Series: Advent
Psalm 122 ESV
Psalm 122 is a beautiful song about friends and family going on a journey to Jerusalem. Entire families would have gone on the journey.
I remember when my children were still at home and we would plan to take a trip. A lot of love and laughter went on while we planned.
We would invariably recall funny (and sometimes not so funny) things that had happened on past trips. We did have fun planning and remembering!
Many of our trips involved tent camping mishaps from the past. I still smile today about all the things that “didn’t go as planned”. It’s funny that the things that happened at the time seemed awful but those are the things we still laugh about more than thirty years later!
While the conditions would have been different for ancient families (no cars breaking down) they would have faced other perils as they traveled by foot through the desert.
We have to remember they traveled for good reason.
They were going to “the city” of Jerusalem.
Psalm 122 says:
“I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the Lord—to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.”
The Song of Ascents was written by David, King David. We have to remember that not only was David King, he was a celebrity.
It was David who was a shepherd boy just like many of them. David played the harp, like some of them.
But it was David who slayed the giant Goliath.
David was a warrior.
David was a hero for Israel.
The psalm was written for present and future audiences. It was a song Israel’s shared. It became part of their history.
The theme of the song was about his visit to the Holy city of Jerusalem for a great feast. As the tribes of Israel traveled to Jerusalem they would have remembered this song in the desert.
Today we notice it is a picturesque story. We can see the writer being invited to go on a pilgrimage to a great feast in Jerusalem. There is no discussion about the trip or how long it will take for to walk to Jerusalem. None of that mattered.
As we read the psalm, we realize as they stood at the gates of the big city the travelers could see all of Jerusalem from the gates. We know there are many travelers at the gate to the city because the writer speaks of all the tribes that have traveled to the feast.
Everyone at the gate is excited and they are praising God for Jerusalem. They know their heritage and they love their tribe and other brothers and sisters in other tribes. There is a sense of belonging to all of them. They praise God for their heritage.
They know from studying the history of God in their childhood that the ‘belonging’ to something greater than themselves is a great blessing and a responsibility. The responsibility is to God and to their tribe. It is a ‘belonging’ they love. They’ve not known any other life and they do not want any other life because the sense of belonging to each other was deeply personal. It’s embedded in everyone in their tribe.
As the writer enters the city he prays for peace in Jerusalem.
He knows that everyone he sees loves this great city in the same way he loves it. He is filled with a sense of fellowship with all brothers and sisters he meets and he passes the peace with them.
They are family.
They share a great common purpose.
They love and worship creator God.
Break break…breathe.
As we enter each House of God we too have common purpose many many years later.
Today as we enter, as we share the feast and we remember what Christ did for all of us. We share a sense of belonging with “our people”.
We will all stand at the gates.
When we do we will see those we love who have gone before. We are filled with love as we see those we love.
They are here and as we enter we pass the peace with them.
The light that shines from the throne of grace is brighter and fuller that we could have imagine. We are bursting with joy!
Indeed…this is love. This is joy.
This is prosperity.
It IS the house of God now and forever.
Spiritual Practice: Imagine
Imagine standing at the gates of heaven and seeing those you love who have gone before.
In God, Deborah
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