts outlined in Leviticus chapter 23.
The first is the LORD’s Passover in verses 4 to 8
The Feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 6
The Feast of the First Fruits in verse 10
The Feast of Weeks or The Feast of Pentecost in verse 16
The Feast of Trumpets in verse 24
The Feast of the Day of Atonement in verses 26-32
The Feast of Tabernacles, or The Feast of Booths (better) in verse 34
There is a very rich study in the Feasts of JEHOVAH and their application to the Christian life and events. However it is a long study and not for this series. The three Feasts that Deuteronomy mentions are types of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is the spotless, sinless Son of God who was the Bread broken for us on the cross for our sins. The Feast of Weeks occurred seven weeks or 50 days after the Feast of the First Fruits which typifies Christ’s resurrection, and was the time in the New Testament when the Holy Spirit was given. The Feast of Booths celebrated the remembrance of the wilderness journey from Egypt when the Jews lived in temporary dwellings in the wilderness. We ourselves, now live in our temporary body until the Lord gathers us to His “promised land” in heaven.
Three times a year the Jews had to go to Jerusalem to worship and celebrate the three feasts listed in Deuteronomy 16:16. They would come from the towns and villages of Israel and gather together as they made the long pilgrimage what was upward as Jerusalem is on high ground. That is how the name “Ascent” came to be known. It is “going up”.
While travelling and ascending, the companies or small groups, maybe even individuals, would sing these songs as they toiled up the long ascent and the singing helped to break the tedious effort as they progressed on their journey. These Pilgrim Psalms as they are also called, became very meaningful during the exiles’ return under Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The Psalms well described the feelings of the returning exiles, and indeed, of all the pilgrims who made that ascent to Jerusalem for the Feasts.
There is some progression in the Psalms themselves and that reaches the climax when the weary feet of the pilgrims at last enter the great city of the Lord, Jerusalem. This progression seems to be in the spiritual development of the content which is more evident in the end of this group. Blessing and praise end the pilgrims’ journey and they reach their beloved Jerusalem.
In this particular group of Psalms there are some characteristics most of them share. They are sweetness and tenderness and that would apply so much to these devout pilgrims on an arduous journey. Another feature is the sad and pathetic tone some of them contain. The spiritual journey is not a bed of roses and anyone professing to follow God who does not have conflict or opposition, is considered by the devil not worth the effort because the person is worldly and a farce for the kingdom of God. He and she is no threat. God desires faithfulness and commitment.
Another feature of these Psalms is their brevity. Nearly all are quite short. I am not sure why that would be as you might think the longer the better as songs for a long journey. Yet another feature most share is the lack of parallelism and parallelism is a very common literary construction in Hebrew poetry/writing. Here are two examples -
{{Psalm 9:1-2 “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart. I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You. I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”}}
{{Psalm 19:1-2 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”}}
Sometimes the Psalm introduces a word and the next part takes up that word immediately. However we will miss the point of these beautiful Psalms if we only approach them to analyse the structure. All of us must be sincere and examine the Psalm to understand what God is saying to us right now. They meant everything to the pilgrims who used to sing them but they should also have great application for us also because these precious Psalms are part of the inspired scriptures given by God.
In closing this section I would like to look at comments others have written as general descriptions of these Psalms of Ascent:
FROM GOTQUESTIONS
[[The Songs of Ascent are a special group of psalms comprising Psalms 120—134. They are also called Pilgrim Songs. Four of these songs are attributed to King David (122, 124, 131, 133) and one to Solomon (127), while the remaining ten are anonymous.
The city of Jerusalem is situated on a high hill. Jews travelling to Jerusalem for one of the three main annual Jewish festivals traditionally sang these songs on the “ascent” or the uphill road to the city. According to some Jewish traditions, the Jewish priests also sang some of these Songs of Ascent as they walked up the steps to the temple in Jerusalem.
Psalm 120: God’s presence during distress
Psalm 121: Joyful praise to the Lord
Psalm 122: Prayer for Jerusalem
Psalm 123: Patience for God’s mercy
Psalm 124: Help comes from the Lord
Psalm 125: Prayer for God’s blessing upon His people
Psalm 126: The Lord has done great things
Psalm 127: God’s blessing on man’s efforts
Psalm 128: Joy for those who follow God’s ways
Psalm 129: A cry for help to the Lord
Psalm 130: A prayer of repentance
Psalm 131: Surrender as a child to the Lord
Psalm 132: God’s sovereign plan for His people
Psalm 133: Praise of brotherly fellowship and unity
Psalm 134: Praise to God in His temple]]
FROM CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH, SANTA BARBARA
[[Pilgrimage. The word brings to mind many different images. Much of our country’s heritage was established by pilgrims who fled religious persecution in England. Elvis fans make their pilgrimages to Graceland, Elvis’ home in Memphis. In every major religion, annual pilgrimages -trips to sacred places - are undertaken by the faithful.
Pilgrims are not nomads. Like pilgrims, nomads are on the move, carrying their homes with them, following their herds or pursuing new markets for their handiwork. But unlike pilgrims, nomads are simply wanderers with no final destination. Wherever they make camp is home for the time being. Pilgrims, on the other hand, have a destination in mind; their journey has a purpose. Pilgrims are restless to reach their journey’s end. They press on and don’t linger too long in any one place.
The image of a pilgrimage has often been used as a metaphor for the Christian life. As Christians, we recognise that we are on a pilgrimage. This world is not our true home and therefore we should never get too cozy here. {{Hebrews 13:13-14 “Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach, for here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” Hebrews 11:10 “for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”}} ]]
FROM WILLIAM M. THOMSON, IN "THE LAND AND THE BOOK," 1881
[[If the traditional interpretation of the title, Song of Degrees, be accepted, that they were sung by devout pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to keep the great feasts of the Lord, we may suppose that companies toiling up this long ascent would relieve the tedium of the way by chanting some of them.
From the customs of Orientals still prevalent, I think it highly probable that such an explanation of the title may be substantially correct. Nothing is more common than to hear individuals and parties of natives, travelling together through the open country and along mountain-paths, especially during the night, break out into singing some of their favourite songs. Once, descending from the top of Sunnîn, above Beirût, with a large company of natives, they spontaneously began to sing in concert. The moon was shining brightly in the clear sky, and they kept up their chanting for a long time. I shall not soon forget the impression made by that moonlight concert, as we wound our way down the eastern side of Lebanon to the Bukâ’a, on the way to Ba’albek.
Through the still midnight air of that lofty region the rough edge of their stentorian voices, softened into melody, rang out full and strong, waking the sleeping echoes far and wide down the rocky defiles of the mountain. Something like this may have often rendered vocal this dreary ascent to Jerusalem. It is common in this country to travel in the night during the summer, and we know that the Hebrew pilgrims journeyed in large companies. On his ascent along this road from Jericho to the Holy City, Jesus was attended not only by the twelve apostles, but by others, both men and women; and it would be strange indeed if sometimes they did not seek relief from this oppressive solitude by singing the beautiful songs of Zion.]]
FROM CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
[[When we consider the place in the psalter which these "Songs of Degrees," or "of the goings up" occupy, we see good reason to accept the statement (of the Syriac version, and of S. Chrysostom, Theodoret, Euthymius, and other Fathers, and also of Symmachus, Aquila, and of Hammond, Ewald, and many modems), that these psalms describe the feelings of those Israelites who went up with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and afterwards with Ezra, and still later with Nehemiah, from the land of their captivity and dispersion at Babylon, Susa, and other regions of the East, to the home of their fathers, Jerusalem. Hence, in some of the foregoing psalms, we have seen a reference to the dedication of the Second Temple (Psalm 118), and of the walls of Jerusalem (Psalm 102), and to the building up of the nation itself on the old foundation of the law of God, given to their fathers at Sinai (Psalm 119)]]
That will be enough for the introduction of these Psalms of Ascent. I hope it has laid out the background and timing of these Psalms. There are 15 messages (probably) to follow this first posting and they will be done over time. God bless all who read and meditate on His goodness.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
