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After the lengthy Psalm 119 and its celebration of God’s law, it seems like a good time for a series of brief, focused Psalms of praise.  Each of them is labeled as a “Song of Ascents,” the meaning of which is unclear.  They could be songs that were sung while journeying toward Jerusalem, or while climbing the steps of the Temple mount.  It’s possible they are to strive toward a musical crescendo.  Or there is possibly, even likely, another meaning altogether that escapes us. 

Regardless of the true meaning, you’ll get to know what a “Song of Ascents” feels like by the end of today’s reading.  A number of them have an idea near the center around which they pivot, such as 123 around “mercy” and 129 around “wait.”  You’ll also notice an emphasis on Zion’s position, as in Psalm 122: Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.  There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.

Notice the hopeful tension that inhabits many of the prayers.  Individual and national distress are often close to the composer’s mind.  But the Psalmist faithfully proclaims that Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth...  O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption.   And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Our verse for this week is James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Psalms 120 through 131.  Now let’s read it!

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem on a grand scale.  It is broken up into sets of eight verses, and each of those eight begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Each of the first eight verses begin with the letter aleph, the second eight begin with bet… all the way to tav in the final eight.  Since most Bibles introduce each stanza with a heading, you could use Psalm 119 to learn the Hebrew alphabet.  I challenge you to produce just such a hymn of praise in your own language!

But this is not a random collection of praise verses; the artist has something to say.  I’ll say little more than this: the word “law,” or synonyms such as statutes, commandments, testimonies, rules, precepts, word and ways appear at least 161 times in this Psalm.  That’s almost one per verse. 

Psalm 119 isn’t just something to get through or marvel at.  It’s a glimpse of someone who both promises to keep the LORD’s statutes, and who finds his delight in [the LORD’s] commandments, which [he] loves...  Whose soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times… Who will also speak of Your testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame…

Why does he take such delight in the law of the LORD?  It’s in there.  Come, sit and listen and even pray with the Psalmist: Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

Our verses for this week are Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 119.  Now let’s read it!

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem on a grand scale.  It is broken up into sets of eight verses, and each of those eight begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Each of the first eight verses begin with the letter aleph, the second eight begin with bet… all the way to tav in the final eight.  Since most Bibles introduce each stanza with a heading, you could use Psalm 119 to learn the Hebrew alphabet.  I challenge you to produce just such a hymn of praise in your own language!

But this is not a random collection of praise verses; the artist has something to say.  I’ll say little more than this: the word “law,” or synonyms such as statutes, commandments, testimonies, rules, precepts, word and ways appear at least 161 times in this Psalm.  That’s almost one per verse. 

Psalm 119 isn’t just something to get through or marvel at.  It’s a glimpse of someone who both promises to keep the LORD’s statutes, and who finds his delight in [the LORD’s] commandments, which [he] loves...  Whose soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times… Who will also speak of Your testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame…

Why does he take such delight in the law of the LORD?  It’s in there.  Come, sit and listen and even pray with the Psalmist: Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

Our verses for this week are Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 119.  Now let’s read it!

For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for Himself.  – 1 Samuel 12:22

This passage reflects the profound and unique understanding that permeates the faith of those who follow the LORD of Hosts: it is the LORD’s good name, not the king’s, not Israel’s, that is at stake.  We’ve seen this affirmed throughout the law, writings, and prophets, and today the Psalms will reaffirm it to the congregation of Israel and proclaim it to all who hear. 

The first two Psalms today emphasize the LORD’s cosmic majesty and sovereignty over the earth.  The LORD is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! …Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob.  Notice the emphasis: yes, the Psalmist is talking about the God of Jacob; but He’s not the God invented by Jacob or discovered by Jacob.  He’s the preeminent God who has chosen Jacob.  So, in Psalm 115, the author declares authentically to his time and place: Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!  

In Psalms 116 and 117 the focus shifts to celebration.  Listen to the crescendo as the personal becomes the local, to the global, and the eternal: I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem…Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. 

In our closing Psalm, follow the pendulum from third person calls to worship to first person declarations.  You’ll have to pay close attention to follow who is being talked about, especially when it comes to affirming that: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.   

Our verses for this week are Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 113 through 118.  Now let’s read it!

For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for Himself.  – 1 Samuel 12:22

This passage reflects the profound and unique understanding that permeates the faith of those who follow the LORD of Hosts: it is the LORD’s good name, not the king’s, not Israel’s, that is at stake.  We’ve seen this affirmed throughout the law, writings, and prophets, and today the Psalms will reaffirm it to the congregation of Israel and proclaim it to all who hear. 

The first two Psalms today emphasize the LORD’s cosmic majesty and sovereignty over the earth.  The LORD is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! …Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob.  Notice the emphasis: yes, the Psalmist is talking about the God of Jacob; but He’s not the God invented by Jacob or discovered by Jacob.  He’s the preeminent God who has chosen Jacob.  So, in Psalm 115, the author declares authentically to his time and place: Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!  

In Psalms 116 and 117 the focus shifts to celebration.  Listen to the crescendo as the personal becomes the local, to the global, and the eternal: I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem…Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. 

In our closing Psalm, follow the pendulum from third person calls to worship to first person declarations.  You’ll have to pay close attention to follow who is being talked about, especially when it comes to affirming that: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.   

Our verses for this week are Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 113 through 118.  Now let’s read it!

On many occasions we’ve reminded you to remember everyone that is present in and around the Biblical text.  There are often actors in the foreground, living out a scene in real history; there are also actors offstage who are visible to those onstage but not always evident in the text – like when Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt were vying for supremacy.  There is the LORD, the primary actor and subject of the Bible.  There are writers, who write with purpose and point of view.  And there is the audience, to whom the composition is written and to whom an author takes a posture of informing, encouraging, or persuading.   These “characters,” if you will, are always present, but shift between foreground, background, and offstage positions. 

I mention all this to call attention to the importance of the congregation in the Psalms.  Though many Psalms are composed from a personal aspect – as though we’re eavesdropping on a moment of prayer between a worshipper and his God – they often intimate that their expected audience is public.  There is a model of leadership here: the Psalmist declares “I will give thanks to you, O LORD… I will sing praises to You among the nations,” and expects the harp and lyre to awake.  When he calls, “Praise the LORD!” today, he gives thanks “in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” 

With all this in mind, there’s one Psalm today that stands out as unique.  Pay attention to the details of Psalm 110: The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”  The words we use for “Lord” are not interchangeable.  You’ll remember that the capitalized LORD is how English Bibles represent “Yahweh” – the name of Israel’s God.  The lowercase version of Lord translates as an earthly ruler or master.  So the author is sharing that “Yahweh, the Most High God,” said to my master, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Listen further: “The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!” To whom is the writer speaking?  The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”  Remember him?  The king and priest of Genesis 14?  What is the writer talking about?  What is the purpose of this Psalm?  Who, or what is being celebrated?  And where does the congregation fit in here?  Read Psalm 110 thoroughly, and map the words in your mind.    

Our verses for this week are Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 108 through 112.  Now let’s read it!

On many occasions we’ve reminded you to remember everyone that is present in and around the Biblical text.  There are often actors in the foreground, living out a scene in real history; there are also actors offstage who are visible to those onstage but not always evident in the text – like when Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt were vying for supremacy.  There is the LORD, the primary actor and subject of the Bible.  There are writers, who write with purpose and point of view.  And there is the audience, to whom the composition is written and to whom an author takes a posture of informing, encouraging, or persuading.   These “characters,” if you will, are always present, but shift between foreground, background, and offstage positions. 

I mention all this to call attention to the importance of the congregation in the Psalms.  Though many Psalms are composed from a personal aspect – as though we’re eavesdropping on a moment of prayer between a worshipper and his God – they often intimate that their expected audience is public.  There is a model of leadership here: the Psalmist declares “I will give thanks to you, O LORD… I will sing praises to You among the nations,” and expects the harp and lyre to awake.  When he calls, “Praise the LORD!” today, he gives thanks “in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” 

With all this in mind, there’s one Psalm today that stands out as unique.  Pay attention to the details of Psalm 110: The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”  The words we use for “Lord” are not interchangeable.  You’ll remember that the capitalized LORD is how English Bibles represent “Yahweh” – the name of Israel’s God.  The lowercase version of Lord translates as an earthly ruler or master.  So the author is sharing that “Yahweh, the Most High God,” said to my master, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Listen further: “The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!” To whom is the writer speaking?  The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”  Remember him?  The king and priest of Genesis 14?  What is the writer talking about?  What is the purpose of this Psalm?  Who, or what is being celebrated?  And where does the congregation fit in here?  Read Psalm 110 thoroughly, and map the words in your mind.    

Our verses for this week are Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 108 through 112.  Now let’s read it!