Links for today’s readings:
Jul 27 Read: Isaiah 56 Listen: (2:11) Read: Psalms 120-122 Listen: (2:12)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 120.5-7
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 122.6-9
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
Reflection: Songs of Ascent Playlist — From War to Peace
By John Tillman
Fifteen “Songs of Ascent” follow Psalm 119. What are they?
Federico Villanueva (Asia Bible Commentary) highlights two theories. One says they were sung by worshipers “ascending” the steep roads to Jerusalem’s temple. Another says they were sung by post-exile Jews, struggling up the metaphorically steep path to resettlement. These explanations do not rule one another out and probably are both true.
The Psalms scroll is carefully edited and assembled. Human artistry and divine inspiration were partners not just in writing these poems but in curating and arranging them. These fifteen songs of ascent are a divine playlist of rescue, restoration, and worship.
Would you arrange a playlist of songs by date of release or alphabetically? Probably not, unless your only purpose was historical. Playlists are arranged for different reasons.
During one break from college, I made a “mix-tape” for the girl who is now my wife. I didn’t arrange the songs alphabetically or by release date. I arranged them so that each song added to the message that I loved her and (even though I wasn’t quite ready to ask) wanted to marry her. My father drove me back to college. During the three-hour drive, we listened to the tape. He picked up on the message and asked. “Son, are you trying to tell this girl something?”
These psalms of Hebrew poetry were gathered, curated, and assembled post-exile to tell us something. They tell us how God’s people, despite their sins and distress, are still wooed and welcomed by God, back into his presence.
Appropriately, this story begins with lament in Psalm 120. If you are ascending to a high place, you start from a low place. The singer of Psalm 120 is in a low place, captured among those hungry for war, and far from the peace of God’s temple.
Psalm 121 lifts our heads to our destination and source of help and hope. We do not rely on the strength of our legs to make this climb. God will not let us slip.
Psalm 122 celebrates the enduring hope still ahead of us—the peace of God that is beyond understanding and beyond this world.
Whatever low place you are at, God’s love calls you to ascend. Wherever you are in your ascent, keep your eyes on the heights to come. No matter how war clamors around us, peace is coming to drown it out.
Keep singing. And keep climbing.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. — Psalm 110.1
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Awake, Awake! Amaze! Amaze!
How awake are you?…are you rising up?…liberated? Cleansed? Empowered? God says to us, “Awake! Awake!.” Say back to him, “Amaze! Amaze!”
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