A Call to Worship: Psalms of Ascent
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The opportunity to worship the Lord together provides us with Relief from living among wickedness
A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
2 “Lord, rescue me from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.”
3 What will he give you, and what will he do to you, you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows with burning charcoal!
5 What misery that I have stayed in Meshech, that I have lived among the tents of Kedar!
6 I have dwelt too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
ps 120
The people
Lot lived in torment.
4 For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment;
5 and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6 and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly;
7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral
8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—
9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that we need a break from the torment of sin we encounter in the culture.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
A reminder that God has promised to bless (Protect) His people.
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
5 The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side.
6 The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life.
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.
This is a reminder that God had promised to bless them
But...God’s terms for blessing: Obedience.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that if we obey Him, He has promised to bless us. (subject of the Sermon) It is interesting…God promised the Hebrews that they would not suffer if they would obey Him…God promised the church that they will suffer…but that He will bring an end to our suffering. God wants to remind us of our future in Heaven.
There is joy in worshiping the Lord together.
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet were standing within your gates, Jerusalem—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be, solidly united,
4 where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up to give thanks to the name of the Lord. (This is an ordinance for Israel.)
5 There, thrones for judgment are placed, thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure;
7 may there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses.”
8 Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, “May peace be in you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will pursue your prosperity.
Why is Jerusalem significant? Why is the temple significant? The significance of Jerusalem, because God had promised to meet with them...hear their prayers of repentance there.
21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark.
22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
21-22
vs. 8, The communion of the congregation of the Lord, is built on our common position before the Lord. We all need forgiveness.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that He has provided our corporate worship as a source of joy for us.
Submission to the Lord’s Kingship.
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes to you, the one enthroned in heaven.
2 Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand, like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand, so our eyes are on the Lord our God until he shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, Lord, show us favor, for we’ve had more than enough contempt.
4 We’ve had more than enough scorn from the arrogant and contempt from the proud.
The greatest need for a servant is favor from the Master.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that He is King and that must seek His favor above all else.
If the Lord had not intervened we would be sunk.
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say—
2 If the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger against us.
4 Then the water would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging water would have swept over us.
6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net; the net is torn, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that If He had not intervened for us, we would be sunk.
The Lord makes a distinction between those who are His and those who are wicked.
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem and the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good, to those whose hearts are upright.
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord will banish them with the evildoers. Peace be with Israel.
Before we enter worship, God wants us to remember He knows our hearts…who is His and who is not.
Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord had done great things for us; we were joyful.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like watercourses in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
6 Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.
The blessing of God’s people is a demonstration to the nations.
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord had done great things for us; we were joyful.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like watercourses in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
6 Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.
The joy and praise of God’s people stands is stark contrast to the misery of the wicked.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that we are His trophies displayed to the nations or the lost around us.
A family is a sign of the Lord’s blessings.
The picture of a family traveling to worship the Lord together, because God had commanded parents to teach their children to obey the Lord’s commands.
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.
2 In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food— yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. They will never be put to shame when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.
Malachi: The Lord’s intention for marriage is godly offspring.
A song of ascents.
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children, like young olive trees around your table.
4 In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion, so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life
6 and will see your children’s children! Peace be with Israel.
13 This is another thing you do. You are covering the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning, because he no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.
14 And you ask, “Why?” Because even though the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, you have acted treacherously against her. She was your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.
15 Didn’t God make them one and give them a portion of spirit? What is the one seeking? Godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully, so that no one acts treacherously against the wife of his youth.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that our family worshiping with other families is a picture of His blessing.
The privilege of being able to bring an offering to the Lord.
They were traveling to worship 3 times a year…to bring offerings, sacrifices, and to feast before the Lord.
A song of ascents.
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children, like young olive trees around your table.
4 In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion, so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life
6 and will see your children’s children! Peace be with Israel.
The offering is a testimony of God’s blessing.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that this should be our attitude: I can’t believe I have something to offer the Lord!
Persecution from the wicked have not broken us.
A song of ascents.
1 Since my youth they have often attacked me— let Israel say—
2 Since my youth they have often attacked me, but they have not prevailed against me.
3 Plowmen plowed over my back; they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is righteous; he has cut the ropes of the wicked.
5 Let all who hate Zion be driven back in disgrace.
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it grows up
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.
8 Then none who pass by will say, “May the Lord’s blessing be on you. We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
…the writer reminds the persecuted church...you have not suffered to the point of death.
God had promise to bless those who bless them and curse those who cruse them.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that we have not broken yet under crisis. He will repay those who persecute us.
The Lord has promised to forgive His people when they repent.
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!
2 Lord, listen to my voice; let your ears be attentive to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning— more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord. For there is faithful love with the Lord, and with him is redemption in abundance.
8 And he will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Solomon’s prayer of dedication,
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that we need forgiveness.
The Lord exalts the humble.
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me.
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child.
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
The picture of a child 3-6 years old with the mother.
Jesus said unless you become like a child you cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that He honors humitlity.
2 He called a child and had him stand among them.
3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me.
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Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that He honors humility.
(I read)
(I read)
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David and all the hardships he endured,
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord, making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter my house or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber
5 until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of the ark 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 Rise up, Lord, come to your resting place, you and your powerful ark.
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness, and may your faithful people shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David, do not reject your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David, a promise he will not abandon: “I will set one of your offspring on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I will teach them, their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his home:
14 “This is my resting place forever; I will make my home here because I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless its food; I will satisfy its needy with bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation, and its faithful people will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown he wears will be glorious.”
psalm 132
notice verse 6. , the ark returned from the Philistines.
12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and during Saul’s reign was already an old man.
1 sam
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.
God has promised that the Messiah will be King who rules on the throne of David. A prayer for God to keep His promises.
We should come to worship with anticipation and prayer that God will keep His promises…that Jesus will return.
The unity of the people of God is like no other satisfaction.
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
2 It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard onto his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has appointed the blessing— life forevermore.
The community of believers and their unity is a blessing.
Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that we are to enjoy that unity, work for it, pursue it and be satisfied in it.
Bless the Lord in your worship.
A song of ascents.
1 Now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who stand in the Lord’s house at night!
2 Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord!
3 May the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
Raise your hands in thanksgiving, praise, and gratefulness to the Lord.
Paul says that men everywhere should raise their hands to the Lord.
8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.
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Before we enter corporate worship God wants to remind us that we are to bless the Lord together…this is a physical picture.