Psalm 122
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
INTRODUCTION
The third of the Psalms of Ascent,
Perhaps begins with two of the most surprising lines of any Psalm.
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.
Psalm 122:1
The Psalmist is happy to be going to worship God.
And this is not just a local gathering that the Psalmist is going to,
This is a long journey to Jerusalem.
You can imagine the Israelites as they are on their way to Jerusalem,
The crown is getting larger as they come from all the villages and towns along the way,
And you can hear then calling to each other,
Let us go to the house of the Lord.
And this is what they are doing,
They are going together on this journey to meet with God.
Eugene Peterson captures a sense of this joy by translating this verse,
When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.
Psalm 122:1
Do our hearts, leap for joy as we come to worship this morning?
Are we delighted to be on this journey with God’s people.
We are here this morning, because we want to be here.
No one is forcing us to gather here as a church.
So we are delighted to be coming together to worship.
So this is a Psalm that we can sing as a call to worship.
We sang it at the beginning of our service this morning,
It is a Psalm where we call each other to worship God,
But more than that, this Psalm reminds us, what worship is all about.
It reminds us what happens when we worship God.
So we are happy to be worshipping God this morning,
But what happens when we worship?
WORSHIP - Gives Us A Framework For Life
Well firstly Worship gives us a framework for life.
Worship helps enables us to put all the pieces of our lives together in a way that makes sense.
Worship helps us reprioritise our lives,
So that we know what is important and what isn’t.
Worship on a Sunday, when we come together as the church,
reminds us that God is sovereign.
He is King and we are his subjects.
We all have worth, because Jesus has died for us.
And other people have worth because Jesus died for them.
We have no right to be angry or to keep bitterness in our hearts, if we are putting God first.
If you have ever watched someone cross stitching,
then you will have noticed, that before they place any stitches, they stretch the material over a frame.
The frame holds it tight, so that the stitches can be put in the right place and they will all fit together in the right way.
That is how worship works in our lives.
As we go to the house of the Lord,
Worship is the frame that holds our lives together in the right way,
So that when trouble comes, we know what to do with it.
When we face sickness, we don’t fall to pieces, but we know we can trust Jesus.
When someone lets us down or betrays us, we don’t seek revenge, because we see it in the perspective of knowing the love and forgiveness of Jesus.
We have experienced the grace of Jesus, and so we are ready to share that grace with others.
The pilgrims are on their way to Jerusalem,
And so as they sing this Psalm they are imagining what it will be like when they get there.
Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
Psalm 122:2,3
Jerusalem is well built and well structured.
Everything in the city points to the Temple on the height.
And everything in the Temple points to God.
Every part of our worship is closely compacted together to reveal God to us in a way that provides the framework for our lives.
WORSHIP - Gives Us A Desire For God
Secondly we see from the singing of this Psalm,
That Worship gives us a greater desire for God.
Some people when they come to church are satisfied by what they do.
They have a need for God, and an hour on a Sunday can meet that need for them.
Others are satisfied by a once a month visit to God.
But that is not how worship should work.
Worship should always leave us dissatisfied.
If we have truly met with God in this service,
Then we should leave wanting even more of God.
If any part of this service has given us even the smallest glimpse of God,
Then we should leave wanting even more.
The Israelites were not satisfied by one journey to the Temple.
In this Psalm they declared,
4 That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
Psalm 122:4
After one journey to the Temple,
They would be planning the next one.
After one visit to the Capital they would be counting down the days to the next visit.
“Jerusalem, this is where we go to praise God” - That is what they are singing.
We want more of God.
Worship should not satisfy,
Worship should always Whet the Appetite for God.
We should want more.
I remember when Bill Clinton came to Northern Ireland,
As President of the United States,
We lived reasonably close to Aldergrove and I knew the route he would be travelling to Belfast.
So I went and stood at the side of the road to see the cavalcade go past.
I was then in Belfast at church house, and a crowd had gathered outside the Europa,
I had already seen the President driving past,
But now I want to see more.
I stood in line hoping to get a handshake.
He shook the hand of the person beside me and then turned and headed to his car,
But that didn’t satisfy it had merely whetted my appetite,
I waited at the road side to see him go back to the airport.
That is what Worship should do for us,
We should want more and more of God,
This is what we do to praise God.
WORSHIP - Gives Us God’s Decisions
Thirdly then Worship Gives us God’s Decisions.
If we are to live with God and worship Him,
Then we need to know what God is saying to us.
We need to know what he wants us to do,
And worship brings us to that place.
Where we find out what God has decided about us.
Coming together for worship gives us the decisions of God, in a way that worshipping on our own does not,
Of course we could worship God alone.
And it is vital that we do that each day,
Spending a little bit of time listening to God and speaking to Him,
But when we come together we ear things that otherwise we would miss.
The Israelites knew this truth as they went to Jerusalem.
They could have stayed at home and read the bible and sung the Psalms.
But …
There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
Psalm 122:5
It is in Jerusalem that God reveals His judgements.
His decisions for our lives.
When we come together to worship,
The word of God is all around as we seek his judgments and decisions from it.
In the Call to worship at the beginning and the benediction at the end we turn to the word of God.
As we sing, we use words that are based on God’s word,
As we read, it is the word of God that we have before us.
In the sermon we have God’s word to out situation.
Worship gives us the decisions of God. WORSHIP - Gives Us Peace & Prosperity
And finally we see that Worship brings us peace and prosperity.
If we want true life,
An abundant life.
Then we need the peace and prosperity that comes from Worshipping God together.
When we worship alone we can mould God any way that we want.
But when we worship together we have to see things from the perspective of others,
We get a wider view of who God is.
These two things that worship gives us are an interesting way to end this Psalm.
Peace and Prosperity in Hebrew are very similar words.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
Psalm 122:6-9
Does worship really make any difference to the world outside of church?
Yes it does.
This is the transition into the real world.
As we worship ask for peace, because far too many people in this world are in turmoil.
Ask God for peace - Shalom.
This peace is hard to explain,
It is when everything in our lives exist in perfect balance.
It is when God pours out his grace upon us,
And his streams of living water flow out of us.
And also ask for Prosperity.
Not necessarily for prosperity in wealth,
But prosperity in a life that is blessed with the things of God.
Prosperity is Shalvah.
This prosperity is the knowledge that God is with us.
He is keeping us secure.
This is something that money cannot buy.
It can only come from Worship.
Worship gives us Shalom and Shalvah.
I would encourage you to mark this two words in some way,
So that when you come back to this Psalm you remember what it is about.
CONCLUSION
So are we leaping for joy,
When we come to the house of the Lord?
Are we rejoicing to be here today?
Worship provides the framework for life that we need to make sense of this world.
It whets our appetite for God, giving us a greater desire for Him.
It helps us understand God’s judgements and his will for our lives,
And it gives us Peace and Prosperity, something that we cannot get anywhere else.
US President.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and
I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham Lincoln
Worship is pausing to sharpen the axe before cutting the tree.
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
INTRODUCTION
The third of the Psalms of Ascent,
Perhaps begins with two of the most surprising lines of any Psalm.
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.
Psalm 122:1
The Psalmist is happy to be going to worship God.
And this is not just a local gathering that the Psalmist is going to,
This is a long journey to Jerusalem.
You can imagine the Israelites as they are on their way to Jerusalem,
The crown is getting larger as they come from all the villages and towns along the way,
And you can hear then calling to each other,
Let us go to the house of the Lord.
And this is what they are doing,
They are going together on this journey to meet with God.
Eugene Peterson captures a sense of this joy by translating this verse,
When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.
Psalm 122:1
Do our hearts, leap for joy as we come to worship this morning?
Are we delighted to be on this journey with God’s people.
We are here this morning, because we want to be here.
No one is forcing us to gather here as a church.
So we are delighted to be coming together to worship.
So this is a Psalm that we can sing as a call to worship.
We sang it at the beginning of our service this morning,
It is a Psalm where we call each other to worship God,
But more than that, this Psalm reminds us, what worship is all about.
It reminds us what happens when we worship God.
So we are happy to be worshipping God this morning,
But what happens when we worship?
WORSHIP - Gives Us A Framework For Life
Well firstly Worship gives us a framework for life.
Worship helps enables us to put all the pieces of our lives together in a way that makes sense.
Worship helps us reprioritise our lives,
So that we know what is important and what isn’t.
Worship on a Sunday, when we come together as the church,
reminds us that God is sovereign.
He is King and we are his subjects.
We all have worth, because Jesus has died for us.
And other people have worth because Jesus died for them.
We have no right to be angry or to keep bitterness in our hearts, if we are putting God first.
If you have ever watched someone cross stitching,
then you will have noticed, that before they place any stitches, they stretch the material over a frame.
The frame holds it tight, so that the stitches can be put in the right place and they will all fit together in the right way.
That is how worship works in our lives.
As we go to the house of the Lord,
Worship is the frame that holds our lives together in the right way,
So that when trouble comes, we know what to do with it.
When we face sickness, we don’t fall to pieces, but we know we can trust Jesus.
When someone lets us down or betrays us, we don’t seek revenge, because we see it in the perspective of knowing the love and forgiveness of Jesus.
We have experienced the grace of Jesus, and so we are ready to share that grace with others.
The pilgrims are on their way to Jerusalem,
And so as they sing this Psalm they are imagining what it will be like when they get there.
Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
Psalm 122:2,3
Jerusalem is well built and well structured.
Everything in the city points to the Temple on the height.
And everything in the Temple points to God.
Every part of our worship is closely compacted together to reveal God to us in a way that provides the framework for our lives.
WORSHIP - Gives Us A Desire For God
Secondly we see from the singing of this Psalm,
That Worship gives us a greater desire for God.
Some people when they come to church are satisfied by what they do.
They have a need for God, and an hour on a Sunday can meet that need for them.
Others are satisfied by a once a month visit to God.
But that is not how worship should work.
Worship should always leave us dissatisfied.
If we have truly met with God in this service,
Then we should leave wanting even more of God.
If any part of this service has given us even the smallest glimpse of God,
Then we should leave wanting even more.
The Israelites were not satisfied by one journey to the Temple.
In this Psalm they declared,
4 That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
Psalm 122:4
After one journey to the Temple,
They would be planning the next one.
After one visit to the Capital they would be counting down the days to the next visit.
“Jerusalem, this is where we go to praise God” - That is what they are singing.
We want more of God.
Worship should not satisfy,
Worship should always Whet the Appetite for God.
We should want more.
I remember when Bill Clinton came to Northern Ireland,
As President of the United States,
We lived reasonably close to Aldergrove and I knew the route he would be travelling to Belfast.
So I went and stood at the side of the road to see the cavalcade go past.
I was then in Belfast at church house, and a crowd had gathered outside the Europa,
I had already seen the President driving past,
But now I want to see more.
I stood in line hoping to get a handshake.
He shook the hand of the person beside me and then turned and headed to his car,
But that didn’t satisfy it had merely whetted my appetite,
I waited at the road side to see him go back to the airport.
That is what Worship should do for us,
We should want more and more of God,
This is what we do to praise God.
WORSHIP - Gives Us God’s Decisions
Thirdly then Worship Gives us God’s Decisions.
If we are to live with God and worship Him,
Then we need to know what God is saying to us.
We need to know what he wants us to do,
And worship brings us to that place.
Where we find out what God has decided about us.
Coming together for worship gives us the decisions of God, in a way that worshipping on our own does not,
Of course we could worship God alone.
And it is vital that we do that each day,
Spending a little bit of time listening to God and speaking to Him,
But when we come together we ear things that otherwise we would miss.
The Israelites knew this truth as they went to Jerusalem.
They could have stayed at home and read the bible and sung the Psalms.
But …
There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
Psalm 122:5
It is in Jerusalem that God reveals His judgements.
His decisions for our lives.
When we come together to worship,
The word of God is all around as we seek his judgments and decisions from it.
In the Call to worship at the beginning and the benediction at the end we turn to the word of God.
As we sing, we use words that are based on God’s word,
As we read, it is the word of God that we have before us.
In the sermon we have God’s word to out situation.
Worship gives us the decisions of God. WORSHIP - Gives Us Peace & Prosperity
And finally we see that Worship brings us peace and prosperity.
If we want true life,
An abundant life.
Then we need the peace and prosperity that comes from Worshipping God together.
When we worship alone we can mould God any way that we want.
But when we worship together we have to see things from the perspective of others,
We get a wider view of who God is.
These two things that worship gives us are an interesting way to end this Psalm.
Peace and Prosperity in Hebrew are very similar words.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
Psalm 122:6-9
Does worship really make any difference to the world outside of church?
Yes it does.
This is the transition into the real world.
As we worship ask for peace, because far too many people in this world are in turmoil.
Ask God for peace - Shalom.
This peace is hard to explain,
It is when everything in our lives exist in perfect balance.
It is when God pours out his grace upon us,
And his streams of living water flow out of us.
And also ask for Prosperity.
Not necessarily for prosperity in wealth,
But prosperity in a life that is blessed with the things of God.
Prosperity is Shalvah.
This prosperity is the knowledge that God is with us.
He is keeping us secure.
This is something that money cannot buy.
It can only come from Worship.
Worship gives us Shalom and Shalvah.
I would encourage you to mark this two words in some way,
So that when you come back to this Psalm you remember what it is about.
CONCLUSION
So are we leaping for joy,
When we come to the house of the Lord?
Are we rejoicing to be here today?
Worship provides the framework for life that we need to make sense of this world.
It whets our appetite for God, giving us a greater desire for Him.
It helps us understand God’s judgements and his will for our lives,
And it gives us Peace and Prosperity, something that we cannot get anywhere else.
US President.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and
I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham Lincoln
Worship is pausing to sharpen the axe before cutting the tree.
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