Bless the Lord

If, as has been surmised, the ‘Songs of Ascents’ were a collection of psalms that were edited together to give us a sense of pilgrimage, and if they were sung on the way up to Jerusalem, then this psalm has a logical place as the pinnacle of the pilgrim’s experience.  The psalms themselves have taken us through a whole range of emotions.  Early on there were psalms about being isolated from God’s people, the journey itself and then the arrival at the tabernacle in Jerusalem.  The psalms highlighted the highs and lows of a believer’s life.  But as we come to the end of these 15 psalms the focus is on fellowship.  So what we have here is probably a psalm that was sung at the end of the festival after the blessing of the High Priest and the people prepared to go home.

Some years ago I went on walking holiday near Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands.  I hadn’t been walking for some years and my body had changed so much that I was badly dehydrated for most of the holiday.  That, coupled with thick snow, on some of the ridges made it a very tiring holiday.  But each time I hauled myself up another mountain the view at the top made it worthwhile!  And that, I believe is the point of this psalm.  The journey up to Jerusalem could have been very difficult and tiring, not a relaxing proposition.  But once the pilgrims got to Jerusalem and worshipped they could look back and say it was all worthwhile!

The first thing we notice in verse 1 is everyone is called on to worship: ‘Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!’  Its not just the pilgrims, but the priests and others serving in the temple.  The other thing to note is this was happening all the time!  1 Chronicles chapter 9 lists those who served in the temple and it’s clear the worship went on 24/7!  This makes sense as in Psalm 121:4 we read: ‘Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.’  So there’s a simple truth to be derived, our worship is to be 24/7!  So we’re not more of a Christian when we’re in church than on Monday when we’re at work, our whole life is worship!

The phrase: ‘Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!’ (v2) obviously applies to the priests.  In the former area I worked there was a minister who when approached on street would often say: “I’m not working at the moment.”  That raised the eyebrows of those of us who consider our calling a vocation, but it also illustrates how easy it is for to become jaded and lack the dedication to worship.  There’s an interesting New Testament illustration of this when Paul writes to Timothy. ‘I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling’ (1 Timothy 2:8).  It’s clear that Paul shares the sentiments of this particular psalm!

Lastly, this was a chance to receive blessing.  ‘May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!’ (v3).  We forget; the Lord wants to bless his people!  But this also reminds us of the kind a God we worship as he is sovereign over everything in this world and universe!  So, as the High Priest gave the final blessing, it would have reinstated in the minds of the people as the reason for their pilgrimage.  They worshipped the great God: ‘who made heaven and earth!’ and yet had time for his people and wanted to bless them!

The pilgrimages’ to the various festivals showed love and obedience towards God, but the ultimate example of love is found in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus which is the ultimate source of blessing.  Paul draws our attention to Christ’s obedience in his letter to the church at Philippi.  ‘Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.’ (Philippians 2:5-8).  Christ’s obedience brings us blessing indeed!

Would you like to listen to a sermon on the passage? Bless the Lord!