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Scripture Reading: Psa. 120; Psa. 121; Psa. 122; Psa. 123; Psa. 124; Psa. 125; Psa. 126; Psa. 127
In this message we will begin to consider a particular group of psalms, Psalms 120 through 134, which are known as the Psalms of Ascents.
Whereas Psalm 119 talks about the law, in these fifteen psalms the law is not mentioned. Instead of speaking concerning the law, these psalms refer to the matter of captivity. The people of Israel loved the law, but they did not live according to the law. After they received the law, their sins, offenses, and transgressions increased. They even went so far as to turn from God and worship idols. For instance, Judges 17 tells us of a man who set up idols in his home, who appointed one of his sons to be his priest, and who later hired a Levite to be a priest in his house. Since the people of Israel wanted to worship idols, God caused them to go into captivity in a land of idols. As the people were suffering in captivity, they forgot many things, but they could not forget Zion and Jerusalem.
At that time, Mount Zion and Jerusalem, which was built on Zion, were the only signs left on earth of God. Zion was the place where Abraham offered his son Isaac; it was also the place chosen by David. God is invisible, mysterious, and very deep. No one has seen Him. Nevertheless, Zion and Jerusalem were earthly signs of God's existence. As indicated by Psalms 120 through 134, Zion, the center, and Jerusalem, the circumference, remained deeply in the consideration of the people of Israel. For this reason, I have entitled the two messages on these psalms "The Preciousness of Zion and Jerusalem in the Experiences and Praises of the Saints." Because of their experiences, the saints could not forget Zion and Jerusalem, and in their praises they did not neglect them. The saints were concerned not for godliness or comfort but for the fate of Zion and Jerusalem.
Israel was first invaded by the Assyrians and later by the Babylonians. Unlike the Babylonians, the Assyrians did not destroy the city of Jerusalem or devastate the temple. When the Psalms of Ascents were written, both the city and the temple remained, and the saints in captivity remembered them as signs, as symbols, of the very God whom they worshipped.
Why are these fifteen psalms called Songs of Ascents? To answer this question we need to see that when the people of Israel were captured, they were in a downward situation. To return to Jerusalem and to Zion was to be in an upward situation. Furthermore, they had to climb, to ascend, the hill of Zion, and as they were ascending they sang a song of ascents, a song of degrees.
When we were saved, we were in an upward situation and thus could not sing a song of ascent. However, we may eventually become "down" or "low" for a period of time. At such a time we are in a kind of captivity. But when the Lord gains us again and we are revived, we will sing a song of ascent. As a result of our experiences of the ups and the downs, we will no longer uplift the law, appreciating it in a natural way. We will realize that the law does not help us. Rather, the things that truly help us are Zion and Jerusalem.
Let us now consider these fifteen psalms one by one.
Psalm 120 is the praise of a saint in his going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's deliverance of him from his distress.
According to history, Psalms 120 to 134, fifteen Psalms of Ascents, were the favorites of Hezekiah's singing (cf. Isa. 38:20). He used to sing these psalms with stringed instruments in the temple at Jerusalem.
Psalm 120:5 says, "Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,/I dwell among the tents of Kedar." Here we have two proper nouns — Meshech and Kedar — referring to two places. Meshech was a place far to the north in Assyria, and Kedar was a place to the south in Arabia (Isa. 21:13, 16; Ezek. 27:21). Both may refer to the places in which the psalmist was captured in the Assyrian invasion (2 Kings 18:11; 2 Chron. 32:1). This indicates that Psalm 120 is related to the Assyrian invasion. The Assyrians invaded Israel and took the capital of Israel, Samaria. The writer of this psalm was among the captives in Meshech and Kedar.
How could a godly Israelite have been in Meshech, a place far to the north, and in Kedar, a place to the south? The answer must be that the psalmist was among the godly Jews who had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians. The "distress" in verse 1 may refer to the suffering of afflictions in the psalmist's captivity. Here the psalmist said, "In my distress I called out to Jehovah,/And He answered me." Verse 6 may indicate that his captivity was for a long time: "Long has my soul had its dwelling/With him who hates peace." Those who hated peace were first the Assyrians and later the Babylonians and the Persians, both of whom invaded Israel. The invading Assyrians were not for peace but for war. Thus, in verse 7 the psalmist went on to say, "I am for peace; but when I speak,/They are for war." Because these invaders also were liars, the psalmist prayed, "O Jehovah, deliver my soul from lying lips,/From a tongue of deceit" (v. 2). The first of the Psalms of Ascents, therefore, describes the suffering of the psalmist in his captivity.
Psalm 121 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's keeping of him from all evil, disasters.
Verse 5 says, "Jehovah is your Keeper;/Jehovah is your shade at your right hand." According to history, the "Keeper" here refers to Jehovah as the Keeper of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:14-19). Apart from Jehovah's protection, Hezekiah surely would have been slain by the Assyrians.
Psalm 121:1 and 2 say, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills. /From where will my help come?/My help comes from Jehovah, / Who made heaven and earth." "To the hills" in verse 1 refers to Jehovah, who created the heaven and earth, including the hills (2 Kings 19:15).
In Psalm 121:6 the psalmist says, "The sun will not strike you by day,/Nor the moon by night." Here "sun" and "moon" refer to God's creation, and both became the instruments of God's keeping.
I experienced a particular fulfillment of this verse during the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. I had been asked by the co-workers to return from Hangkow in central China to my home town of Chefoo, on the tip of the Shantung Peninsula. This involved a long, complicated trip by train. The country was in confusion, and because of the threat of attack by Japanese airplanes, it was a fearful thing to travel by train. When the sky was clear, the airplanes could attack either during the day or at night. Whenever the alarm sounded, we had to leave the train and hide in the field. The passengers were relieved that the sky was cloudy during the day. However, at night the sky was clear, the moon was bright, and the people were afraid. At that very time, I happened to be reading Psalm 121, and I praised the Lord for His word in verse 6. Then I testified to the other passengers, saying, "I am a Christian and I have just read in the Bible, the Word of God, that the sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night. I believe that God will keep me safe. All those who are traveling with me will also be safe. Be at peace." Some of them laughed at me. But after we safely made the long trip to the capital of Shantung Province without any alarms, I asked them about what I had said, and they admitted that it was true. In that situation I, like Hezekiah, experienced God as my Keeper.
Psalm 122 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning his love of the house of God in Jerusalem. This is a sweet psalm concerning the psalmist's love of the house of God. This psalmist cared not for the law but for Zion and Jerusalem.
The psalmist rejoiced when others said to him, "Let us go to the house of Jehovah" (v. 1). Today we who love the church should rejoice when someone says, "Let us go to the meeting."
In verses 2 through 4 we have the psalmist's praise of Jerusalem, to which the tribes of Jehovah go up.
"For there thrones are set for judgment,/Thrones of the house of David" (v. 5). David here typifies Christ.
Verses 6 through 9 are the psalmist's prayer and blessing for Jerusalem's peace and prosperity. In verse 6 he says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem./Those who love you will prosper." The "you" refers to Jerusalem. This verse expresses the intimate feeling of the psalmist concerning Jerusalem. Verse 7 indicates that the psalmist is concerned not for his own comfort but for the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem. Thus, in verses 8 and 9 he goes on to say, "For my brothers' and companions' sake I will now say,/Peace be within you./For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God/I will seek your good."
Psalm 123 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning God's compassion on the returned captives. This psalm is short, but it is very meaningful.
The psalmist said that he lifted up his eyes to Jehovah, who sits enthroned in heaven (v. 1). Then he continued by saying that as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so do the eyes of the saints look to Jehovah until He has compassion on them (v. 2).
Verse 3a says, "Have compassion on us, O Jehovah, have compassion on us." In this psalm the most striking word is "compassion." It is not a matter of our loving God's law but of His having compassion on us. Compassion is deeper than mercy, for mercy is outward whereas compassion is inward.
Jehovah had compassion on the returned captives because of the contempt and scorn of their captors. Concerning this, verses 3b and 4 say, "For we are greatly filled with contempt. /Our soul is greatly filled/With the scorn of those who are at ease,/With the contempt of the proud." This indicates that they still remembered what happened to them in their captivity. They remembered that day by day they were scorned, despised, and treated with contempt. While they were undergoing such an experience, they could not forget Zion and Jerusalem, and when they returned, they ascended the hill of Zion.
Psalm 124 is the praise of Israel in their going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's help in the invasions of their enemies.
When their enemies rose up in anger against them like the insolent waters flowing over them to swallow them up, Jehovah did not give them as a prey to their teeth (vv. 1-6). The psalmist said that if Jehovah had not been on their side, the proud waters would have passed over their soul. The psalmist then praised Jehovah for His help. "Blessed be Jehovah, who has not given us/As prey to their teeth" (v. 6).
Speaking in a poetic way, the psalmist continued, "Our soul has escaped like a bird,/Out of the snare of the fowlers;/The snare is broken,/And we have escaped" (v. 7). They were like birds threatened by fowlers, but due to Jehovah's help, they escaped the snare. Thus, the psalmist concluded by declaring, "Our help is in the name of Jehovah,/Who made heaven and earth" (v. 8).
Psalm 125 is the praise of the saints in their going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's surrounding of His people.
In verse 1 the psalmist says that those who trust in Jehovah are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. They loved Mount Zion and they likened themselves to Mount Zion.
Verse 2 tells us that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so Jehovah surrounds His people from now to eternity.
The psalmist continues by saying that Jehovah judges righteously those upright in their hearts and those turning aside to their crooked ways (vv. 3-5a). In verse 4a the psalmist prays, "Do good, O Jehovah, to the good." The expression "the good" indicates that the psalmist's concept was still according to the principle of good and evil. No one is good except God (Mark 10:18). How, then, could the psalmist ask God to do good to the good? This prayer shows the influence of the old tradition upon the psalmist.
This psalm ends with the psalmist's blessing Israel, saying, "Peace be upon Israel" (v. 5b).
Psalm 126 is the praise of the returned captives in their going up to Zion concerning the great things which Jehovah had done for them.
The psalmist said that when Jehovah turned the captivity of Zion, they were like those who dream. Their mouth was filled with laughter and their tongue with a ringing shout (vv. 1-2a). "At that time they said among the nations,/Jehovah has done great things for them./Jehovah has done great things for us;/We are joyful" (vv. 2b-3).
"Turn again, O Jehovah, our captivity/Like the streams in the south" (v. 4). Although some of the people had returned, many remained in captivity, and here the psalmist prayed for them. In his prayer the psalmist asked Jehovah to turn again their captivity like the streams in the south. In contrast to the streams in the north, which may be frozen, the streams in the south are flowing.
"Those who sow in tears / Will reap with a ringing shout. /He who goes forth and weeps, / Bearing seed for scattering, /Will no doubt come in with a ringing shout,/Bearing his sheaves with him" (vv. 5-6). I believe that this refers to the captives. In a human sense, their captivity in foreign countries was a suffering. In a divine sense, however, it was a sowing through their preaching to the Gentiles concerning God. Apparently, God's people were captives; actually, they were preachers. Many of the captives, such as Daniel and his companions, were excellent preachers. Their preaching was a sowing. As a result, a number of Gentiles were brought to God through these captives. For example, Nebuchadnezzar had to admit to Daniel and his companions that their God was the true God (Dan. 2:47; 3:28-29; 4:34-35). This indicates that the captives sowed the seed of the knowledge of God among the heathen.
Verse 5 of Psalm 126 speaks of reaping with a ringing shout, and verse 6, of coming in with a ringing shout. A ringing shout is a shout of joy, a joyful noise. Whereas the captives sowed in tears, they returned with a ringing shout, bearing their "sheaves" with them.
Psalm 127 is the praise of the saints in their going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's care for and blessing to His people. This Song of Ascents was written by Solomon.
In verses 1 and 2 we see Jehovah's care for His people.
"Unless Jehovah builds the house,/Those who build it labor in vain./Unless Jehovah keeps the city,/The guard watches in vain" (v. 1). This is a comforting word, especially for the elders and for those who consider themselves guards protecting the church. Unless the Lord builds the church, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord keeps the city — that is, keeps the church as the kingdom — those who guard the church watch in vain.
"It is vain for you to rise up early,/To lie down late,/To eat the bread of toil;/All the same, He gives to His beloved while they sleep" (v. 2). This indicates that if the Lord does not do anything for us, whatever we do will be in vain. Instead of toiling and striving in ourselves, we need to trust in Him, for He gives to His beloved even while they sleep. Do you believe that what you do means something? We need to realize that whatever we do without trusting in the Lord means nothing. If we realize this, we will rest in the Lord.
Verses 3 through 5 are Jehovah's blessing to His people.
In verse 3 the psalmist says that children are the heritage of Jehovah and that the fruit of the womb is a reward.
"Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man,/So are the children of one's youth./Blessed is the man/Who fills his quiver with them./He will not be put to shame/When he speaks with enemies in the gate" (vv. 4-5). This indicates that instead of striving without trusting in the Lord, we should simply be a good father producing children. We cannot gain much by our toil, but we can produce children. Certain people are intelligent and very diligent in their labor, but they do not have any children. They do not have any "arrows" in their "quiver." This is a shame. We need to consider what we will choose — to toil or to rest and produce children.
Psalm 127 is a psalm of release, a psalm that releases us from labor. This psalm teaches us that God takes care of us and blesses us. Whether we labor or do not labor, the situation is the same. "All the same," He gives to us while we sleep. In addition to caring for us, He blesses us with increase, with children. We all need to believe this. Even though I am a laboring person, I believe that the result depends not on my labor but on God's care and blessing.
Solomon's word in this psalm is directed at those who labor and endeavor to do things but do not trust in God. Instead of laboring in yourself, you should trust in God. He will take care of you, and He will bless you.
What is described in this Song of Ascents needs to become our experience. Today we are talking about the increase. However, the more we talk, the more we are disappointed. The more we expect to have increase, the less increase we have. As a result, we do not have peace and rest, and we do not have this Song of Ascents. Our concept, therefore, needs to be changed. Increase does not depend on what we do — it depends on how much God gives. Both the care and the blessing come from Him. Let us learn to be today's Solomon, knowing that whatever we do without trusting in the Lord is in vain, but that as long as we trust in Him, there will be a good result. If we have learned to be such a Solomon, then we will pray, saying, "Lord, I don't have any trust in myself. I trust in Your mercy, in Your blessing, in Your presence, and in Your Spirit." This is the experience of Psalm 127.
