Singing on the Way to Zion

Welcome, Passage, and Opening Prayer

Good morning church! It is my joy and my privilege to bring the word of God to you this morning. We are taking a short break from our 1 Corinthians series from now through Advent, so we won’t find ourselves in the New Testament this week. Instead, we are going to turn our attention to the Psalter and specifically to Psalm 132. While this isn’t officially the first week of Advent (you’ll need to wait until next week to hear the first Advent message!), it is my hope and my prayer that today’s message helps to point us towards the glorious coming of Christ. So if you are able this morning please remain standing with me for the reading of God’s Word:

The LORD Has Chosen Zion

132 A SONG OF ASCENTS.

1  Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor,

all the hardships he endured,

2  how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3  “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

4  I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5  until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6  Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7  “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool!”

8  Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

9  Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your saints shout for joy.

10  For the sake of your servant David,

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11  The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12  If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall sit on your throne.”

13  For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling place:

14  “This is my resting place forever;

here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

15  I will abundantly bless her provisions;

I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16  Her priests I will clothe with salvation,

and her saints will shout for joy.

17  There I will make a horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

18  His enemies I will clothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ps 132:title–18). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Let’s pray:

Gracious God, we thank you for the way that you speak to us through your Word. We thank you and praise you that in the hymns of the nation of Israel we see your true character, the compassion that you have towards your chosen people, your faithfulness to uphold your covenant, your wrath against sin and unrighteousness, and your promise of final salvation through your Anointed One. As we work our way through Psalm 132 this morning help us to see with clarity your goodness and your grace. Help us to properly orient our hearts in worship towards you, and remind us of your faithfulness and steadfast love towards us. Illuminate our hearts and our minds that your Word might richly indwell our hearts, and that your Holy Spirit may lead us into a deeper understanding and love of you and your good work. Be with us this morning. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The Songs of Ascent - The Right Attitude for Worship

Have you ever gone on a pilgrimage? The concept in the present day is perhaps a bit more fuzzy than it has been throughout history. We may speak of doing a pilgrimage to historical sites of great significance, like the site of the Battle of Gettysburg or the beaches of Normandy in northern France. We might be a little less reverent and speak of doing a pilgrimage to the great “Cathedrals of Baseball”, traveling to the oldest and most historic stadiums. Growing up in the Middle East I saw many of my Muslim classmates make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This is one of the pillars of Islam - every faithful Muslim should do their best at least once in their life to visit the birthplace of Islam, the city of Mecca, and go through a series of rituals re-enacting and commemorating key moments in Islamic history. For many of my classmates it was a foundational moment in their lives. It was something that they had looked forward to and had anticipated for years. In their minds, it connected them more deeply to the roots of their faith. The Hajj is perhaps the most well known pilgrimage in today’s world, but the concept of pilgrimage is something that has deep roots in Christianity and Judaism, long before the arrival of Islam.

I mention pilgrimage here because it has direct bearing on our passage this morning - Psalm 132. Our focus this morning is going to be on what it means to come to worship Yahweh. We’re going to hit on three main points this morning - the first point is what the overall corpus of the Songs of Ascents teaches us about how we ought to approach the worship of Yahweh. The second is the Psalmist’s call to remember in worship that we see in verses 1-10 of Psalm 132, where we see the faithfulness of David and the power of Yahweh’s might displayed. The third and final point is the Psalmist’s call to hope that we see in verses 11-18, where we see the promises of Yahweh restated and prophetically fulfilled. Psalm 132 is one of the “Songs of Ascents” - a collection of 15 psalms (120-134) at the end of the psalter characterized by one of those seemingly cryptic superscriptions that we often see at the beginning of individual psalms. In the case of these 15 psalms, that superscription is “šɩ̂r hammaʿălôṯ”, which can be loosely translated as “songs of going up”. There is no scholarly consensus on the exact purpose and explanation of this superscription, but two possible interpretations seem to have risen to the forefront. The first is that the 15 psalms correspond with the 15 steps in the temple in Jerusalem between the Court of Women and the Court of Israel, and that the psalms would have been sung as those coming to Jerusalem to worship ascended the steps from one court to the other. This has some attestation in historical Jewish sources, but the idea of the pilgrims singing as they ascending the steps is a bit unlikely - it would have taken a long time for the crowds to get up the steps if they were singing a psalm for each step that they climbed! More likely is the theory that they functioned as a “pilgrim psalter” for those who were coming to Jerusalem for the three main feasts in the Israelite calendar - the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. The psalms are (with the notable exception of our particular psalm today - more on that later!) generally quite short and repetitive, which would make them relatively easy to memorize. They would have been sung by the people as they made their way towards the temple from wherever they had begun their journeys. Jerusalem is located in the Judean mountains, so any trip into the city (and especially to the Temple Mount) would have necessitated “going up” towards Yahweh’s house.

It’s this understanding of the Songs of Ascents that will help to focus the message this morning. So let us pause for a moment and try to put ourselves in the shoes of those Israelites headed towards Jerusalem some 2800 years ago. What would be going through their minds? What would the psalms that they were singing on their way to Jerusalem tell them about what they were about to do? To answer these questions we should first turn to the three major festivals that would have necessitated these pilgrimages - the Passover, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Booths. These were the three major feast days of Judaism, and their celebration is mandated in Deuteronomy 16.16-17. So what were these three feasts? The Passover is perhaps the most familiar - we see it first in Exodus 12 in the context of the Israelites being ready to depart from Egypt. They were to sacrifice a lamb and paint the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their dwellings. They did this so the Destroyer would “pass over” their houses while striking down the firstborn of all the Egyptians. The Passover points us to the seriousness of sin - how it needed atonement to be made through blood - and how the people needed to trust that Yahweh would do what he had promised to do. The second feast is the Feast of Weeks, also known as Pentecost. This took place 50 days after Passover. It marked the end of the initial grain harvest and demarcated when the first fruits of the harvest could be offered to Yahweh. This feast was an opportunity for the community of Israel to recognize and commemorate their dependence on Yahweh for their “daily bread”. It was a recognition that Yahweh would provide for the people according to their needs. The third feast was the Feast of Booths. This took place shortly after the Day of Atonement, when the sins of Israel were atoned for by sacrifice. The feast celebrated the end of the harvest season, and as such functioned as a sabbath from the agricultural work. The people would gather in branches and boughs from the trees and would make small shelters from them where they would live during the festival. My university had a significant Orthodox Jewish population, and this particular festival was one of the most interesting ones that I got to observe, since they would actually build the booths on campus each year right outside of my dorm (which was opposite the Jewish religious center on campus) and some students (I suspect the most devout!) would actually sleep in them throughout the course of the week. The culmination of the feast was a public reading of the covenant that Yahweh had made with Israel, reminding the people of the obligations and blessings of the covenant between them and Yahweh.

So the feasts would have reminded the pilgrims about why they were coming to Jerusalem. They were coming to worship Yahweh - the one who had made them a people of his own possession, who had called them out of slavery in Egypt with his mighty hand and outstretched arm, who had atoned for their sins that they might enter into his presence, who had settled them in the Promised Land and ensured their material provision on a daily basis, and who have covenanted with them so that they might continue to receive his blessings as his people.

It is in this context that we are presented with the Songs of Ascents. So what of the songs themselves? What kinds of psalms were the people of Israel singing as they worked their way towards Jerusalem? A wide variety, as it turns out! We see a great diversity in the types of psalms that make up the Songs of Ascents. We see individual and corporate laments in psalms 120, 123, 126, and 130, where the psalms reflect on our own personal sins and on the corporate sins of Israel that necessarily lead to Yahweh’s wrath. We see hymns of praise in psalms 121, 122, 124, 125, 129, 131, 134, 135, and 136, where the psalms call upon the name of Yahweh and reflect upon the way that he protects, restores, and watches over his people. We see songs of wisdom in psalms 127, 128, and 133, which teach us how we ought to order our lives and dwell in unity with one another. Finally, we see Psalm 132, which is the only royal psalm in the collection. It points us toward the promises that Yahweh has made to establish the throne of David and bring about redemption through David’s offspring.

This variety in the Songs of Ascents has caused a fair bit of consternation amongst some scholars, who suggest that it is odd that such a wide range of psalm genres should be included together in a collection. Michael Goulder responds to this viewpoint in what is one of my favorite passages in any commentary:

Why should we think that a collection of psalms is not a unity because it contains pieces from different [genres]? Have such critics never attended a church service that began with confession, included lessons of instruction, hymns of praise and prayers, and ended perhaps with the General Thanksgiving?

I think this is exactly the point that the Songs of Ascents are trying to convey. As we approach the house of Yahweh, there are many things that we ought to be pondering and considering. We ought to be considering both our individual and our corporate sins, and how they incur the wrath of God. We ought to come with thankful hearts, praising Yahweh that he has not left us in our sins but has made a way for us to be redeemed and enter into his presence with rejoicing. We ought to consider the wisdom of a righteous life - how we need to orient our hearts and our lives around the God’s instructions for us. These are all necessary things as we come to worship God. The point is further driven home when we take a moment to look through some of the themes that we see in these psalms - we see themes of blessing, of worship, of faith. We see themes of Yahweh’s providence, themes of thankfulness, and themes of grief and confession. Both the genres and the overall themes of these psalms are pointing us to the kinds of things that we ought to experience during worship! And I praise God that these are all elements of our weekly service here at King’s Church! Our order of service and the way that we conduct worship is not new - it has roots deep in the Scriptures and deep in the Old Testament. These are the attitudes that should color our lives as we approach the throne of Yahweh. Friends, I hope that we remember this every Sunday when we come together. We come to remember what God has done, how he has called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light. We come to praise him for his faithfulness to us, how he provides for our needs, and how he has been faithful to uphold his promises. We come to lament our sins, to understand our need for his forgiveness and his grace. We come to learn and understand how we ought to live, and we come to praise him for what he has done and what he has promised he will do. This is the heart with which we ought to approach worship!

Remembering What Yahweh Has Done (Ps. 132.1-10)

So having taken a closer look at the Songs of Ascents in their totality, we can now move to the specifics of Psalm 132. As I mentioned earlier, Psalm 132 is unique amongst the Songs of Ascents because it is the only royal psalm in the grouping. It is also a bit unusual because it is by far the longest of these psalms, more than twice the length of the second longest of the Songs of Ascents. This implies that there was likely some special purpose for Psalm 132, and given its length and its subject matter and themes, I think that is likely. Some commentators have suggested that this psalm may have been sung by the assembled people as they gathered into Jerusalem before beginning the final ascent up to the Temple Mount. It would have helped to orient them and remind them of the promises and covenants of Yahweh as they went up to perform their acts of worship.

The psalm can be easily and logically divided into two major sections. The first section, verses 1-10, call upon Yahweh to remember and to act upon his covenant with David, and call upon the people to remember the mighty works that Yahweh has done for them:

English Standard Version Psalm 132

1  Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor,

all the hardships he endured,

2  how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3  “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

4  I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5  until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6  Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7  “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool!”

8  Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

9  Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your saints shout for joy.

10  For the sake of your servant David,

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

The psalmist begins here by calling upon Yahweh’s faithfulness to his servant David, recalling David’s heartfelt desire to build a temple for Yahweh. If you remember your Old Testament, you’ll recall that once David had built his palace and had obtained rest from his enemies, he remembered that the ark of the covenant remained in a tent and he wanted to build an appropriately grand temple for Yahweh’s presence. Although David earnestly desired to build the Temple, when he expressed that desire to the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 7 Nathan returned with a specific message from Yahweh, where Yahweh promised that instead of David building Yahweh a house, Yahweh would build David a royal house - not a house of cedar and stone, but a royal bloodline that would be the rightful rulers of Israel, with the promise that one of his offspring would have his throne established forever. Yahweh further promised that David’s son would build the temple. This prophecy was ultimately fulfilled by Solomon when he built the first temple and dedicated it in 1 Kings 8.

I want to call the timing of the temple construction to our attention. This psalm was written after the dedication of the temple, and almost certainly after the reign of King Solomon. You may remember that things began to fall apart in Israel rather quickly after the death of Solomon. At the end of his life Solomon had turned his back on Yahweh and had started following after other gods. Yahweh confronted him about his idolatry and told him that he was going to tear the kingdom away from his son, but that he would preserve Solomon’s son as the king of one of the tribes (Judah) because of the promise that Yahweh had made to David. Sure enough, Solomon’s son Rehoboam immediately earned the ire of his countrymen by promising to be even more strict and demanding than Solomon, and all the tribes except Judah rebelled and crowned their own king. From here on out, Israel and Judah would be separate nations with separate kings - but they were all still Jews, and they were all still called to faith in Yahweh and to observe the commands of the covenants. Although the kings of the northern kingdom would eventually go on to set up sanctuaries in their territories in an attempt to rival the temple at Jerusalem, those who exhibited true faith in Yahweh would still have needed to travel to Jerusalem.

Why is this important? Well, the psalmist calls the people who are coming to Jerusalem to remember the faithfulness of David to Yahweh (and by extension, Yahweh’s promised faithfulness to David). The pilgrims singing these songs may have been from Judah, but it is very likely that many of them were from the other tribes, from a different kingdom, being called to remember the promise that Yahweh had made to perpetuate the line of the true king. Even in their sin of breaking away and following after a different ruler, they were being called to remember and acknowledge the faithfulness of Yahweh’s chosen king.

We also see a call to remember in the references to Ephrathah and Jaar. The wording is tricky in verse 6, especially identifying what “it” happens to be. In Hebrew it is a third person feminine singular construction, which doesn’t match the gender and plurality of any of the nouns in the preceding verses. In fact, the only nouns that it does match are “resting place” and “ark” in verse 8, which implies that “it” is the presence of Yahweh with the Ark of the Covenant. The two place references here take us all the way back 1 Samuel 1.4-6, where we encounter the story of the Ark of the Covenant being captured by the Philistines. It’s an exciting story, and I’ll just summarize it here. The Philistines come up against the Israelites in battle and are victorious because of the sins of Eli and his sons. The elders of Israel see this defeat and suggest that they bring the Ark of the Covenant down from Shiloh to go before them into battle, confident that Yahweh’s presence will give them victory. But instead, the Philistines are triumphant again and abscond with the ark to one of their main cities, Ashdod. There they put the ark in the temple of Dagon and leave for the night, only to return in the morning to find Dagon’s idol face first on the ground in front of the ark. They stand him back up and leave again for the night, returning in the morning to find that not only has he fallen down again, but his head and his hands have broken off of the statue and are lying on the threshold. Shortly afterwards, they start to break out in tumors throughout the city. This, needless to say, spooks the Philistines and they send the ark to Ekron, where the same tumors suddenly run rampant through the population. They finally decide to send the ark back to Israel with a guilt offering inside, and it ends up in the city of Kiriath-Jearim, where it waits until Solomon brings it to Jerusalem for installation in the temple. Ephrathah is the name of the region where both Bethlehem (David’s home city) and Kiriath-Jearim are located, and Jaar is another name for Kiriath-Jearim.

The psalmist here is calling us to remember the victory of Yahweh over Dagon, even though the Philistines were victorious over the Israelites. In the ancient world defeat in battle would have been seen as a triumph of the victorious nation’s god over the god of the defeated nation, but this story in 1 Samuel turns that idea completely on its head! Yahweh intentionally allowed the Israelites to be defeated because they had not been faithful to him. But that defeat did not compromise his sovereignty or his supremacy over the worthless idols of the nations. The message would have been clear - the people may have thought that the mere presence of the ark guaranteed their victory, but their unfaithfulness sealed their defeat. But Yahweh was still sovereign and in control, and his presence would return to dwell amongst his people. Yahweh’s presence moved with his ark - that was one of the most remarkable things about the Exodus and the conquest of the promised land - that the presence of Yahweh himself led the people where they needed to go. And now the ark had reached its final resting place, the house that Solomon had built for it in Jerusalem, where Yahweh had promised that he would dwell in the midst of his people, and the people are working their way there, to “go to his dwelling place, to worship at his footstool”. No wonder that verse 9 calls for celebrations - for the priests to be clothed in righteousness and the saints shouting for joy! Yahweh has done what he has promised he would do, he has provided for them and he is dwelling amongst them in the temple. The last verse in this section is a prayer for the king, a reminder of the promises that Yahweh had made to uphold the line of David, and one that calls upon the faithful one to be faithful to the promises that he has made - as we have already seen that he has been and he will continue to be. Remembrance is a key element of worship. We see it in our songs, we see it in our sermons, we see it in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. It is good and right for us to remember God’s faithfulness, and as we approach his throne it should never be far from our hearts and our lips.

Looking Forward to What Yahweh Has Promised to Do (Ps. 132.11-18)

But there is more to this psalm that just a reminder of the faithfulness of Yahweh and of how he has upheld his covenant promises. There is also a joyful anticipation that we see in the second half of the psalm, specifically in verses 11-18. Here we see the promises of Yahweh not just fulfilled in the past, but continuing forward perpetually. Read with me verses 11 through 18:

English Standard Version Psalm 132

11  The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12  If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall sit on your throne.”

13  For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling place:

14  “This is my resting place forever;

here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

15  I will abundantly bless her provisions;

I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16  Her priests I will clothe with salvation,

and her saints will shout for joy.

17  There I will make a horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

18  His enemies I will clothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

Verses 11 and 12 were direct reminders to the king of the day. He owed his crown entirely to Yahweh’s promise that he would perpetuate David’s line because of David’s faithfulness. But the kingship of Israel did come with conditions - the kings were to remember the covenant and were to be faithful to the commands that Yahweh had given them in the Law. If they were faithful to do those things, they could rest assured that their sons would continue to sit on the throne after them, and David’s line would be perpetuated in the way that we might expect this prophecy to be fulfilled. We know from biblical history, however, that truly faithful kings were few and far between in the history of Judah. It did not take long at all for many of the kings to go off after other gods, incurring the discipline and wrath of Yahweh. At the same time, however, we also get to see the patience that Yahweh has towards David’s line. Even though righteous kings are few and far between, he does not immediately rip the throne from underneath them. He gives them ample time to see the evil of their ways and repent, but again and again the kings reveal the true nature of their character and persist in their sins. Eventually, judgment does come in the form of the exile to Babylon and the abolishment of the Davidic monarchy. And in that moment, it might seem as though Yahweh has reneged on his oath that he swore to David. The Davidic line, after all, no longer sits on the throne - there is not even a throne to occupy anymore!

But verses 13-16 quickly show us that this particular interpretation does not give us the full story. Verses 13 and 14 immediately grounds us in Yahweh’s plan. Yahweh has “chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling place: ‘This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.’” Yahweh has determined that Zion will be his dwelling place, the place where his glory ultimately is. This is a theme that we see throughout the Old Testament, from the very beginning of Yahweh’s relationship with his chosen people. He speaks directly to Abram when he calls him out of Ur and into the land of Canaan. He appears and wrestles with Jacob as he returns to his ancestral land to face Esau. He manifests his presence in the burning bush when he first speaks with Moses to commission him to lead Israel out of Egypt, and his presence appears as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as the Exodus begins. He settles on the top of Mount Sinai in the sight of the people when Moses receives the Law, and his ark rests in the Jordan when the river stops and the people finally set foot into the Promised Land. He manifests his presence when the ark is in captivity in the land of the Philistines, as we already discussed earlier. When Solomon dedicates the temple, the same cloud of glory that led the Israelites through the wilderness fills the temple in such a way that the priests cannot stand because of the glory of Yahweh. Yahweh is a God who dwells with his people. He is a God who is present and immediate, who takes notices of the comings and goings of every day life because he loves those whom he loves. And he has chosen this stiff-necked and stubborn nation for his namesake. Israel is not blessed because they have chosen Yahweh. They are blessed because Yahweh has chosen Zion. Yahweh’s presence may (and does!) leave the temple when the people have abandoned their faith in him, but Yahweh does not abandon his promise to Israel.

For even as the people of Israel fall further and further into idolatry and sin, we see promises of the restoration of Israel and of Yahweh’s intention to dwell permanently with his chosen people. Throughout the prophets, alongside the very well deserved warnings about the coming destruction of Israel as a result of their idolatry comes words of hope and restoration on the great and terrible day of Yahweh. Take, for example, Joel 3.17-21:

Joel 3:17–21 ESV

“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.”

These promises continue even into the New Testament, most clearly in Revelation 21.1-4:

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Yahweh has chosen his people, and Yahweh has promised that he will dwell amongst them. If he has promised it, he will surely do it!

Verses 15 and 16 show the love and affection that Yahweh has for his chosen people: “I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.” He earnestly desires to bless them, to satisfy them, to make them holy, and to bring them joy. This is the heart that God has for his people. This is the reason that he seeks their good, that he brings about their redemption, that he does not abandon them in their sin but continues to call them back to him. And it is this heart of affection towards his people that shines through most clearly in the promises in verses 17 and 18:

“There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”

Friends, we know that the kings of Judah did not live up to the requirements of the Law. We know that they quickly sought after other gods, and even when there were brief moments of return to Yahweh, they were indeed brief. The sons of David failed again and again to uphold the requirements of the covenant, and that ultimately led the people to be exiled to Babylon. When they returned, the monarchy did not return with them. These psalms suddenly (and appropriately!) took on a new character. They were no longer hopeful prayers for the current king. They became prayers of longing in expectation for a promised one. One who would faithfully uphold the covenant and restore the presence of Yahweh to Israel.

Hundreds of years after this psalm was written, the promised king finally arrived in a manger in Bethlehem, nearby to where the Ark of the Covenant had resided before Solomon took it to the temple that he had built. He was a direct descendant of David, but more than just being a descendant of David, he was Yahweh himself. As John puts it, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. This time, however, his presence was not found in an ark or a temple, but in the form of a man. Jesus of Nazareth was fully man and fully God. He walked amongst God’s chosen people, but more than just walking with them, he demonstrated what was needed to fulfill the Law, to uphold the covenant the way that the kings of old were supposed to have done. Every single thing that he said and did was perfectly aligned with Yahweh’s will - which ultimately should not surprise us, because he is God! He lived a sinless life, even though he died a sinner’s death on our behalf, that through his broken body and shed blood we might be reconciled to God. His enemies thought that they had triumphed over him, but were covered with shame when he rose from the dead, having accomplished all that he had come to do. He sits today crowned in glory at the right hand of the Father, interceding for his beloved people that he redeemed, and as a result the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of every person who acknowledges their sin, repents of it, believes in the atoning work of Christ, and throws themselves on the wonderful mercy of God. If we ever doubt if God truly intends to dwell with us, we need only look to Jesus to see the proof that he has, he does, and he will do so for all eternity as we have already seen in Revelation 21!

Friends, all of those themes that we saw in the Songs of Ascents at the beginning of this morning find their finality and fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one who carries our sins on his shoulders so that we need not bear their weight anymore, but can instead be yoked to his easy burden. He is the true object of our praise and worship, the one who came from heaven to seek and redeem for himself a people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation, united by their faith in his saving work. He is the ultimate source of wisdom, the one after whom we ought to order our lives, in gratitude for what he has done for us. And his is the true son of David, the promised King who will reign on David’s throne forever and ever, and who will one day return to judge the living and the dead and make all of the wrong and sinful things of this world untrue again. He is the one that we will worship for eternity, the one who will dwell with us forever, the one who will wipe away every tear from our eyes, the one who has, once and for all, done away with sin and death and all of the horror that they bring.

Friends, as we enter into the Advent season, I pray that as we come together to worship that we would treasure all of these things in our hearts. I pray that we would rejoice in the diversity of our worship, knowing that lamenting, repenting, rejoicing, praising, praying, and learning and all glorious ways that we come to better know and understand our God and Savior. I pray that we would delight in remembering the faithfulness of God, whether in the direct experiences of our own lives, or through the shared experiences that we have as a church body, or through the historical faithfulness that we read about in the Scriptures. And I pray that we would not just look backwards to the stable in Bethlehem (though that is indeed a good thing to do!), but that we would also look forward in joyful anticipation of the return of our Savior and King, looking forward to that moment when our faith is made sight and we get to be in the physical presence of our God forever.

Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you and praise you for your faithfulness towards us, even when we are unfaithful. Thank you for giving us your Word, and most importantly, thank you for giving us your promised King, Jesus. Thank you for his broken body, for his shed blood, for his obedience to your will, that he suffered unto death on our behalf, that we might be forgiven and might be declared righteous through faith in his sacrifice. Thank you for raising him from the dead, showing that his sacrifice was sufficient to cover our sins, and thank you for calling us to yourself, for awakening our cold and dead hearts to respond to your grace in faith. Father, as we enter into the Advent season, help us to keep our eyes fixed firmly upon Jesus. As we come together to worship, help us to see our sin clearly, to confess and repent of it, all while resting in your marvelous grace. Help us to see and comprehend your love and faithfulness towards us, and let us earnestly desire to see Christ return that we may experience you face to face. Thank you for your promises, for your marvelous grace, for your matchless love, and for giving us your Son. Amen.