Podcast: Play in new window | Download
For centuries the Jewish people’s lives revolved around their yearly feasts and celebrations. Jerusalem is built around a couple of hills, and the Temple Mount (where there is now a mosque where the Temple used to be), and people would come from all over the world to honor and express devotion and gratefulness to the Living God. As they would stream in and out of the city, they would sing songs in these processions. These are called the songs of “ascents” and added to the communal worship experience as the people would once again focus on God.
These ascent Psalms 120-134 are completed by these two Psalms, where both the communal unity and connection with God the Father were exemplified, teach us to love unity with one another and to value our connection with God. Selah!
The God Story talks about singing our own “new” songs. It is not that God wishes us all to be composers – He just wants us to sing our own experiences of encountering His goodness in our lives. It is that simple. 🙂