April 20, 2021 – Psalms 122-126

Here are “Songs of Ascent,” likely psalms that were recited or sung as the Israelites ascended upwards to the Temple. These are songs of worship, of praise, and of thanksgiving to the Lord for his faithfulness. Not only did the Israelites often go to the Temple to offer sacrifices but there were, also, all the holy days and observances throughout the year. For those who ascended to the Temple, that activity should never have grown old. Certainly, for David, it did not, for he declared, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (122:1).

For those who truly love the Lord, gathering in the house of the Lord with God’s people on a regular basis is not merely obligation but a joy. In his first letter, John pointed out that those who are truly saved love God (I John 4:10) and love one another (1 John 4:21). An obvious outworking of all this is that we love, as David puts it, to go to the house of the Lord, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). Here are God’s true children, those who do as Paul instructs: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).

Come, O come, and let us worship,

Gather’d in the house of pray’r;

Praise the God of our salvation

While He waits to meet us there.

Come, O come, and let us worship,

Bringing songs of love and praise,

Unto Him whose loving kindness

Has been o’er us all our days. –Fanny Crosby