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Glad To Worship God - Psalm 122
Glad To Worship God - Psalm 122
The group of Psalms for our reading today have the title "Song of Ascents". The addition of such titles is lost in antiquity, but they are from antiquity. Basically, three explanations are offered as the meaning of this title:
1. They were sung as Israel ascended to Jerusalem for the three great feasts.
2. They were sung as Israel returned from captivity.
3. They were sung as the priests went up the steps to the altar.
The more I read, the more it seems that they were probably sung as they went up to Jerusalem, particularly if any of these were written by David long before the Babylonian captivity and return.
Our reading schedule has Ps. 122 scheduled to be read as part of the Bathsheba episode, but leaving it in the collection of these 'ascent' Psalms makes sense. David was a dedicated worshiper of God. He often wrote of his great desire to think about and publicly worship God. Fleeing from Saul would have kept him from those gatherings on the great feast days. It is not difficult to imagine him saying: "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.” (Ps. 122:1). It is easy to imagine hearing the people sing as the travel:
· My help comes from the LORD (121.2)
· The LORD will protect you from all evil (121.7)
· Our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us" (123.2)
· Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth (124.8)
· Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever (125.1)
· How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways (128.1)
Such desire to worship the LORD seems to be just a natural outpouring of one like David who lived with God. He walked before God, he feared God, he trusted God, he thought about God throughout the day and night, he prayed unto God in good times and in difficult times, he praised God, he gave thanks for God's graciousness unto him, he wrote such Psalms to instruct and help others share his relationship with God.
Are we like David? Are we people after God's own heart? Jesus said that "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). God desires us to worship: do we desire to worship? Hugh DeLong
