1. In the depths

As I rounded the corner of the banana plantation, and before the church hall came into view, I could make out the distant strains of the great gospel hymn 'Love lifted me'. The notes hung in the humid morning air, sometimes a little uncertainly - as if the hymn wasn't altogether familiar to the singers. An hour before the church service was due to start, many had assembled for hymn practice. I paused for a moment in the tropical sunshine, and picked out the voice of the local deacon belting out the words with great conviction.

The morning's experience came back to me later, as I realized this had been an appropriate introduction to one of the texts I was to mention that day which was part of Psalm 130. But we'll read all of Psalm 130 for it's only 8 verses long:

A Song of Ascents.

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.

Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive

To the voice of my supplications.

If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,

And in His word do I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

More than the watchmen for the morning;

Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the LORD;

For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,

And with Him is abundant redemption.

And He will redeem Israel

From all his iniquities.

This song is really a prayer - a cry of a person who's in the depths because he's passing through some deep, dark experience; but he's confident at the same time that the lovingkindness of God will lift him up. That's why 'love lifted me' seemed appropriate. In this booklet we'll look at this psalm and the next four and view them as taking us higher and higher one step at a time - out of the depths and into the heights of spiritual experience, like five rungs on a ladder.

First let's put them in context. The psalms we'll study are the last five of a group of fifteen, usually labelled in our Bibles as 'Songs of Ascents'. Psalm 120, and the fourteen following, are called 'songs of degrees', or 'ascents' - although no-one is exactly sure why. Some think it refers to the music: that they were sung with an higher voice, or an ascending note. Others are of opinion that the title relates either to the time when the Israelites went up to Jerusalem, at the three solemn yearly feasts; or to the time when the Jews came up from Babylon - mention being made in some of these psalms of their being in Babylon, and of their return from their captivity there.

But the common opinion of the Jews, and many Christians, is that these were songs sung by the Levites, on the fifteen steps, by which they went up from the court of the women to the court of the Israelites, or came down them; and on each step sung one of these psalms. What matters for us in this partial study is that we are regarding psalms 130 through 134 as leading us into an appreciation of higher and higher blessings which move us from the realm of the individual to a sense of blessing we share with others among the people of God, and there our five selected psalms reach their highest point.

We begin in Psalm 130 with the prayer of the humble - an example of spreading our difficulties before God in prayer to ask for his help. You may have noticed there's no thought that help is in any way deserved. Psalm 130 is a cry from the heart for the Lord to show mercy. The psalmist is sure that God forgives sins, and so he encourages the nation to join him in waiting in hope for the time when the Lord will redeem them from all their iniquities.

The psalmist cried out of the depths, a figure of speech that suggests he saw himself in some deep extremity - perhaps even to the point of death. And he prayed that the LORD would answer his cry for mercy. He doesn't state the exact problem, but it could well be due to divine punishment for sins: the psalmist makes the point that no one could stand if God dealt with sinners in the way they deserved. But the comfort is that with God there's forgiveness. Believers throughout all ages have rejoiced in this fact.

God forgives so that those who are forgiven will fear him and go on to worship and obey him. This demonstrates a true appreciation of grace by the psalmist here. Grace is God's undeserved favour towards us. The psalmist realized he deserved the judgement of God because of his sins. Like everyone else, that was what he truly deserved. But he was someone who knew his God and understood that God, in his grace, is prepared to withhold what we truly deserve, and give us instead what we don't deserve - the undeserved favour of divine forgiveness.

But we say the psalmist here shows a true appreciation of grace, for he doesn't regard it as a licence to live carelessly. Far from it. He sees God's grace as the best motivation to fear or reverence him. The Bible says there are many results of fearing the LORD, the first and foremost being that it keeps us from sin. There's no such thing as cheap grace. The forgiveness of God can't be treated lightly. It turns sinners into saints, people made holy through faith in Jesus, who are obliged to serve God in obedience.

The apostle Paul taught that salvation is by God's grace through faith - not of works (Ephesians 2:8). Even then, in Paul's day, some of his critics ridiculed this idea of 'cheap grace' as they saw it. They mocked Paul's gospel by saying, "OK, let's sin then, so that grace may abound" (Romans 6:1). That's a total misunderstanding of God's grace. God's grace is freely given to all who truly turn to him and believe in the Lord, but it was never cheap, for it was secured at the cost of the sacrifice of God's Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.

Paul taught that grace is never a licence to sin, but, instead, a grateful appreciation of it gives us the liberty to live so as to please God. Grace instructs us, Paul tells us. Grace has its teaching too. The attitude that says, "Whatever I do, God will forgive me," is totally wrong; but when, as in psalm 130, we humble ourselves, and in repentant mood, throw ourselves upon God's mercy, we access the rich forgiveness of God.

So, returning to the psalmist who's down in the depths of some crisis experience, he wasn't trying to make the best of it, or working out his own strategy for deliverance. No, we find his face turned expectantly to the Lord like those who in the night-time wait for the morning. The repetition of the expression, 'those who watch for the morning' (cf. Is.21:11) gives the impression of a long, maybe agonizing, waiting period.

The psalmist testified that he was patiently waiting for the LORD, comparing his wait to that of a city's watchmen looking for the first rays of dawn, for then they would be relieved of their duties by other guards. With that same degree of intensity he eagerly looked for God's new merciful dealings. Again and again in the psalms we find this idea of waiting upon God. It's something we can learn from this rich store of human experience - experiences of God's dealings with us in the ups and downs of life - especially the downs - like the psalmist knew in psalm 130. We can find a lot of practical wisdom here. Perhaps we need to hear again about this matter of waiting because in this modern world we often demand instant results. We're used to things happening at the click of a button, but it's not usually like that with prayer. The prayer of faith waits for God's perfect timing. We're often in a hurry, but God isn't.

Finally, the psalmist waited in hope. The word 'hope' expresses confidence, for his waiting was expectant waiting; not if, but when. He hoped in two things, did you notice? In the LORD and in his Word. The psalmist would have been limited to less than the full Old Testament, but it contained the sure promises of a coming deliverer. While the psalmist ends his prayer on this wider point of the deliverance of Israel from all her sins, it remains true for the individual today that sure hope for forgiveness is in Christ according to God's Word. This is something that remains relevant to us in the day to day business of Christian living, for in many things we all stumble but the apostle John assures us:

if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9)

How good to know that not only is the penalty of all our sins forgiven for ever by saving faith in Jesus Christ, but the effect of sins on our enjoyment of intimate fellowship with the Lord can be cleansed away by daily confession.

We have started in the depths with Psalm 130 - right down in the depths where sin brings us. We have discovered that we can humbly request and receive the great blessing of forgiveness through the love of God that lifts us up again, and then start to climb to greater heights of blessing in the psalms that follow.

2. A contented child

I think that Psalm 131 was a song dealing with the issue of personal examination. Its header or title tells us that King David wrote it. This is what he said:

A Song of Ascents, of David.

O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;

Nor do I involve myself in great matters,

Or in things too difficult for me.

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;

Like a weaned child rests against his mother,

My soul is like a weaned child within me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD

From this time forth and forever. (Psalm 131:1-3)

We simply don't know for sure when David would have written this. But it seems like a reasonable suggestion that it was after some occasion when he'd been accused of being proud, even precocious perhaps. One occasion that comes immediately to mind is the time when David – still the shepherd-boy, was sent by his father to see how his older brothers were doing in the battle against the Philistines – the battle when the giant Goliath was taunting the Israelite army. When David saw and heard this, we read in First Samuel, chapter 17 that:

… David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?"

The people answered him in accord with this word, saying, "Thus it will be done for the man who kills him."

Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger burned against David and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle."

But David said, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?"  (1 Samuel 17:26-29)

I could imagine that being just the kind of incident that might lead someone with a conscience as tender as David's to the sort of self-examination that seems indicated in our psalm. Let's take one more example, because it also proves just how sensitive David's conscience was. This is from later in David’s life. By this stage he's killed Goliath and come to national prominence as the young hero. Saul the king has now become jealous of him, seeing in him a rival for the throne. Things escalate to the point when Saul is madly pursuing David, who is fleeing for his life. He ends up playing a deadly game of hide and seek with Saul. On one of those episodes, this is what happened to David:

He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, "Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly.

It came about afterward that David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe.  So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD'S anointed."

David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.

Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.

David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, 'Behold, David seeks to harm you'? Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD'S anointed.'" (1 Samuel 24:3-10)

Notice how David begged Saul not to listen to the words of those who spoke against him in Saul's ear. I imagine those were exactly the kind of men who might well have accused David of having a lofty and proud spirit and with meddling in matters that were above his station in life; he was a mere shepherd-boy after all. Even his own family had not always held him in high esteem.

If we're right in all this, then this psalm was probably a private reflection on what had happened and  had been said against him - a personal examination of his own motives. Was there a bad thought in his heart against Saul? Was he eager to get his hands on the crown? Was he plotting to get the government into his own hands? Perhaps people were saying these things, but David, after examining his motives before God, pronounces himself as innocent as a weaned child.

In fact David, as the Bible records his career, is truly the model of the state of mind expressed in Psalm 131. He didn't push himself forward at any stage. No, the call of God had to draw him out of seclusion. Although he was promised the throne early in life, David didn't presume to seize it by violence. Far from it: after Samuel anointed him, David willingly and patiently followed the long, roundabout way of deep abasement, until he received from God's hand all that God's promise had earlier assured him of. He left it entirely to God to remove Saul and Ishbosheth. He let Shimei curse. He fled from Jerusalem before Absalom. Submission to God's guidance and contentment with all that was allotted to him, are the distinguishing marks of David's character.

Having said all that, why - we might ask - should this spiritual journal of David's be taken from among his personal papers and slotted into place here among the Songs of Ascents? We've thought of how these fifteen psalms from 120 through 134 have been regarded as songs sung by the Levites on the temple steps, or songs of pilgrims as they marched to Zion for the annual feasts, or songs of the exiles as they returned at last from captivity in Babylon. Although the last suggestion couldn't have been its original setting, it's still possible the Spirit of God could have later applied David's sentiments to the Israelites as they returned from Babylon with humbled hearts, and weaned from their idols.

By the same token the Holy Spirit can apply it to our hearts after any spiritual captivity. I'm thinking of 2 Corinthians 10:5  where the apostle Paul writes, We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ ...

If others malign our motives, or even if pride has threatened to take us captive, but by God's help we've known deliverance, then the sentiments of Psalm 131 can be ours, too, in a spirit of self-examination.

This brings us to David's testimony as to his humility. His own private 'post-mortem' has revealed in the presence of God that his soul wasn't disturbed by selfish ambition and passion. He had stilled and silenced his soul. That's marvellous spiritual self-control which, if found in our lives, expresses the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Literally, David had compelled his soul's murmurings to cease. This might be one of the shortest of the psalms, but its lesson takes the longest to learn! What a picture of self-control David paints for us: a weaned child, no longer restless, no longer agitating for its mother's milk. David was like that - someone now content without things which used to seem indispensable, weaned from the pleasures of this world, content to meekly accept all the ups and downs and twists and turns within God's will for him. It's a mature believer who can leave the clamour of proud ambition and rest in the Lord.

There's a great secret here. It reminds me of Paul's words in Philippians 4:11-13. He writes, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Paul had been weaned from all that once made him the proud Pharisee (all the things he mentioned in the previous chapter where he confessed he once prided himself in his religious pedigree). Like the psalmist he had learned the great blessing of contentment which is open to everyone with a humble mind.

And so we continue to ascend from the depths. We started in the last chapter by enjoying the blessing of forgiveness, because that's where we start in Christian experience. But God's grace and love have lifted us to even higher ground when we've learned in some measure to be content and dependent on our God like a weaned child that's being cradled by its mother. Isn't that a wonderful picture of the tenderness of God!

3. The homeless God

The plight of homeless people moves us, but it was the homelessness of God that moved David, king of Israel. If that idea sounds strange we'd better get started right away by reading the opening verses of Psalm 132:

A Song of Ascents.

Remember, O LORD, on David's behalf,

All his affliction;

How he swore to the LORD

And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

"Surely I will not enter my house,

Nor lie on my bed;

I will not give sleep to my eyes

Or slumber to my eyelids,

Until I find a place for the LORD,

A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."   (vv1-5)

This vow of David’s isn't recorded anywhere else in the Bible, but its content is consistent with all we know about David: the great desire of his life was to see the nation's worship established at the place of God's choice.

Whoever wrote this psalm begins by reminding God of all the care and trouble David took in order to make the vision of a permanent house for God on this earth into a reality.

Remember, O LORD, on David's behalf,

All his affliction

That's an appeal based on all David's troubles and anxieties in connection with this matter of God's homelessness. The word 'affliction' means to harass ourselves about something. David had vowed that he would give himself no rest until he had obtained a permanent resting-place for God.

In the previous psalm we were thinking about our own resting in the Lord day by day; but in this psalm the main idea is that of God finding rest in the middle of his people. That's the even higher ground we move onto now in our sequence of ascending songs, one in which we move from personal blessings to blessings we share with others.

We don't know for sure the setting for this psalm. Solomon's name is one which crops up as a possible author. The dedication of the Temple by Solomon would certainly have been an appropriate occasion at which to have such reminders as these of the vision David had for God's house and his resting-place. Of that time, in the first book of Kings, chapter 8, we read:

And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel ... were ... sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house … 

It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud."  (vv.5-12)

That does mention the ark reaching its resting-place finally. It would have been natural at that time to recall how David had long before fetched it up to Jerusalem – as told in the following verses of psalm 132:

Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah,

We found it in the field of Jaar.

Let us go into His dwelling place;

Let us worship at His footstool.

Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,

You and the ark of Your strength.  (vv.6-8)

So, Psalm 132 recalls in retrospect that they had found the Ark of the Covenant in 'the field of the wood' - which seems to be a reference to Kiriath Jearim - the 'city of woodlands'. Unlike Saul, David was giving God his rightful place at the first opportunity. It's as if he wouldn't reign without him.

But let's now take the remainder of the psalm before we go any further:

Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,

And let Your godly ones sing for joy.

For the sake of David Your servant,

Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

The LORD has sworn to David

A truth from which He will not turn back:

"Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.

If your sons will keep My covenant

And My testimony which I will teach them,

Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever."

For the LORD has chosen Zion;

He has desired it for His habitation.

This is My resting place forever;

Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless her provision;

I will satisfy her needy with bread.

Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,

And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy.

There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth;

I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.

His enemies I will clothe with shame,

But upon himself his crown shall shine."   (vv.9-18)

This psalm or prayer of the congregation began with the request that the Lord would remember David's vow concerning the dwelling place for the ark. Now, at this point, it brings reminders of God's promises: first, that David's line would continue; secondly, that Zion would be his dwelling place, and thirdly, that the Messiah would appear. Effectively then, the Lord repeats here his oath to David that his descendants would sit on his throne forever. He also affirms his choice of Mount Zion which he would bless ... with abundant provisions, including food for the poor, salvation for the priests, and joy for the saints. God promises again the appearance and crowning of his Anointed One, the Messiah, who would come of David's royal line (vv.17-18). And isn't it great to read that 'his crown shall shine'?!

As mentioned, it's difficult to know the setting of the psalm. Some have offered a different view that it was a prayer by the returned exiles who wondered about the actual fulfilment of God's promises to David. David's life and work certainly would have been a relevant inspiration to the builders at that time who were working against difficulties in order to re-establish the temple service at Jerusalem after their return from captivity in Babylon. But in any case, Psalm 132 is definitely an encouraging confirmation that no matter what the circumstances, God's promises will be fulfilled.

This is one of the Bible's significant mentions of Zion. After fetching the Ark of the Covenant there, and building the first Temple, the name Zion had come to refer to Jerusalem - where God dwelt among his people. But there's even more invested in this name of Zion as God's dwelling-place. For there's more than a hint elsewhere that this city of Zion which the psalm talks about is also - in its fullest sense - a heavenly city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. The very outline of it, as perceived with the eye of faith, was a constant source of wonder and joy to godly men and women in all the earth. It's a city in heaven, but it's one which has, in a sense, for a long time cast its shadow upon this earth. God's love for 'Zion above' where his will is done has led him to desire a representation of it on this earth in every age. God certainly dwells above, but his desire has always been to come and dwell on this earth among men and women whom he's brought together to do his will as it's done in heaven. In every age, the earthly representation of Zion can only be enjoyed collectively by those who take the Lord's commands seriously and give effect to them. Then, and then only, God can make his resting-place among his obedient people.

To see the truth of that last point, we only need to remember what happened in Old Testament times to the nation of Israel, and to the city of Jerusalem itself. When they failed to obey, and refused his warnings and even his pleadings, God had no alternative but to use the Babylonians to discipline his people by taking them away captive for a while.

This thrilling biblical idea of the earthly dwelling-place of God being modelled on some reality in heaven (whether that earthly representation is a physical city or some spiritual representation as it is today) is really the high point of blessing we've now come to in our present series. That's the place where God rests and resides - where he makes his home - on this earth in any age.

The secret of waiting on God for deliverance in Psalm 130; and the secret of learning to rest in him in total contentment in Psalm 131 are great blessings, but so is the revelation of this Psalm, for it reveals a higher blessing than our personal experience of resting up in God; it opens our minds to the idea of the God of heaven resting-down among his people on earth. That, in a sense, is greater blessing because it brings us into one of the mainstream purposes of God. The next two psalms develop this even further, taking us to still greater heights.

4. The unity of the Spirit

In the last chapter our thoughts on Psalm 132 led us to two of the major themes of the Bible: God's house on earth and God's Son in heaven. With these themes still in mind, it's not really a surprise that the very next Psalm takes as its theme the unity of God's people. Let me remind you that we're still ascending through these Songs of Ascents (at least the sample of them which we've selected). We're treating psalms 130 through 134 like 5 rungs on a ladder, discovering in them ever higher privileges and greater blessings. From blessings we can enjoy as individuals - like forgiveness and humility - to the higher privileges of realizing blessings which we can only share with others among the people of God. We've already thought about entering into God's rest in Psalm 132. That lifted us up from the personal blessing of our resting in God to the even greater blessing of experiencing with others the reality of God himself resting among us as his people here on earth. And now  closely related to that, from Psalm 133 we're going to see that when the Holy Spirit unites us with others in the ways of divine service, what a great blessing and privilege that is! Here, then, is Psalm 133 and what it has to say to us about such unity:

A Song of Ascents, of David.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brothers to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Even Aaron's beard,

Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

It is like the dew of Hermon

Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the LORD commanded the blessing - life forever. 

(Psalm 133:1-3)

This thought would certainly be appropriate for the religious festivals when Israelite families came together to worship God and were accommodated in and around Jerusalem. David compared their unity to the oil that consecrated Aaron (cf. Leviticus 8:12) - imagery that would be especially appropriate to pilgrims now in or still going to Jerusalem, which was the centre of the priestly service of the nation of Israel. The oil poured on Aaron's head flowed down on his beard and shoulders, and onto the breastplate with the names of all twelve tribes. These were the same tribes whose pilgrims we can visualize as flowing as a mass of people to Jerusalem to worship God unitedly at his house there. The oil is spoken of as being 'upon the head' and 'coming down upon the beard' and then as 'coming down upon the edge of his robes'. I think the edge in question would likely be what we would call the collar, but in any case these separate things were all united by the oil.

As we study the Bible we become familiar with the anointing oil in the Old Testament suggesting or anticipating the Holy Spirit himself with whom both our Lord Jesus and we ourselves now have been anointed. The apostle John tells us that we have an anointing from the Holy One (1 John 2:20,27). It's the Holy Spirit whom we've received from God at the time of our new birth who's described as the anointing. Now one of the great purposes of the Holy Spirit, as revealed in the Bible, is to bring about unity among God's people; the kind of unity that's pictured so beautifully in this psalm. It's something that in every age is fragrant and fruitful for God when his people serve him together in happy fellowship. It's also something which, as hinted here, is at the same time so refreshing for us. In the Old Testament God's people was a fellowship of tribes, the tribes of Israel; in the New Testament, God's people is presented as a fellowship of churches, called in the Bible: the 'churches of God'.

The word for fellowship in the New Testament basically means a joint or united participation in something of common interest. The mutual interest Christian believers should find in the things of Jesus Christ, an interest stemming from the Holy Spirit within each believer, should lead to their joint participation in these things in a harmonious way. Psalm 133 describes it as a 'good' and 'pleasant' unity. This is what Paul is describing at the end of Philippians chapter 1 and the beginning of Philippians chapter 2. He writes about the 'fellowship of the Spirit' (2:1) and how this is expressed through being like-minded with each other. It's clear that Spirit-produced fellowship ensures unity between Christians.

The fellowship of the churches of God which is so amply demonstrated in the New Testament is, of course, listed alongside the apostles' teaching in Acts 2, verses 41 and 42 where we read:

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

The relationship between the apostles' teaching and the fellowship is perhaps brought out most clearly by the apostle John in the first of his letters. He writes to the end that believers might enjoy fellowship with them: that is, with the apostles (those who had been chosen as companions of Christ during the time of his public ministry on earth). As a basis for that fellowship, John writes he's sharing what we have seen and heard. This was what he and the other apostles had seen of, and heard from, Christ; in other words, the Person of Christ and his teaching which he had delivered to the apostles, and which they had made their own. So this experience of Christian fellowship was based on the shared understanding of Christ's teaching ('what we have heard'). More than that, it was also based on a communication of their appreciation of Christ himself ('what we have seen').

These were things they wished others to share in: so that you may have fellowship with us, John the apostle wrote. This offer is, of course, still open by virtue of what the Holy Spirit caused the apostles to record in the New Testament Scriptures - Scriptures that are full of Christ and his commands. The apostles shared these things so that others might have fellowship with them - so that others, including ourselves today, might participate jointly in those same activities that occupied and interested the apostles. This is so that we might be united in these interests, which were the interests of Jesus Christ.

'The interests of Jesus Christ' is an expression drawn from the Philippians' letter. Paul was writing disappointingly of believers whose chief concern was their own interests, he says, not the interests of Jesus Christ. But, he tells us, Timothy was different. He had Christ's interests at heart. This was said to be demonstrated by his concern for the welfare of those in the church of God at Philippi (2:20,21). From this we can learn of the deep interest of Jesus Christ in churches of God as we find them biblically defined in New Testament times. Our sharing fellowship with the apostles is also a sharing fellowship with the Father and the Son - John says as much: so that you … may have fellowship with us; and … our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son. This fellowship with the Father and the Son can be richly experienced by all who, like Timothy, enter into the active interest Jesus Christ had in churches of God. Such a sharing of interests with our Lord and our Father brings us right back to the definition of fellowship as being a joint participation is something of mutual interest.

Going back again to the Old Testament picture with which we started in Psalm 133, David next compared the unity of God's people to the dew that covers the mountains. Perhaps the picture he'd already painted of oil running down further suggested the dew coming down from Mount Hermon in the north onto Mount Zion in the south of the land and uniting the whole land in the process. The dew of Hermon was heavy; it symbolized what was freshening and invigorating. From the snows upon lofty Hermon, the moisture raised by the sun was carried as vapour by the wind towards the lesser heights of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, upon which it fell as a plentiful dew.

If we take the picture of Aaron as representing Israel's priesthood service, the refreshing effect on the nation of its collective and harmonious worship is seen here as similar to the effect of dew on the country's vegetation - a fitting symbol of the Lord's blessing on his people.

This service of God that so united the nation under the blessing of God was obediently performed according to God's Word. Perhaps, the mention of the dew links with that if we recall Moses' words:

"Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;

And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

Let my teaching drop as the rain,

My speech distill as the dew,

As the droplets on the fresh grass

And as the showers on the herb."

(Deuteronomy 32:1,2)

How refreshing is God's Word! In our case it's not focused on the Law of Moses, but rather on the apostles' teaching. And surely it's clear that if we all stay true to this one teaching, keeping faith with the Faith, as the Bible calls it, then believers today, like Israel at the time of this psalm, can be united in their service under the blessing of God.

So we've seen that David first describes the unity of God's people as 'good and pleasant'. Then, in picture language, he describes it again as something fragrant and fruitful - fragrant as the priestly anointing; fruitful as the dew on Hermon. Finally, in spiritual terms, he recognizes the united service of the people of God together in God's house on earth as being a real blessing from God. But it's not simply that such united service is a blessing from God, but that the blessing comes exactly where and when the conditions of unity are fulfilled, for isn't that the final point of emphasis in Psalm 133: THERE the Lord commands the blessing ?

5. The high point

We now come to the last of the Songs of Ascents. If those who consider them to be the songs of the pilgrims on their annual visits to the temple at Jerusalem for the great biblical festivals are right, then it may be that at this point the pilgrims are now going home, and so they’re singing the last of their songs. Perhaps they're leaving early in the morning, before the day has fully dawned, for the journey will be a long one. While the night still lingers they are already up and on the move. As soon as they're outside the gates they see the guards on the temple wall, and the lamps shining from the windows of the chambers surrounding the sanctuary. Could it be, as some have suggested, that moved by that sight, they chant a farewell to the temple attendants? A chant which, in turn, causes the priests to pronounce upon them a blessing out of the holy place, this benediction being the last verse of our psalm for study which is Psalm 134. There are only 3 verses in fact, so let's read them now:

A Song of Ascents.

Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,

Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!

Lift up your hands to the sanctuary

And bless the LORD.

May the LORD bless you from Zion,

He who made heaven and earth.

(Psalm 134:1-3)

Maybe all three verses are best understood as addressed to the priests and the Levites who kept watch at the temple, including asking that heavenly blessings be given them (the priests) from Zion. Whichever way we look at it, there's no doubt that this final song called on the priests or Levites, the Lord's servants who ministered in the temple (the house of the LORD), to praise him with uplifted hands. But notice that these servants are described as ministering by night. The Levites would be singing through the night and blessing the LORD in song.

The tabernacle and temple were served by priests during the night as well as the day. The altar fire had to be kept burning, the lamps trimmed and supplied, and the whole sacred structure guarded from intruders. Another variation of the suggested theme is that this psalm was specially prepared for the priests who served the sacred place during the night watches, so as to prevent them slumbering on the job, so to speak.

On reading it through again recently, I was particularly struck with the fact that this service within God's house was continuing through the night hours when the world outside was dark and most would be asleep. It made me think of how in the New Testament 'the night' is a symbolic expression with a negative spiritual meaning. Let's take First Thessalonians chapter 5 as an example of what we mean:

Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. (vv.1-8)

Here we find a reminder that the world of unbelievers is a dark place, enshrouded in the darkness of spiritual ignorance and moral pollution. Men and women are drawn to the darkness when their deeds are evil or shameful. How wonderful that God had designed that even in conditions of surrounding darkness there should be light in his house. The days we live in grow increasingly dark in terms of our society's resistance to spiritual truths. It made me apply this psalm as an encouragement not to 'fall asleep on our watch'; not to slack in our duty and privilege of serving God in his spiritual house on the earth in these last, dark days. In the days when Aaron and his sons were priests in Israel, God ensured there was a lamp stand in his tabernacle house so that they could see to perform their duties on a 24/7 basis. In New Testament times, extending to today, God has again provided for scriptural light within his house so that we can serve him still, despite unfavourable surrounding conditions. If we take this message to heart then by God's grace we'll not be like Eli in whose days the lamps went out in the tent of God's house.

The apostle Peter who wrote about God's Word as a lamp shining in a dark place  (2 Peter 1:19) also described the Christians he was writing to as being a spiritual house for a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), making it clear that New Testament believers had the awesome privilege of being in a spiritual priesthood which answered to that of Aaron and his sons long ago. Psalm 134 makes mention of the 'sanctuary' of God's house when it was still a physical structure on earth. But this spiritual priesthood Peter addresses is in fact capable of approaching God in the heavenly sanctuary. The sanctuary now is that holy place in heaven known as the Holies, which answers to the second section of the Tabernacle or temple long ago where the ark of the covenant was located.

As we approach the end of this booklet, let's recap: we began with the psalmist in the depths in Psalm 130 and now we're five rungs up the ladder - in Psalm 134 we're certainly in the heights! It doesn't get any better than this. There's no more exalted spiritual experience this side of heaven than to be in a position with others to obey the command given by the writer to the Hebrews:

Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Long ago, the high priest had exclusive access into the second section of the physical sanctuary when he passed through the veil to go into the innermost part of the Tabernacle. But now the whole New Testament people of God can, with boldness, pass through the courts of heaven! Isn't that the highest blessing or privilege we can enjoy here? What a revelation this is in our Bibles! A spiritual journey that brings the people of God, each week, into heaven itself - to the original Zion above, the centre of true Christian worship.

But when does this experience take place? When does a spiritual priesthood today enter the heavenly holy place? The writer to the Hebrews continues:

… we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water … not forsaking our own assembling together  (Hebrews 10:19-25 NAS).

In the New Testament churches we're told they 'assembled together' for the 'breaking of the bread'. That's when God's New Testament people came together to worship. They had before them the bread which focused their minds by symbolising Christ's flesh, and the wine that symbolised his blood or death. We read that 'by the blood of Jesus' and 'through the veil of his flesh' they entered the holy place above where Christ serves as high priest. There's no doubt that this experience of entering the holy place in heaven is linked overall in Hebrews with the theme of the people's worship. We see from the New Testament that this worship took place when the churches gathered to break bread each week.

So who would want to forsake such an opportunity when, by the symbols of the bread, signifying the veil that is to say his flesh, and the wine signifying his blood, we enter in upon the collective worship experience of the people of God today? Surely it's the Lord's intention that it takes place each week with the same simplicity as on that inaugural occasion when the Lord broke bread with his disciples before going out to die. It's not designed to be a physically impressive performance. There are no biblical instructions about wearing special clothes or meeting in special styles of buildings, but as we realize something of the spiritual reality that's taking place we would have to say that in these terms nothing else comes close to it in spiritual experience this side of heaven!

'May the LORD bless you from Zion' forms a fitting benediction to these pilgrim psalms (Psalm 120-134), especially at the point we've now reached. It's my prayer that, like me, you've been blessed as we've applied the key ideas in these five psalms to what has appealed to me as blessings that just seem to get higher and higher. Shall we run through them once more? We began in Psalm 130 with the blessing of knowing forgiveness; then the blessing of learning to trust and depend wholly on God in Psalm 131; followed in Psalm 132 by the blessing of discovering we can join with others in sharing in the place of God's rest on earth; that sense of togetherness was expanded on in Psalm 133 in terms of the great blessing of being united with other like-minded Christians in harmonious service; and now finally the highest blessing of knowing what it is as the people of God, as a spiritual priesthood, to access the heavenly sanctuary in worship each week. 'May the LORD indeed bless you from Zion'!