Firmly Joined Together in God's House
Scripture Passage: Psalm 122:1 - 123:4 (NASB)
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your gates, Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that has been built
As a city that is firmly joined together;
4 To which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord—
An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones were set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
1 To You I have raised my eyes,
You who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us,
For we have had much more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had much more than enough
Of the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.
SUMMARY
Psalms 122 is about the psalmist entering into the house of the Lord, into Jerusalem, being among God’s people. There is joy in worshiping the Lord together, and there also stands the throne of judgment as well. There is peace and prosperity for those who love the Lord.
In the next Psalm 123, the psalmist looks above to God in heaven. He watches for his master just as a servant is watchful for his master’s signals. He asks God for mercy, away from scoffers and those filled with contempt.
REFLECTION
In both Psalms, I see the psalmist looking for refuge and security within God’s house. God’s house, within his walls, within his church is the safest place to be. To be among fellow worshippers with the love of God in their hearts is a truly blessed privilege I get to experience through being in the church.
Inside his church, I can freely worship Jesus with songs of praise, pray together, share blessings with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is a beautiful picture and mystery of the body of Christ. I am praying for a deeper understanding of God’s heart and intention for the church, and I also pray that our own church, Holywave, will be continually “built as a city that is firmly joined together” (Psalm 122:3).
APPLICATION
I will take time to thank God for our community of believers joined together at Holywave. Coming back to church not too long ago for physical worship has made me so thankful for many things in the body of Christ. I’m so thankful for Jesus-centered worship, ministries, leaders, teachers, the list goes on and on from big things to even very small. I will not take any of it for granted. I thank God, and I pray for his blood covering our church and the filling of His Holy Spirit.
PRAYER
Thank you, Lord. My heart is filled with gratitude as I see pictures of God’s grace and righteousness in our church. I pray for the peace, prosperity, and righteous judgment within the walls of our church. “For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” (Psalm 122:8-9) Lord, help me to never take anything for granted in the body of Christ, and offer you my thanksgiving and prayers of petition to keep our body firmly joined together.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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