PA547 Psalms 120:1-123:4 mp3

In this message, we begin a study of the fifteen “Songs of the Degrees” written or dedicated by Hezekiah to the fifteen years the LORD added to his life after he watched the shadow move back ten degrees on his father’s sundial. First, in Psalm 120, Hezekiah must deal with counsellors who advise him for war rather than depending on Jehovah, as he was determined to do. In Psalm 121, Hezekiah looks at the nations around him with which he could try to make a league against Assyria, and realizes that his help comes not from them, but from Yahweh. A timid counsellor and a strong counsellor, perhaps Isaiah, speak, and Hezekiah knows he has chosen the right course. In Psalm 122, Hezekiah uses a psalm of David for his songs of degrees, talking about the joy of going up to the house of Yehovah. In Psalm 123, Hezekiah looks up to the LORD like a slave looks diligently to the hand of his master, waiting for Him to answer the contempt of the proud who act against him.