Stephen spoke from Ps 37:1-7 tonight, a psalm which (like Ps 73) deals with the subject of the frustrations and anxiety we feel when we look around us and see the godless prospering. The psalmist repeatedly commands us not to fret (Ps 37:1, 7, 8), since it leads to evil, to an erosion of the path on which we walk. So often, we have a short-term perspective of prosperity, looking only at the material blessings; we need to understand that the godless and wicked will not prosper long-term (like the grass, they will wither away) and that God is able to give us our heart’s desires as we take delight in Him.

Jer 29:11 reminds us that God has good plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. The antidote to fretting is to trust God and do good; to commit our ways to Him and trust that He will sort everything out for us in the long term. An essential part of Christian maturity is to learn to be still before the Lord and to wait patiently for Him. That is not easy for us, but if we are not careful, fretting leads to something akin to coastal erosion: our security and stability in God is gradually eaten away through anxiety, stress, envy and anger. Only as we trust in God and wait for HIs timing will we be able to take hold of the delights God has for each one of us.

Mark spoke this morning about the book of times and seasons which God has for each one of us. Each season is different and has something lovely in it; the ongoing reliability of the seasons is testimony to God’s faithfulness (Gen 8:22) God not only controls the seasons but rulers (see Dan 2:21) and Ps 31:14-15 reminds us that our times are also in God’s hands. God controls nature and kingdoms, but is also heavily involved in individual lives, reminding us in Eccl 3:1-15 that there are different times for everythng. There is both variety and security in God; we are not meant to relive the same experiences endlessly (as in the film Groundhog Day!) but have to be prepared to move on as God leads us.

Ps 139:16 reminds us that ‘all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.’ God’s plan for our lives was present even before we were born (as Jer 1:5 makes clear) and we live in the time and place chosen for us by God (see Acts 17:26-28). Sometimes we have to wait for God’s timing (see Hab 2:2-3), because God’s plans are not always clear to us (‘the revelation awaits an appointed time.‘) Nonetheless, we are called to trust God and listen to Him as He calls us to new things. God has a lifetime of blessing and adventure for us all and His plans are to prosper us (Jer 29:11). We are called to seek God and obey Him in every season of our lives.

Shakespeare wrote that ‘journeys end in lovers meeting’ (‘Twelfth Night’), and the Psalms of Ascent conclude with the pilgrims’ arrival in Jerusalem to worship God. The last three Psalms of Ascent (Ps 132-134) are all focussed on Zion, with Ps 132 remembering the time when David brought the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem and the other two psalms looking at the blessings of unity and worship which come with the end of the journeying.

We may well have mixed feelings about reaching our destination, fearing a sense of anticlimax or even disappointment, and (if we are honest), anxiety about the process of reaching that destination (death). The Bible clearly talks of the relationship between God and His people as marriage (see Song of Songs, also Eph 5:22-32, Rev 21:2) and the New Testament anticipates our arrival with God with joy (see 2 Cor 5:1-10). There is no sense of anticlimax in Ps 134, simply a sense of God’s people blessing God and God blessing them. Ultimately, when we arrive with God, there will be both praise and blessing. (Rev 5:11-14) It will be a wedding to top all weddings!

Ps 134 is a psalm of blessing and praise. Ps 132 has looked at blessing for Zion and Ps 133 at blessing in Zion, but here, there is blessing from Zion. (Alec Motyer, P 388) Other psalms have rightly looked at distress, power, security, but in this psalm, we are securely at home in Zion throughout; the key word in this psalm is BLESS.

Like so many psalms, this one involves a call and a response. We are urged to come and bless God (Ps 134:1-2) and the response is that God blesses us (Ps 134:3). The call appears to be addressed to the priests and Levites whose duty was to recite the nightly service of praise (see 1 Chron 9:33). It reminds us that praise is a choice, often indicated by the simple act of raising hands (see also Ps 28:2, Neh 8:6). It is not about feelings as such, but about obedience (see Heb 13:15).

All Christians are called priests (we are a royal priesthood, Peter says (1 Pet 2:9)). We all therefore have this obligation to lift our hands and bless God. As the pilgrims reached their journey’s end and gathered to worship God in the temple at Jerusalem, there must have been a sense of exhilaration and fulfilment. We are looking forward to meeting God and worshipping Him for eternity. We might as well start now!

Ps 133 talks of the blessing of unity, using two analogies to describe this blessing. It is likened to the oil which ran down Aaron’s beard and collar, that anointing oil which symbolises the Holy Spirit and which set Aaron apart as high priest, and to the dew of Hermon (signifying all that is refreshing, quickening and invigorating.) Individuals who are united draw fresh energy and are like brothers dwelling together in harmony. Where such unity exists, God is pleased to bestow His blessing.

Mount Hermon was in the north of Israel, so for its dew to have an effect on Mount Zion in the south indicates the power of unity. It is interesting to note that after all these psalms journeying up to Jerusalem, this psalm talks of oil and dew flowing downwards. Ultimately, we are all dependent on God for blessing. He is the One who unites us and who blesses us. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us (James 4:4) As we are centred around God – who draws disparate individuals together and makes us into the family of God – He unites us and blesses us.

The ark of the covenant was the symbol of God’s presence. The ark was a wooden chest, covered in gold, which contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17:1-13) and a pot of manna (Ex 16:4). When the Israelites were in the wilderness and travelling on only when the cloud by day or pillar of fire by night moved, the ark was transported by the Levites who carried it on poles; because the ark symbolised God’s presence, no one was allowed to touch it. God was so holy, so utterly different from sinful mankind, that no person could touch the ark and live; there was to be reverence, awe and obedience in how the ark was handled.

The ark played an important role as the Israelites crossed the River Jordan to possess the land of Canaan. During the crossing, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched its waters and it remained dry until the priests left the river with the ark after the people had passed over (Josh 3:15-17, Josh 4:10, 11, 18). In the Battle of Jericho, the ark was carried around the city once a day for seven days, preceded by the armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams’ horns (Josh 6:4-15). On the seventh day, the seven priests sounding the trumpets before the ark went round the city seven times and this time they gave a great shout and the walls of Jericho fell down flat (Josh 6:19-20). Later on, we see Joshua praying and lamenting before the ark (Josh 7:6-9); we see him reading the law to the people at the site where the ark was situated (Josh 8:33).

Later on, we see Phineas (grandson of Aaron) looking after the ark which the people would consult before battle, symbolising their dependence on God for guidance (Judges 20:26-28) and it was later moved from Bethel to Shiloh, where Eli’s sons looked after it. We then come to read one of the darkest periods of Israel’s history, when the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and took it back with them (1 Sam 4-5).

David’s restoration of the ark to Jerusalem forms the theme of Ps 132. (Ps 132:2-5, 8-9) David was desperate for God’s presence, and returning the ark to Jerusalem for him signified the nearness of the Lord. The result of God’s presence being there and David’s obedience was God’s blessing (see Ps 132:15-17). When God is with us and we are obedient to Him, we can count on His blessing and provision and consequently are filled with awe and worship.