Troubled, Waiting, Quieted: Psalms of Ascent (Part 5)
Psalms of Ascent (129-131)
The Psalms of Ascent have been leading us on a journey of worship, as described in previous articles. We have left, looked, and arrived with a full and honest heart in the presence of God through the new covenant in Christ. We are thanking God for His restoring grace. We are trusting in Him so we will not be moved. We are seeking His grace to build our homes, our cities, and the eternal kingdom of God.
But we also have troubles.
A Troubled Soul (Psalm 129)
How many Christians around the world will arrive in the presence of God singing Psalm 129 this week? Greatly have they afflicted me (1). The cords of the wicked (4), those who hate Zion (5), those cords are wrapped around my neck.
This song does not roll off tongues in corporate worship. Have you ever sung a song in a worship service that included the phrases "may all who hate Jesus be put to shame" or "become like grass that withers before it grows up"? In this song, the worshipper actually prays that the wicked will never know the blessings of the Lord.
Can we pray that in the presence of God?
Notice that the Psalms of Ascent welcome worshippers into the presence of God — even those who are suffering for His name and crying out for the Moral Ruler of the Universe to cut the cords of the wicked (4).
Do our corporate worship services make room for the same?
A Waiting Soul (Psalm 130)
The cry for justice in the previous song finds its answer in Psalm 130. Now, the worshipper is waiting for the Lord. The word "wait" appears three times in eight verses. And unlike the previous song, this song does give detailed reasons why one should wait upon the Lord, even when the wicked are plowing our backs (see Psalm 129.3).
For instance, the Lord does not mark iniquities (3), for if He did, who could stand (3)? Thankfully, the Lord offers forgiveness (4) and plentiful redemption (7).
When we cry out for justice in the presence of the Lord, soon enough, the obvious question surfaces. How can we ask God to judge the wicked on the one hand and rejoice that we are not being judged by the same Moral Ruler of the Universe on the other hand? Sure, we may not be afflicting others, but our obedience to the commands of the Father falls way short of the glory of God. Those who know a Holy God know that more than anyone else.
Then how do we cry out for justice?
Because we have found justice in the plentiful redemption (7) that is in Christ. Christ either answers or fulfills the heart cry of the psalms. We want justice, but also deserve the just wrath of God. Christ is the answer to that problem.
Knowing the justice of God and the steadfast love of the Lord (7), we worship by hoping in Him (7), waiting for the Lord (5) to act in His time and His way, and trusting in the words and promises of God (5).
What does this kind of hope look like? Glad you asked.
A Quieted Soul (Psalm 131)
The last song in this triad is the shortest of all the Psalms of Ascent, only three verses. This song confesses that in light of the two previous songs, he will choose stillness over striving.
The waiting worshipper does not lift his eyes to things too marvelous for him (1). This short song doesn't explain what those things are, but in light of Psalm 129, one of those things might be waiting on the justice of God on earth where the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. To focus on these things is to lift our heart and eyes to things too high for us (1). Instead of grumbling in the presence of God, the worshipper chooses where he will lift up his eyes (see Psalm 121). He will lift his eyes to the Lord, from whom his help comes.
This beautiful image of mother and child expands the eye-lifting of Psalm 121, again connecting Psalms 127 and 128. The image is of a weaned child quieting his soul with his mother. A weaned child is no longer breastfeeding, no longer totally depending upon his mother for nourishment, free to eat from other sources. But this weaned child — no longer dependent upon his mother — still chooses to draw near to her, to calm his soul (2).
What does a worshipper do who comes before the Lord with an anxious heart because the wicked are afflicting her? She chooses to wait upon the Lord, to hope in the Lord through the redemption in Christ. Further, she no longer lifts her eyes to the things she cannot understand. Instead, she lifts her eyes to the hill whence her help will come. She calms her anxious soul in the presence of a loving Father.
The journey of worship continues to be complex and authentic, but the next song takes us down another path. In Part Six, we will explore the last three Psalms of Ascent.