August 23rd
Psalm 122
A song of degrees of David
Jerusalem
1: I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go into the house of the LORD. 2:
Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. 3: Jerusalem is builded as a city
that is compact together: 4:
Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel,
to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. 5: For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the
house of David. 6: Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem:
they shall prosper that love thee. 7:
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. 8: For my brethren and companions'
sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. 9: Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Psalm 123
A song of degrees
A
Prayer for mercy
1: Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O
thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2:
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the
eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD
our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3: Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are
exceedingly filled with contempt. 4:
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and
with the contempt of the proud.
Today we are reading two of the Psalms of The Degrees No 122
& 123. Previously we saw that these Psalms of The Degrees refer to the Life
and Service of Hezekiah the king. In Psalm 122 Hezekiah takes a Psalm of David
and brings it forward as an excellent psalm to sing in his present
circumstances. In 2Chronicles 32v21 we read –
21: And the LORD sent an
angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains
in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he
returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the
house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with
the sword. 22: Thus the LORD
saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria,
and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. 23: And many brought gifts unto the
LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king
of Judah:
so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.
And in Psa 129v4,5 we read –
4: The LORD is righteous:
he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. 5: Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
When Sennacherib came against Jerusalem the Lord sent
his angel and killed the mighty men of Sennacherib’s army. So Sennacherib
returned to his own land and when he went into his own temple, to his god, his
own children in vengeance at the shame brought on Sennacherib they took their
father and murdered him. The nations around were astounded and they brought
gifts to Hezekiah. And so Hezekiah places this Psalm of David here because it
expresses exactly how Hezekiah felt. David said I was glad when they said unto
me Let us go into the house of the LORD, because our feet will stand in the
gates of Jerusalem.
David thanks God for saving his life from his enemies. David was only king
while he lived and it was absolutely essential that the Lord kept him safe from
death. David says the city of Jerusalem
is a crowded city when all the tribes go up to stand before the testimonies (The
Law) to give thanks to the name of the LORD. The reason for this is that there
thrones of judgment are set and thrones for the house of David. David rejoiced
that Justice was found in Jerusalem
and that his royal throne was set there. David says Pray for the peace of the
city of peace because those that love the LORD will prosper there. David says,
may there be peace within the walls of the city and prosperity in the palaces.
Then David asks Gods blessing of peace on his brethren and companions and he says
because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good. There is
nothing wrong with a kingship that seeks the prosperity of his brethren and
companions. Psalm 123 is the prayer of Hezekiah.
He says in Isa 38 1: In
those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz
came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in
order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2: Then Hezekiah turned his face
toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3: And said, Remember now, O LORD, I
beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart,
and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore… …10:
I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I
am deprived of the residue of my years. 11:
I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I
shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12: Mine age is departed, and is
removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he
will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an
end of me. 13: I reckoned till
morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night
wilt thou make an end of me. 14:
Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes
fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 15: What shall I say? he hath both
spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the
bitterness of my soul. 16: O
Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my
spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17: Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in
love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all
my sins behind thy back. 18:
For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go
down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19: The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this
day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 20: The LORD was ready to save me:
therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our
life in the house of the LORD.[1]
All around was dark and hopeless. The enemy was coming to
destroy the city and Hezekiah was sick and approaching death and he had no
heir. He has been faithful to the LORD all his life and now his life is to be
taken away. He turns over on his bed and he weeps and prays saying, LORD I am
going to pray to you who dwells in the heavens. Look on me as a servant looks
at his master. We are looking to you - look on us and have mercy on us. Have
mercy because we are very greatly despised by our enemies. Our enemies are
arrogant and powerful and they are not troubled by any cares. This prayer is
not a prayer telling God what to do or asking what to do, its simply saying, we
are looking to you - please look on us.
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