The Journey that Never Ends: Psalms of Ascent (Part 6)
Psalms of Ascent (132-134)
Over the last few articles, I have been exploring the journey of worship captured in the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120-134). Instead of reading them as a random collection of pilgrimage songs, I have been praying them as a guide for worship, leading me to leave, look, and arrive (see part 2), to be authentic in the presence of the Lord with both certainty and uncertainty (see part 3), to seek the life of blessing (see part 4), and to quiet my soul in the presence of a Sovereign God (see part 5).
As we come to the last three songs, we confront a major reason why worship can be, and perhaps should be, complex.
Claiming a Promise (Psalm 132)
This song takes the Lord through a brief history lesson, reminding Him of the hardships David endured (1) to find a dwelling place for Him (5). It remembers the rejoicing of the saints (9) as the ark was brought to His resting place (8). But the heart of the prayer is found in verse 10: for the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of Your anointed one (10).
The singer then remembers God’s promise to David that He would set on the throne one of the sons of his body (11). The Lord chose Zion for His dwelling place (13) and His resting place (14). He will clothe the priests with salvation (16). He will make a horn to sprout for David (17), a lamp for His anointed (17).
This prayer reminds us of Psalm 122 where dwelling place, city, and throne first appeared together in the Psalms of Ascent. The new covenant in Christ changes all of these for the believer today with the dwelling place of God within the believer by the Holy Spirit, with King Jesus on the throne of David, and the Kingdom of God expanding over all the cities of the earth. Once again, we find dwelling place (5), city (13), and throne (12) wrapped together in one worship song.
Under the old covenant, the people of God often cried out to the Lord wondering why the city of Zion was under attack, or the temple was destroyed, or the Davidic throne sat empty. After the exile, all three of these seemed void of the promise. If the Psalms of Ascent led the Jews to Jerusalem in the intervening years between the end of the exile and the birth of Christ, they would have wondered what happened to God’s promises to David and Zion.
Worshipping a promising-making God can be challenging when the promises are not coming true.
The new covenant presents the same challenges. The prayer of Zechariah makes this a messianic song (see Luke 1.69), directing us to see in Jesus the horn of salvation (17), His anointed One. This connection leads us to connect dwelling place, city, and throne to Christ. This is not just the authentic worship of an old covenant Israelite; this is complex new covenant worship.
We arrive in worship cleaving to the promises of God: the promise to never leave or forsake us, the promise to keep us from all evil, the promise to strengthen the weak, the promise to give wisdom freely, and so much more. But so often, the promises of God seem distant. So, we arrive in the presence of God and plead for Him to fulfill His promises to us.
The complexity of worship means wrestling with the implications and applications of the new dwelling place, a new Kingdom, and a new King, but the Kingdom is still under attack, just like Zion in days of old. God’s sovereign will and purpose for creation is accomplished through the prayers of His people, proclaiming the promises to be true, longing for their fulfillment, and trusting in His timing and means.
Unity (Psalm 133)
The last two songs are short, like Psalm 131. Psalm 133 proclaims the goodness of God’s people dwelling in unity. This echoes the prayer of Christ in the Garden for His followers to be one like the Father and the Son are one (see John 17.21) and the apostle Paul’s vision for the church to be of the same mind, striving side by side for the sake of the gospel (see Philippians 1.27). The church united as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, resting under His blessings, is so important to the Father that we should pursue unity in worship.
Audience of One (Psalm 134)
The last Psalm of Ascent calls the servants of the Lord who stand in His house to bless Him (1-2). This is far more than just a general call for God’s people to bless the Lord. This word is directed to the priests, the only ones allowed to stand “in the house of the Lord” (1). Only the priests who were on duty were allowed inside the Temple, so this song is calling the priests to worship the Lord.
We should not miss the importance of the night shift (1). The priests who stand by night in the house of the Lord. No one is watching. No one sees but One. The audience of One.
A clear and pointed reminder that for the people of God to be led on a journey of worship, the worship leader must be leading himself in worship. Long before we lead others into the presence of the Lord, we must enter ourselves and find our heart’s delight in Him.
Psalm 134 is not the conclusion of the worship journey. Notice that the last song of the worship journey is another call to bless the Lord. At the end, we are still called to lift up our hands, to lift up our eyes, and to continually journey in worship into the presence of the Lord.
Come, bless the Lord, all you His servants.