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Scripture Reading: Psa. 128; Psa. 129; Psa. 130; Psa. 131; Psa. 132; Psa. 133; Psa. 134
In the previous message we covered the first eight of the Psalms of Ascents. In this message we will consider the remaining seven, Psalms 128 through 134.
The sequence of these seven psalms is significant. Psalm 128 speaks of Jehovah's blessing to Israel from Zion and the prosperity of Jerusalem in Israel's enjoyment. Psalm 129 concerns God's righteous dealing with the persecutors of Israel and the haters of Zion. On this earth there is a people chosen by God as His elect, and this people is always persecuted. This is true of the believers today, who may be persecuted for preaching the gospel and teaching the Bible. Furthermore, Zion, the highest peak of that range of mountains, signifies the overcomers in the church, the higher ones among the believers. Just as Zion was hated, so the overcomers also are hated. But God comes in to deal righteously with those who persecute Israel and hate Zion. Israel is God's elect, and God deals with those who persecute His people, but this does not mean that Israel is perfect and sinless. On the contrary, Israel has many sins and iniquities. Thus, in Psalm 130 we have a psalm of forgiveness and redemption.
Psalm 131 indicates that after we experience God's forgiveness, we become humble. Formerly, we were proud and even haughty, thinking that we alone were right and that others were wrong. But after we are enlightened concerning our real situation, make a thorough confession, and receive God's forgiveness, we become humble. We humble our heart, lower our eyes, and our soul becomes quiet "like a weaned child with its mother" (v. 2). I have had this experience many times, realizing that I am nothing, that I have nothing, and that I can do nothing. When our heart is humbled and our soul is quiet, we are in a condition that is suitable for God to come in to rest. In such a situation God can have a resting place, a dwelling. However, when we are proud and our eyes are haughty, God has no rest, no dwelling place, in us. Only when we are humble, calm, and quiet is the situation right for God to rise up, enter into us, and take us as His resting place. This is Zion becoming God's habitation, His resting place, as revealed in Psalm 132.
Next, Psalm 133 shows us that Zion is the unique place where the brothers can come together in unity. Zion is the uniting center. In any other place we are scattered and divided. When God has His rest, His dwelling place, in Zion, we can come to Him in Zion and dwell there in unity with the brothers. How good and how pleasant this is! It is like the fine oil, signifying the anointing, upon Aaron, and it is also like the morning dew, signifying grace, that descends from Mount Hermon to the mountains of Zion. This indicates that, as God's people, we need both the anointing and the watering. Moreover, in Zion God has a place where He can command His blessing. Therefore, in Zion we receive the commanded blessing of God, even life forever.
Finally, in Psalm 134 the children of Israel first charge the priests to praise God in the night, and then they bless the priests. Whereas the priests taught and blessed the children of Israel, here the children of Israel teach and bless the priests. This indicates that the children of Israel have become higher than the priests.
The sequence of Psalms 128 through 134 is logical and reasonable. We enjoy God's blessing from Zion and the prosperity of Jerusalem, and then God deals with those who persecute us and hate us. Nevertheless, we are sinful and need God's forgiveness. When we receive His forgiveness, we become humble, calm, and quiet, and God comes in to rest, to dwell, in us. Then we come up to Him to dwell in unity. As a result, we become Mount Zion; that is, we become the highest people, those who are even higher than the priests.
Now that we have seen the sequence of these seven psalms, let us consider each psalm in particular.
Psalm 128 is the praise of a saint in his going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's blessing to Israel from Zion (signifying the overcomers in the churches) and the prosperity of Jerusalem (signifying the church as God's kingdom) in their enjoyment. This indicates once again how precious are Zion and Jerusalem in the experiences and praises of the saints.
"Blessed is everyone who fears Jehovah,/Who walks in His ways./You will indeed eat the labor of your hands;/You will be blessed, and it will go well with you" (vv. 1-2). They will eat and they will have peace. Food and peace are two basic elements for our daily life. If we lack food, we will not have peace.
According to verse 3, their wives will be like fruitful vines in the innermost parts of their houses, and their children will be like olive shoots round about their tables. In this way will the man be blessed who fears Jehovah (v. 4).
Jehovah will bless them from Zion, and they will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of their life. They will also see the children of their children under the peace of God upon Israel (vv. 5-6).
Psalm 129 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning the persecutors of Israel and the haters of Zion. Here Israel signifies the New Testament believers, and Zion signifies the overcomers in the church. The more we love the Lord Jesus, the more we will be hated. In some cases, parents have hated their children because the children loved the Lord Jesus so much.
Many times the persecutors have afflicted the believers since the beginning of their Christian life, but they have not prevailed against them. As the plowers, the persecutors plowed on the believers' back, making their furrows long, but Jehovah is righteous and has cut the cords of the wicked persecutors (vv. 1-4).
All the haters of Zion shall be put to shame and turned back like grass on the housetops, withering before growing up, having no multiplication of sheaves for the reapers (vv. 5-7). They will have no blessing from those who pass by saying, "The blessing of Jehovah be upon you!/We bless you in the name of Jehovah" (v. 8). This is the way God deals with the persecutors and the haters.
In Psalm 130 we see the way God deals with His chosen people. This psalm is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning God's forgiveness to Israel and His redeeming of Israel from all their iniquity. We are not better than the persecutors and the haters. We need God's forgiveness.
The psalmist cried out to Jehovah, praying that His ears would be attentive to the voice of his supplications (vv. 1-2). Then the psalmist said, "If You, O Jehovah, marked iniquities, / Who, O Lord, would stand?" (v. 3).
Nearly every morning I begin my prayer by saying, "Lord, thank You that You have forgiven me of all my transgressions, failures, and defeats. Lord, I also thank You that You have cleansed me of all my filthiness with Your cleansing blood." I have no other way to start my prayer, for I realize that every day my imperfections need God's forgiveness and my filthiness needs His cleansing.
"With You there is forgiveness,/That You would be feared" (v. 4). The more the Lord forgives us, the more we fear Him.
In verses 5 through 8 the psalmist speaks of waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning and hoping in Him and in His word for His abundant redemption that will redeem Israel from all their iniquity.
Psalm 131 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning his humbled heart and quieted soul before Jehovah.
In verse 1 the psalmist says that his heart is not proud, nor are his eyes haughty. He also says that he does not go about in things too great or too wondrous for him. Certain things are too great and wondrous for us, and we should not go about in these things.
The psalmist continues by saying that he has calmed and quieted his soul within him, like a weaned child with its mother (v. 2). He had been weaned, or stripped, of everything except the Lord.
The psalmist then advises Israel, God's chosen people, to hope in Jehovah from now to eternity (v. 3). When we have become like the psalmist, humble, calm, quiet, and weaned, we can advise others to hope in God.
Psalm 132 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's habitation and rest in Zion through David (typifying Christ) His anointed.
In verse 1 the psalmist asks Jehovah to remember all of David's afflictions, which typify all the afflictions of Christ.
Verses 2 through 5 show us David's desire for the habitation of God (cf. 69:9a). David swore to Jehovah and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob that he would not go into the tent of his house, go up onto the couch of his bed, or give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eyelids until he found "a place for Jehovah,/A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob" (132:5). Here "tabernacle" means a habitation.
David sought for the ark, and he found it in Jaar. He then wanted Jehovah to arise and enter with the ark into His resting place in Zion (vv. 5-9; 13). Today this resting place is the overcomers in the churches.
Verses 14 through 18 are Jehovah's speaking concerning Zion. "This is My resting place forever;/Here will I dwell, for I have desired it" (v. 14). I hope that one day God will say such a word to you. Jehovah continues by saying that He will abundantly bless Zion's provision and satisfy its poor with bread, that He will clothe its priests with salvation, that its saints will shout with a ringing shout, that there He will cause the horn of David to shoot forth, that He has prepared a lamp for His Anointed One, and that He will clothe with shame the enemies of His Anointed One but that on Him His crown will shine.
In this psalm we have seven items related to the overcomer — resting, dwelling, food, clothing, the victorious horn, the enlightening lamp, and the shining crown. These items are at the top of the church life. When we are at the top of the church life, we have the resting with God, the dwelling, and the food. However, when God is homeless, we also are homeless. When He does not have satisfaction, we also do not have satisfaction. But when God is resting and dwelling in Zion, we have plenty of food. Furthermore, we have the proper clothing, a horn, a lamp, and a crown. This is the top church life. This is the situation of the overcomers in Zion, the highest peak of God's mountain.
Psalm 133 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning Jehovah's commanded blessing for brothers to dwell in unity. Before we can have Psalm 133 we must reach Psalm 132. This means that without God's resting and dwelling in His dwelling place, we have no place where we can come together. We have no Zion, no center for our gathering. When Zion is built up and when God is resting there and dwelling in Jerusalem, then we have a place where we can gather and where we can dwell together in unity. If this is our situation in the meetings of the church, we will enjoy God's commanded blessing.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is/For brothers to dwell in unity!" (v. 1). I believe that "how good" refers to the oil in verse 2 and that "how pleasant" refers to the dew in verse 3.
"It is like the fine oil upon the head/That ran down upon the beard,/Upon Aaron's beard,/That ran down to the hem of his garments" (v. 2). For the oil to run down from the head to the hem of the garments signifies that both the Head and the Body, both Christ and the church, are under the anointing of God's fine oil.
Verse 3a goes on to say that is also like "the dew of Hermon/That came down upon the mountains of Zion." The north wind caused the dew to descend from Hermon to the mountains of Zion. This dew signifies the fresh and refreshing grace of God. Such a dew, such a grace, waters us.
"For there Jehovah commanded the blessing:/Life forever" (v. 3b). I believe that by "life forever" the psalmist had in mind a long life. In our interpretation, however, we understand the word "life" here to mean not long life but eternal life. As we dwell together in the church life, we enjoy God's eternal life commanded by Him as a blessing to us. This is the living of the church.
In Psalm 132 we have the church life, and in Psalm 133 we have the church living. The church living is the highest living — a living with brothers dwelling in unity. Such a living causes God to come in to bless us with fine oil and fresh dew.
As the last of the Songs of Ascents, Psalm 134 is the praise of the saint in His going up to Zion concerning the charge and the blessing of the children of Israel to the serving priests in the house of God. This psalm indicates that the highest people, those who are in Zion, can bless everyone and teach everyone.
"Bless Jehovah now,/All you servants of Jehovah/Who stand by night in the house of Jehovah./Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,/And bless Jehovah" (vv. 1-2). This is the charge of the children of Israel to the serving priests. Although these priests are serving in the house of God, they are lower than the ones in Zion. Thus, those in Zion can give such a charge to these servants of Jehovah.
"May Jehovah, who made heaven and earth,/Bless you from Zion" (v. 3). Here we see that the blessing comes from Zion, that is, from the highest people. If you read the history of the church, you will see that in every age and century God's blessing has come to the church because of the overcomers. Whenever there are some overcomers, there will be God's blessing. God always blesses His people from Zion, from the highest peak, from the ones who have attained to the top, to the position of the overcomers. From this position God blesses all His people.
