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Psalm 126

Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity

A Song of Ascents<LIST type="decimal">

1. <LI>
2. When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
   
   We were like those who dream.</LI>
   <LI>
3. Then our mouth was filled with laughter
   
   And our tongue with joyful shouting;
   
   Then they said among the nations,
   
   "The LORD has done great things for them."</LI>
   <LI>
4. The LORD has done great things for us;
   
   We are glad.</LI>
   
   <LI>
5. Restore our captivity, O LORD,
   
   As the streams in the South.</LI>
   <LI>
6. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.</LI>
   <LI>
7. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
   
   Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.</LI>

</LIST>While this psalm is thought to be related to the Babylon captivity, some feel that might have been about Assyrian King Sennacherib's attack on Jerusalem more than a century before they had to deal with Babylon. The descendents of Jacob spent a lot of time dealing with captors and conquerors, so this psalm could be a reminder for any and all of those situations.



There is a great story that was shared through missionary channels. The area immediately south of the Sahara is called the Sahel. It's described as being "semi-arid". It is a harsh land. The people raise grain and harvest from any nearby water or field sources. The story told was that as the rains dry up, the grain is harvested. After that, the family must live on their harvest. Imagine being mom and watching as the stores run lower and lower, babies losing weight, and older kids and dad are trying to scavenge for whatever they can to supplement their meager rations. It's a month before the rainy season and they are using their last bag of grain; they have months to wait for this year's harvest. The eldest son came running in with excitement, "Look! Look! You overlooked a bag of grain, papa!" He was expecting a feast. Papa looked sad and shared, "No, that is our seed for when the rains come. We must not eat that bag of grain." The son's shoulders slump with sadness and growling belly. Weeks later, papa sees the beginning of the rain clouds forming, takes his seed and begins to plant. His tears flow as he sees his children looking longingly at the seed being put into the ground and not into the pot. "They who sow in tears..." When the harvest comes, the pain will be a faded memory as papa brings his sheaves.

Psalm 125

The LORD Surrounds His People

A Song of Ascents<LIST type="decimal">

1. <LI>
2. Those who trust in the LORD
   
   Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.</LI>
   <LI>
3. As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
   
   So the LORD surrounds His people
   
   From this time forth and forever.</LI>
   <LI>
4. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,
   
   So that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong.</LI>
   
   <LI>
5. Do good, O LORD, to those who are good
   
   And to those who are upright in their hearts.</LI>
   <LI>
6. But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
   
   The LORD will lead them away with the doers of iniquity.
   
   Peace be upon Israel.</LI>

</LIST>We're almost a third of the way to Jerusalem and we're steadily moving upward. We're going to the spiritual capital of the world, the place God claims as His own, Mount Zion, a mountain that cannot and will not be moved. Zion stands as a monument to remind us that we, too, are not to be moved. We, too, are chosen by God. The Hebrew children are chosen from the day Moses was found by the Burning Bush. As believers in Messiah, we were chosen from before the world began. How great is that?!



The psalmist again proclaims the Word over Jerusalem and Israel, that God surrounds His people and that the rule of the wicked will not reign over the land of the righteous, that sin will not hold sway over us. His design is that we will be righteous and not put our hands to the works of sin. It's up to us to work at staying upright in heart, to stay on the straight and narrow. We don't want to be caught in their camp, sorted with the goats instead of the sheep. The sheep live in the Shalom of the Almighty.



The last verse reminds me of Ignorance in A Pilgrim's Progress. He walked the path, but alone. He did not know much about the Lord of the Celestial City and surely did not understand the rules of the road. Jesus sent the shining ones to escort him to the short cut door to Hell, where the doers of iniquity will be led!

Psalm 124

Praise for Rescue from Enemies

A Song of Ascents, of David<LIST type="decimal">

1. <LI>
2. "Had it not been the LORD who was on our side,"
   
   Let Israel now say,</LI>
   <LI>
3. "Had it not been the LORD who was on our side
   
   When men rose up against us,</LI>
   <LI>
4. Then they would have swallowed us alive,
   
   When their anger was kindled against us;</LI>
   <LI>
5. Then the waters would have engulfed us,
   
   The stream would have swept over our soul;</LI>
   <LI>
6. Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul."</LI>
   
   <LI>
7. Blessed be the LORD,
   
   Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.</LI>
   <LI>
8. Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper;
   
   The snare is broken and we have escaped.</LI>
   <LI>
9. Our help is in the name of the LORD,
   
   Who made heaven and earth.</LI>

</LIST>King David has provided us with such great life examples. His song here tells all of Israel to repeat after him, "Had it not been the Lord Who was on our side, the raging waters would have swept over (us)." David knew that we need to remind ourselves that God is indeed on our side and that He loves us because we are His workmanship. Men rose up against him and people/men rise up against us. We feel the heat of their anger and can sense their bared teeth as they would eat us alive. David also seems to be warning us not to be those people. The enemy of the souls of believers loves nothing better than to convert a brother to a biter, or a sister to a hisser.



As we continue through the wilderness between home and Jerusalem, perhaps we see a lion or snake and through His grace we escape the possibility of death. Our help is indeed in His very name--HaShem. If we can believe He created heaven and earth, can we also believe that He'll protect us from those snares and the teeth of those who would tear us?

Psalm 123

Prayer for the LORD'S Help

A Song of Ascents<LIST>

• <LI>
• To You I lift up my eyes,
  
  O You who are enthroned in the heavens!</LI>
  <LI>
• Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
  
  As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
  
  So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
  
  Until He is gracious to us.</LI>
  
  <LI>
• Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us,
  
  For we are greatly filled with contempt.</LI>
  <LI>
• Our soul is greatly filled
  
  With the scoffing of those who are at ease,
  
  And with the contempt of the proud.</LI>

</LIST>We're still on the way, and like our last song, we're rehearsing the power of the truth and I'm reminding myself and others with me on the journey that where we're going is a God-given symbol of heaven's throne room. We lift our eyes because our goals are UP. Heaven is UP and Jerusalem sits atop one of the tallest mountains in all of Israel--definitely UP. As we kneel in prayer and worship, we're watching His hand and His eyes. We know that He was, and is, and will continue to be gracious to us.



In the last two verses, what are we asking? Why are we filled with contempt? It's not our contempt that is filling us. That would be sin. This relates to an earlier psalm about loving peace but living among those who love war. There will always be those reject or dismiss us because of our belief in God. They will heap scorn and scoffing, mocking and contempt on us. God's grace allows us to shrug off the contempt so long as our focus is on Him. We pray for the oil of His grace so that the dirt of the world will simply slide off.

Psalm 122

Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem

A Song of Ascents, of David<LIST type="decimal">

1. <LI>
2. I was glad when they said to me,
   
   "Let us go to the house of the LORD."</LI>
   <LI>
3. Our feet are standing
   
   Within your gates, O Jerusalem,</LI>
   <LI>
4. Jerusalem, that is built
   
   As a city that is compact(ed) together;</LI>
   <LI>
5. To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD—
   
   An ordinance for Israel—
   
   To give thanks to the name of the LORD.</LI>
   <LI>
6. For there thrones were set for judgment,
   
   The thrones of the house of David.</LI>
   
   <LI>
7. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
   
   "May they prosper who love you.</LI>
   <LI>
8. "May peace be within your walls,
   
   And prosperity within your palaces."</LI>
   <LI>
9. For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
   
   I will now say, "May peace be within you."</LI>
   <LI>
10. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
    
    I will seek your good.</LI>

</LIST>Our village gets smaller and the mountains get larger each hour of the journey. Part of the journey is to encourage one another. Remember leaving Egypt? We were old and young and everything in between. The very young and the very old were helped by the able-bodied. We gladly extended an arm and shared the burdens and loads of others making the exodus.



I am always glad when my brothers and sisters beckon me for time in His presence, in His city, in His temple. LET'S GO!!! So very soon, my feet will be standing within the walls; what a joy that thought brings. Ah, Jerusalem. The name brings fond memories of our last pilgrimage. It's a "city compacted together". That phrase has puzzled me for years. I asked Rabbi about it during a synagogue time. In David's time, Jerusalem was actually two cities with two peoples. It's the cities of Salem and Sion (or Zion) with the Hebrew descendents living in Salem and the fort of Sion was held by the Jebusites. Two cities, two peoples, two religions, yet when David came and conquered the Jebusites, it became one "compacted" city.



David gives good instruction here, not only to pray but how to pray. Jesus taught how to pray in the "Our Father" as well as teaching that we ought to pray. Pray that those who love Jerusalem would prosper and that there might be God's Shalom "within the walls." Jesus is the Prince of Peace, peace personified. As believers in Messiah, we can pray that the truth of Messiah would be manifest within the walls. The brothers might well be people like those in our party, believers in YHVH (and Messiah). The friends there might be people like the Jebusites who we know, but who do not believe in or worship our God. For the sake of brother and friend, I will indeed proclaim, "Peace within your walls, O Jerusalem. I choose to seek the very best for you."

Psalm 121

The LORD the Keeper of Israel

A Song of Ascents<LIST type="decimal">

1. <LI>
2. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
   
   From where shall my help come?</LI>
   <LI>
3. My help comes from the LORD,
   
   Who made heaven and earth.</LI>
   <LI>
4. He will not allow your foot to slip;
   
   He who keeps you will not slumber.</LI>
   <LI>
5. Behold, He who keeps Israel
   
   Will neither slumber nor sleep.</LI>
   
   <LI>
6. The LORD is your keeper;
   
   The LORD is your shade on your right hand.</LI>
   <LI>
7. The sun will not smite you by day,
   
   Nor the moon by night.</LI>
   <LI>
8. The LORD will protect you from all evil;
   
   He will keep your soul.</LI>
   <LI>
9. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
   
   From this time forth and forever.</LI>

</LIST>We're on the road, the mountains in the distance showing just a hint of the golden tones of the rock all around the city. We sing the obvious rhetorical question of, "Why where shall my help come from?" The proclamation here is mighty and one that I can repeat daily. My help always and ever comes from Him. He will not allow my foot to slip because He never sleeps in His watch over me and over Israel.



Walking from our village to the mountain, there are not many inhabited rest stops along the way. The way is pretty much deserted with plenty of places where dangers and evils can lurk. We are confident of the where and Who of our help and protection, but we are walking out our faith each time we make this journey. Poisonous and bitey creatures can harm or kill. Bandits could leave us like the sojourner rescued by the good and godly Samaritan. HaShem is guarding our going out. Bless His Name.