Psalm 120

Today’s Psalm is the first of 15 consecutive Psalms called Songs of Ascents. These were read, one each, on the 15 steps leading from the Court of the Women to the Nicanor (Beautiful) Gate into the Court of the Israelites.  But being Psalms of David these were written and organized before the temple was built.  So we would say they are more fundamentally written to encourage pilgrims as they ascended to Jerusalem to the place where David had brought the Ark of the Covenant. 

For Christians these are encouragement in our daily walk, our pilgrimage (1 Pt. 2:11) in this life which is not only a journey to heaven (the heavenly temple) but a journey into a deeper knowledge of God.  Psalms 120-122 help us in beginning the journey; 123-131 speak of God’s help in the dangers and difficulties of the journey; and 132-134 describe the joys of arriving at our destination.

How does one begin his pilgrimage?  You might say, “He should pack his bags.”  Or “he should look at a map and make his route selections.”  The Scriptures disagree.  The first step in the pilgrimage is the decision that we can no longer stay where we are.  It begins with a conviction that to stay where I am in life now simply cannot happen; we must go somewhere else.

This might seem a bit obvious and perhaps “not that big a deal.”  But actually, the pilgrimage we are speaking of is fraught with extreme danger and a very hard road.  This is true of the trip to Jerusalem from anywhere in Israel.  This is true of the spiritual pilgrimage of anyone who wants to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.  We must be absolutely committed to the journey and can have no second thoughts about staying in what is now our home.

David (who may or may not have written all these Psalms; only a few have his name attached; but we use his name to refer to the writer, whoever it is) is in deep distress.  He has come to the end of his rope in terms of the language, the lies and the attacks from those in his neighborhood.  There is no decision made in this Psalm other than the one that says “I can no longer live here.”

For Christians, many have begun their pilgrimage without a real thought that they have no other choice.  There may be a thought of hanging on to the old way of life while travelling on a new path.  There may be a failure to count the cost of discipleship, of following Christ.  That is why God sends His Holy Spirit to convince us that we are sinners and that Christ is the only answer to our problem (John 16:8-11).  But that is not all.  That is also why God graciously brings us into times of trouble so that we will actually stop and think about where we are in life.  Unless we conclude that we have no choice in this, then the future dangers will cause us to turn around and go home, a situation that will likely prevent us from ever again setting out on this journey. 

Meditate on this.  Ask God for this conviction about making pilgrimage.