1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,920 Well, we’re continuing our series today entitled Moving in the Right Direction from the Psalms 2 00:00:07,920 –> 00:00:10,160 that are called songs of ascent. 3 00:00:10,160 –> 00:00:14,900 These are songs that were sung in the Old Testament by believers who were making their 4 00:00:14,900 –> 00:00:20,680 way up to Jerusalem for the great festivals of worship that were held in the temple in 5 00:00:20,680 –> 00:00:22,520 those days. 6 00:00:22,520 –> 00:00:28,400 And we saw last week, if you were here, you may recall that Jerusalem is of great significance 7 00:00:28,700 –> 00:00:31,700 in the Old Testament story. 8 00:00:31,700 –> 00:00:37,919 This was the place where time and again we’re told in the Old Testament, God put his name. 9 00:00:37,919 –> 00:00:40,419 It’s a very unusual phrase. 10 00:00:40,419 –> 00:00:47,860 You find it, for example, in 1 Kings 11 and verse 36, God describes Jerusalem as the city 11 00:00:47,860 –> 00:00:52,500 where I chose to put my name. 12 00:00:52,500 –> 00:00:56,919 This was the place where people could go and meet with God. 13 00:00:57,000 –> 00:01:01,700 This was why Solomon built a great temple in Jerusalem, and when it was dedicated he 14 00:01:01,700 –> 00:01:06,620 prayed with these words from 2 Chronicles chapter 6 and verse 20. 15 00:01:06,620 –> 00:01:11,940 May your eyes be open towards this temple day and night, this place of which you said 16 00:01:11,940 –> 00:01:14,739 you would put your name there. 17 00:01:14,739 –> 00:01:19,440 May you hear the prayer that your servant prays towards this place. 18 00:01:19,440 –> 00:01:24,519 Very interesting that Solomon even prayed that if a person couldn’t go to the temple 19 00:01:25,360 –> 00:01:31,919 that God would hear their prayer as they turned and prayed facing towards Jerusalem. 20 00:01:31,919 –> 00:01:33,459 This is how it was in the Old Testament. 21 00:01:33,459 –> 00:01:37,980 You find this in 2 Chronicles 6 verse 20. 22 00:01:37,980 –> 00:01:42,559 This was the place God had promised to meet with people on the earth. 23 00:01:42,559 –> 00:01:47,320 It was very specific and you find it time and again throughout the Old Testament. 24 00:01:47,320 –> 00:01:53,900 Now this is significant for us because as we saw last time God was setting the agenda. 25 00:01:53,980 –> 00:01:57,279 God is the one who determines where he will meet with us. 26 00:01:57,279 –> 00:02:01,279 It’s not for us to determine where we will meet with God, it is for God to decide where 27 00:02:01,279 –> 00:02:02,680 he will meet with us. 28 00:02:02,680 –> 00:02:08,000 And the whole of the Old Testament is teaching us that God has that right, that prerogative. 29 00:02:08,000 –> 00:02:13,419 And it leads us to the central truth in the New Testament that the place that God has 30 00:02:13,419 –> 00:02:18,779 chosen to meet with men and women is in Jesus Christ. 31 00:02:18,779 –> 00:02:22,679 it is not a location geographically, it is a person. 32 00:02:22,679 –> 00:02:29,899 And God has chosen to meet us in Christ, in whom all of his fullness lives, Jesus is 33 00:02:29,899 –> 00:02:32,600 God with us. 34 00:02:32,600 –> 00:02:35,399 So I hope that you got the picture as we move through this series. 35 00:02:35,399 –> 00:02:40,320 Moving in the right direction, these songs of assent were the songs that people sang 36 00:02:40,320 –> 00:02:45,539 as they were going to a place in which they particularly met with God in the Old Testament 37 00:02:45,539 –> 00:02:50,320 and that physical journey and these songs sung by the way are really a picture, or an 38 00:02:50,320 –> 00:02:57,240 analogy, of the Christian life our journey with Jesus, and our journey to Jesus, the 39 00:02:57,240 –> 00:03:00,679 meeting place between a man or a woman and God. 40 00:03:00,679 –> 00:03:03,899 And we saw last time how the journey begins. 41 00:03:03,899 –> 00:03:10,660 How someone came to the point of saying, I’ve lived at a distance from God for just too 42 00:03:10,660 –> 00:03:14,639 long, too long I’ve been in Meshech. 43 00:03:14,639 –> 00:03:19,240 And begins the journey, and beginning the journey finds the help of God, I lift my eyes 44 00:03:19,240 –> 00:03:24,919 to the hills, where does my help come from, my help comes from the Lord. 45 00:03:24,919 –> 00:03:31,800 Now, I’d like you to turn in your Bibles please to Psalm 122 as we continue this journey, 46 00:03:31,800 –> 00:03:37,240 Psalm 122, and let us hear the word of God. 47 00:03:37,240 –> 00:03:42,399 Notice that this one is again entitled, A Song of Ascents, but this time we’re told 48 00:03:42,440 –> 00:03:46,199 that it was written by David, King David. 49 00:03:46,199 –> 00:03:53,199 I rejoiced with those who said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. 50 00:03:53,839 –> 00:03:59,240 Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. 51 00:03:59,240 –> 00:04:05,800 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. 52 00:04:05,800 –> 00:04:12,259 That is where the tribes go up, the Tribes of the Lord to praise the name of the Lord 53 00:04:12,660 –> 00:04:16,540 according to the statute given to Israel. 54 00:04:16,540 –> 00:04:22,140 There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. 55 00:04:22,140 –> 00:04:27,140 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 56 00:04:27,140 –> 00:04:34,519 May those who love you be secure, may there be peace within your walls and security within 57 00:04:34,519 –> 00:04:36,799 your citadels. 58 00:04:36,799 –> 00:04:41,600 For the sake of my brothers and friends I will say peace be within you. 59 00:04:41,600 –> 00:04:49,880 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity. 60 00:04:49,880 –> 00:04:56,040 Now we’re told here that this Psalm was written by King David, and that raises a number 61 00:04:56,040 –> 00:05:00,799 of questions because right at the beginning, you’ll see there, it says, let us go to 62 00:05:00,799 –> 00:05:03,720 the house of the Lord. 63 00:05:03,720 –> 00:05:07,540 Now the house of the Lord is, obviously, temple language. 64 00:05:07,540 –> 00:05:11,239 The question that arises is, obviously there was no temple in Jerusalem at the time of 65 00:05:11,239 –> 00:05:14,420 David, that wasn’t built till Solomon’s time. 66 00:05:14,420 –> 00:05:20,279 And so that has led a number of modern scholars to say, obviously, therefore David could not 67 00:05:20,279 –> 00:05:25,820 have written this Psalm and it must belong to a later period. 68 00:05:25,820 –> 00:05:33,440 Now I’m going to make the assumption that if the original Hebrew text says it’s a Psalm 69 00:05:33,440 –> 00:05:39,679 of David, which it does, then that means it was a Psalm written by David. 70 00:05:39,679 –> 00:05:44,519 And remember that David was a prophet. 71 00:05:44,519 –> 00:05:50,059 That means that, by the spirit of God, he was at times able to anticipate the future 72 00:05:50,059 –> 00:05:53,100 as it was revealed to him by God. 73 00:05:53,100 –> 00:05:58,160 And it seems to me, therefore, that the right way to understand Psalm 122 is that David 74 00:05:58,859 –> 00:06:05,679 prophetically, he is being borne along by the Holy Spirit of God and being given a glimpse 75 00:06:05,679 –> 00:06:10,380 of what the city of God will experience in the future. 76 00:06:10,380 –> 00:06:12,160 Charles Spurgeon says, 77 00:06:12,239 –> 00:06:16,640 Possibly the city was not all built in David’s day 78 00:06:16,640 –> 00:06:24,320 but he wrote under the spirit of prophecy and spoke of it as it would be in the age of Solomon. 79 00:06:24,320 –> 00:06:26,559 Now I take a moment just to say that to you, 80 00:06:26,559 –> 00:06:31,519 because it’s very important to how we interpret the psalm. 81 00:06:31,519 –> 00:06:37,679 We’re looking at it in this way, that this is David’s prophetic vision 82 00:06:37,760 –> 00:06:42,000 of the future of Jerusalem the great city of God. 83 00:06:42,720 –> 00:06:47,040 And so as moved by the Holy Spirit, he prophesies about its future. 84 00:06:47,040 –> 00:06:48,160 He sees two things. 85 00:06:48,880 –> 00:06:54,959 The first is that this city will be uniquely blessed and you find that in verses one to five. 86 00:06:54,959 –> 00:06:58,559 He sees that in the future crowds of people will come up into the city. 87 00:06:59,200 –> 00:07:03,279 That they will come with joy, they will say, let us go to the house of the Lord. 88 00:07:03,920 –> 00:07:06,000 There will be fellowship in the city. 89 00:07:06,000 –> 00:07:10,079 Verse three, the city is closely compacted together. 90 00:07:11,200 –> 00:07:13,839 It will be filled with praise verse four. 91 00:07:13,839 –> 00:07:17,600 This is where the tribes go up to praise the name of the Lord 92 00:07:17,600 –> 00:07:20,160 and it will be a city where there is justice. 93 00:07:20,160 –> 00:07:23,760 This is where the thrones of David stand verse five, 94 00:07:23,760 –> 00:07:27,600 in fact not just the thrones of David but the thrones of the house of David. 95 00:07:27,600 –> 00:07:30,480 You see he’s prophesying the future line. 96 00:07:31,440 –> 00:07:37,359 So David looks to the future of this city that he has established as his capital 97 00:07:37,359 –> 00:07:40,720 and he sees that it will be full of the blessing of God. 98 00:07:41,359 –> 00:07:46,320 This is where God has put His name, this is where His people will come, 99 00:07:46,320 –> 00:07:48,720 this is where they will be uniquely blessed, 100 00:07:48,720 –> 00:07:51,279 they will find joy and they will find worship. 101 00:07:52,160 –> 00:07:53,119 But that’s not all. 102 00:07:54,720 –> 00:07:59,359 Not only does David see that this city will be uniquely blessed, 103 00:08:00,720 –> 00:08:04,880 but he also sees that this city will be uniquely troubled. 104 00:08:05,920 –> 00:08:09,839 Verse 6, pray for the peace 105 00:08:10,559 –> 00:08:11,760 of Jerusalem. 106 00:08:11,760 –> 00:08:13,040 Now why would he say that? 107 00:08:14,399 –> 00:08:18,239 Obviously because he sees that in the future, 108 00:08:18,239 –> 00:08:21,200 this great city will be uniquely troubled. 109 00:08:22,000 –> 00:08:23,679 The city will be under attack 110 00:08:24,480 –> 00:08:28,480 and not only the city, but everyone who loves the city 111 00:08:28,480 –> 00:08:30,239 will be under attack. 112 00:08:30,239 –> 00:08:32,080 And so he says we’re to pray 113 00:08:32,080 –> 00:08:34,479 may those, verse 6, who love you, 114 00:08:35,359 –> 00:08:37,039 anyone who loves you, 115 00:08:37,039 –> 00:08:38,239 may they be secure. 116 00:08:39,200 –> 00:08:41,760 As he looks to the future looking through the psalm, 117 00:08:41,760 –> 00:08:45,200 David sees that Jerusalem will have to be a fortified city. 118 00:08:46,000 –> 00:08:48,960 May there be peace within your walls, verse 7. 119 00:08:49,599 –> 00:08:51,599 Now the only reason you have walls around the city 120 00:08:51,599 –> 00:08:53,520 is to keep the enemy out. 121 00:08:54,159 –> 00:08:56,880 And so he’s seeing already that in the future, 122 00:08:56,880 –> 00:08:59,760 Jerusalem is going to be a city with many enemies. 123 00:09:00,559 –> 00:09:04,640 May there be security, verse 7, within your citadels 124 00:09:04,640 –> 00:09:05,840 or your towers. 125 00:09:06,799 –> 00:09:11,760 So a city that not only has walls but it has towers, 126 00:09:11,760 –> 00:09:15,119 this is obviously a city that needs serious defending. 127 00:09:16,880 –> 00:09:20,960 Now, David wrote these words 3,000 years ago, 128 00:09:22,239 –> 00:09:24,799 but he spoke prophetically of the future 129 00:09:24,799 –> 00:09:26,400 of this great city of Jerusalem. 130 00:09:27,679 –> 00:09:29,359 He says, this is what it’s going to be like. 131 00:09:30,479 –> 00:09:33,039 This will be a city uniquely blessed, 132 00:09:33,039 –> 00:09:34,719 the place of God’s presence, 133 00:09:35,679 –> 00:09:38,719 it will also be a city uniquely troubled. 134 00:09:41,280 –> 00:09:45,520 Now, I want you to imagine for a moment 135 00:09:46,799 –> 00:09:51,280 that you are asked to paint a picture 136 00:09:51,280 –> 00:09:53,520 and under the picture there will be the title 137 00:09:54,239 –> 00:09:57,119 in the presence of God. 138 00:09:58,559 –> 00:09:59,359 What would you draw? 139 00:10:02,159 –> 00:10:04,960 Think about it, I imagine that some of us 140 00:10:04,960 –> 00:10:09,119 would draw a beautiful sky and a meadow and a river 141 00:10:09,119 –> 00:10:11,280 and someone having a picnic 142 00:10:11,280 –> 00:10:13,760 and because that picture of tranquility 143 00:10:13,760 –> 00:10:14,880 is what we think of 144 00:10:15,520 –> 00:10:20,159 when we conceive of being in the presence of God. 145 00:10:21,039 –> 00:10:24,080 Others of us might draw this beautiful sanctuary 146 00:10:25,520 –> 00:10:27,359 because we come here every week 147 00:10:27,359 –> 00:10:29,280 and we have this sense of meeting with God 148 00:10:29,280 –> 00:10:32,799 and it’s a central point in our week and in our lives 149 00:10:32,799 –> 00:10:36,719 and we meet with God in a special way here 150 00:10:36,719 –> 00:10:39,679 and in the presence of God, that’s what we think of. 151 00:10:41,679 –> 00:10:44,159 Others of us might stretch the imagination 152 00:10:44,159 –> 00:10:45,919 and attempt a picture of heaven. 153 00:10:45,919 –> 00:10:46,960 Never seen heaven 154 00:10:47,200 –> 00:10:50,559 Never seen heaven but we draw some streets of gold 155 00:10:50,559 –> 00:10:56,719 and a throne and some angels and being in the presence of God. 156 00:10:59,919 –> 00:11:02,080 Let me say this, 157 00:11:02,080 –> 00:11:05,599 I can almost guarantee that not one of us in this congregation 158 00:11:06,640 –> 00:11:09,599 would draw a city under attack. 159 00:11:11,359 –> 00:11:13,599 You wouldn’t draw shells and mortars, 160 00:11:13,599 –> 00:11:21,119 you wouldn’t draw a scene from the aftermath of a tsunami, 161 00:11:22,520 –> 00:11:27,960 you wouldn’t draw a child in hospital recovering from appalling injuries 162 00:11:30,119 –> 00:11:32,039 and why wouldn’t any of us draw that? 163 00:11:32,039 –> 00:11:37,400 Because we conceive of the presence of God in tranquility, 164 00:11:37,400 –> 00:11:40,119 we don’t conceive of the presence of God in trouble 165 00:11:40,159 –> 00:11:46,799 and the reason for that is that we’ve understood the first half of psalm 122 166 00:11:46,799 –> 00:11:50,200 and we have not so easily grasped the second half 167 00:11:50,200 –> 00:11:58,479 and that is why this psalm is of such enormous significance and importance for us. 168 00:11:58,479 –> 00:12:06,380 We see that God is present where there’s unity, where there’s peace and where there’s justice, 169 00:12:06,380 –> 00:12:09,679 we find it much more difficult to grasp 170 00:12:09,799 –> 00:12:15,159 how God could be present where there is conflict, suffering and war. 171 00:12:15,159 –> 00:12:22,299 So when the world trade center towers crumble the great cry 172 00:12:22,299 –> 00:12:28,880 that goes up from the nation is, where is God in this? 173 00:12:28,880 –> 00:12:32,020 When the disaster in South East Asia has rocked the world 174 00:12:32,020 –> 00:12:34,640 the great cry that goes up across the globe is, 175 00:12:34,640 –> 00:12:36,679 where is God in this? 176 00:12:36,719 –> 00:12:42,119 These are huge questions and I have found that Psalm 122 177 00:12:42,119 –> 00:12:47,380 is uniquely helpful here because it reminds us that God is present 178 00:12:47,380 –> 00:12:54,919 not only in the place uniquely blessed but also in the place uniquely troubled. 179 00:12:56,539 –> 00:13:00,799 Jerusalem, of course, down through history and biblical times and since 180 00:13:00,799 –> 00:13:05,520 has been troubled more than any other city in all of the world. 181 00:13:05,520 –> 00:13:08,479 It’s not just a historical fact. 182 00:13:08,479 –> 00:13:10,520 Since the time of David Jerusalem has 183 00:13:10,520 –> 00:13:16,299 been attacked by the King of Egypt the King of Syria the King of Assyria, 184 00:13:16,299 –> 00:13:19,320 the King of Babylon. It’s been overrun by the Roman Empire. 185 00:13:19,320 –> 00:13:24,340 Since biblical times it has been seized alternately on multiple 186 00:13:24,340 –> 00:13:29,340 occasions by Muslims and by crusaders. It has then been taken over by force 187 00:13:29,340 –> 00:13:35,219 by Turkey, by Britain, by Jordan, and rarely does a week pass in which on our 188 00:13:35,260 –> 00:13:39,260 television screens we do not see some report of trouble or tragedy in 189 00:13:39,260 –> 00:13:46,679 Jerusalem. The trauma goes on and on. I have no doubt in my mind that David 190 00:13:46,679 –> 00:13:54,700 saw something of this in anticipation, as he under the spirit of prophecy wrote 191 00:13:54,700 –> 00:14:01,320 Psalm 122, which is why he says pray for the peace of Jerusalem, because 192 00:14:01,320 –> 00:14:05,679 the City uniquely blessed will be throughout history, the City uniquely 193 00:14:05,679 –> 00:14:09,659 troubled. In fact, there will be so much trouble that many people will say where 194 00:14:09,659 –> 00:14:19,280 is God in this. Of course you and I have asked that question many times, and that 195 00:14:19,280 –> 00:14:24,760 is the central question of Psalm 122. That is why I’ve called the second 196 00:14:24,760 –> 00:14:33,739 reflection on these psalms moving in the right direction from seeing to 197 00:14:33,739 –> 00:14:40,320 believing. Because if you try to discern the presence of God on the basis of what 198 00:14:40,320 –> 00:14:47,000 you see in this world you will always be in difficulties. See we live in a world a 199 00:14:47,000 –> 00:14:54,260 fallen world where there are terrible tragedies. We live in a conflicted world 200 00:14:54,260 –> 00:15:00,380 where evil powers try to subvert the purpose of God. We live in a sinful world 201 00:15:00,380 –> 00:15:04,059 where even the very best of people around us will sometimes disappoint and 202 00:15:04,059 –> 00:15:08,919 we live in a dying world where life is given to us for a limited period of time 203 00:15:08,919 –> 00:15:16,840 and then we pass into eternity. Since we live in this fallen world the reality 204 00:15:16,840 –> 00:15:22,340 for people in every place and in every generation is that we will see tragedy, 205 00:15:22,460 –> 00:15:31,760 conflict, sin and death. We will see that. And of course we will ask the question 206 00:15:31,760 –> 00:15:36,799 how can God be present in such a world like that as this? And in order to 207 00:15:36,799 –> 00:15:42,320 answer that question we need to move from seeing to believing. What do we 208 00:15:42,320 –> 00:15:48,859 believe? We believe that God is at work in this fallen world, that he has not 209 00:15:48,859 –> 00:15:54,380 abandoned us to chaos but that he is at work to redeem his people. He is always 210 00:15:54,380 –> 00:15:59,580 at work to reconcile his people to himself and to each other. That he offers 211 00:15:59,580 –> 00:16:05,119 hope and a future to every person in his Son Jesus Christ. And that in Christ he 212 00:16:05,119 –> 00:16:11,219 invites us to share his own everlasting life. 213 00:16:11,719 –> 00:16:20,659 Now in this world faith is better than sight, see I got that the wrong way 214 00:16:20,659 –> 00:16:24,500 around for many years in my own thinking. I used to think that faith was the poor 215 00:16:24,500 –> 00:16:29,099 relation of sight you know. Well we can’t see God so we just have to put up with 216 00:16:29,099 –> 00:16:33,679 believing him. That’s not the way it is in this world, it’s the other way around. 217 00:16:33,679 –> 00:16:39,140 We live by faith not by sight. Whhy? Because in this world faith is better 218 00:16:39,359 –> 00:16:48,780 than sight. For this simple reason, sight is so incredibly limited. I cannot see 219 00:16:48,780 –> 00:16:57,719 the final outcome of a single event in my life and neither can you. I cannot see 220 00:16:57,719 –> 00:17:04,099 the past, I cannot see the future, I cannot see eternity, I cannot see angels, 221 00:17:04,199 –> 00:17:09,920 I cannot see God, I can see the things that go wrong, I can see trouble, I cannot see 222 00:17:09,920 –> 00:17:16,920 what God will bring from them for that I have to move from seeing to believing. 223 00:17:18,520 –> 00:17:25,060 That’s a step forward, not a step back. You see, believing faith operates on a wider 224 00:17:25,060 –> 00:17:32,060 stage with a larger horizon than sight in this world can ever encompass. Moving from 225 00:17:32,900 –> 00:17:39,900 seeing to believing is moving in the right direction, it is moving forward, it is expanding 226 00:17:40,060 –> 00:17:47,060 the horizons, it is faith that lays hold of God, it is faith that receives the love of 227 00:17:48,060 –> 00:17:54,339 Christ poured out at Calvary. It is faith that anticipates the final outcome that will 228 00:17:54,339 –> 00:17:57,819 not be known until we are in the presence of God. 229 00:17:58,660 –> 00:18:03,040 God’s people have always had to live by faith and not by sight. 230 00:18:03,040 –> 00:18:10,040 Think of Jeremiah The Prophet, coming to the city of Jerusalem. Imagine him trying to sing 231 00:18:11,300 –> 00:18:18,300 Psalm 122. Read the book of Lamentations and see what the city looked like after Nebuchadnezzar 232 00:18:19,660 –> 00:18:26,459 had finished with it, not one stone left on top of another. Jeremiah describes in the 233 00:18:26,579 –> 00:18:33,579 book of Lamentations what he saw. The dust, the ashes, the devastation of war, the utter 234 00:18:39,500 –> 00:18:46,500 destruction. Then he tells us what he believed. Your mercies are new every morning. Great 235 00:18:47,739 –> 00:18:54,739 is your faithfulness. He’s moving from seeing to believing. 236 00:18:56,500 –> 00:19:03,500 Seventy years later or so Nehemiah comes to the same site of the devastated city of Jerusalem 237 00:19:04,040 –> 00:19:07,699 and what does he find? The rubble has just been lying there all these 238 00:19:07,699 –> 00:19:14,699 years. The walls need to be rebuilt. What he sees is just a massive task that seems 239 00:19:15,260 –> 00:19:22,260 absolutely overwhelming. What he believes is that God will bring hope from the ashes. 240 00:19:22,839 –> 00:19:29,839 Faith is better than sight. It reaches much further. If you go by what 241 00:19:30,619 –> 00:19:35,380 you see in this fallen world you will live your life at the level of discouragement. 242 00:19:35,380 –> 00:19:41,380 You have to move in the right direction which is from seeing to believing. 243 00:19:41,380 –> 00:19:48,380 Now, as we come to the application of that very simple principle that arises from this 244 00:19:49,000 –> 00:19:56,000 sum, it’s good for us to ask you see in the Bible not just what does this say, but also 245 00:19:56,160 –> 00:20:00,619 where does it go? If you’re studying the Bible it’s a great question to ask. What does it 246 00:20:00,619 –> 00:20:06,359 say, but then where does it go? What place does this truth have in the big picture of 247 00:20:06,359 –> 00:20:12,160 God’s plan for the universe, the big picture of the Bible as a whole? 248 00:20:12,160 –> 00:20:18,160 And so as we try to apply this this morning I want to follow where the sum goes. 249 00:20:18,160 –> 00:20:24,800 In four specific ways. First I want to relate it to the story of Jesus, second to the story 250 00:20:24,800 –> 00:20:34,939 of the church, third to the story of your life, and then fourth to the story of eternity. 251 00:20:34,939 –> 00:20:40,599 First then where this sum goes in relation to the story of Jesus. It’s obvious that these 252 00:20:40,599 –> 00:20:47,119 songs of assent in the old testament describing a journey to Jerusalem are obviously connected 253 00:20:47,119 –> 00:20:52,660 in some way to the journey that Jesus took to Jerusalem during his ministry when came 254 00:20:52,660 –> 00:20:58,719 there to be crucified and then to rise again. And so I want you to picture again in your 255 00:20:58,719 –> 00:21:06,959 mind Jesus coming to Jerusalem, the city uniquely blessed, but also uniquely troubled. And when 256 00:21:06,959 –> 00:21:16,119 he came to Jerusalem what did he see? Well he saw that the city was in a sorry state. 257 00:21:16,119 –> 00:21:25,520 The king who was on the throne of David, Herod Antipas, was little more than a playboy. The 258 00:21:25,520 –> 00:21:31,599 temple that was supposed to be a house of prayer had been so overrun by commercial interests 259 00:21:31,599 –> 00:21:40,160 that Jesus described it as a den of thieves and robbers. The city as a whole was under 260 00:21:40,160 –> 00:21:46,560 the governorship of a foreigner by the name of Pontius Pilate and his rule was enforced 261 00:21:46,560 –> 00:21:52,800 by legions of Roman soldiers. It would be enough to make you ask the question, 262 00:21:52,800 –> 00:21:59,699 where is God in this? Jesus could not come to Jerusalem with joy, in fact, when he came 263 00:21:59,699 –> 00:22:03,500 to the city and looked over it from the top of the Mount of Olives, having climbed up 264 00:22:03,520 –> 00:22:13,839 and now looking over the city, the New Testament tells us he wept. He wept over Jerusalem. 265 00:22:13,839 –> 00:22:20,560 And he said, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if only you had known what would bring you peace. 266 00:22:20,560 –> 00:22:24,459 David says, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Jesus says, you don’t know what will 267 00:22:24,459 –> 00:22:27,839 bring you peace, I come to bring you peace, I’m the Prince of peace and you’re going 268 00:22:27,959 –> 00:22:34,400 to crucify me outside your gates. And like David before him, Jesus in the spirit 269 00:22:34,400 –> 00:22:39,920 of prophecy saw what was lying ahead. The time will come, he said, when enemies 270 00:22:39,920 –> 00:22:46,920 will build ramparts against you, they will not leave one stone on top of another. 271 00:22:47,239 –> 00:22:54,239 It happened of course in the year A.D. 70. 272 00:22:55,239 –> 00:23:02,239 Jesus goes on into the city and a week later he is arrested and tried and condemned 273 00:23:02,239 –> 00:23:09,079 and crucified. And then as he hangs on the cross God turns 274 00:23:09,079 –> 00:23:12,839 out the light and the sun stops shining in the middle of the day 275 00:23:12,839 –> 00:23:19,839 and Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 276 00:23:20,339 –> 00:23:27,339 And if you or I had been there we would have said, where is God in this? 277 00:23:29,160 –> 00:23:36,160 The answer is he is the one on the cross. He’s right at the centre of it all. 278 00:23:36,640 –> 00:23:43,640 His presence is right here in this darkness. But to grasp that you have to move from seeing 279 00:23:44,459 –> 00:23:54,500 have to move from seeing to believing which is, of course, what one Roman soldier did 280 00:23:54,500 –> 00:23:58,939 when he said, truly, this is the Son of God. 281 00:24:04,380 –> 00:24:07,760 The story of Jesus. 282 00:24:07,760 –> 00:24:15,079 Second, let’s try and relate this psalm to the first part of Catholic Studies, and this 283 00:24:15,079 –> 00:24:16,079 is, amen. 284 00:24:16,079 –> 00:24:17,800 I am done with the Psalm. 285 00:24:18,619 –> 00:24:21,119 The story of Jesus. 286 00:24:21,119 –> 00:24:26,500 Second, let’s try and relate this psalm to the story of the Church. 287 00:24:26,500 –> 00:24:32,199 See, much of what the Old Testament has to say about Jerusalem, the place where God put 288 00:24:32,199 –> 00:24:38,300 his name and promised his presence, can obviously be applied in the New Testament to what is 289 00:24:38,300 –> 00:24:40,160 true of the Church. 290 00:24:40,160 –> 00:24:45,239 The Lord Jesus Christ has put his name upon the Church, his body. 291 00:24:45,239 –> 00:24:49,199 I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. 292 00:24:49,199 –> 00:24:53,400 He has promised his presence to the Church, where you gather together in my name, there 293 00:24:53,400 –> 00:24:56,280 I am in the midst among you. 294 00:24:56,280 –> 00:24:57,939 You have my name put upon you. 295 00:24:57,939 –> 00:25:00,199 You have my presence within you. 296 00:25:00,199 –> 00:25:05,920 You are the place that bears my name in the world wherever Christ’s people are gathered 297 00:25:05,920 –> 00:25:07,119 together. 298 00:25:07,119 –> 00:25:13,920 So, we can use Psalm 122, I think aptly, as a description of our joy in gathering together 299 00:25:13,920 –> 00:25:18,520 as believers to worship Jesus. 300 00:25:18,520 –> 00:25:23,459 But just as the city of Jerusalem in the Old Testament was both uniquely blessed and uniquely 301 00:25:23,459 –> 00:25:25,880 troubled. 302 00:25:25,880 –> 00:25:30,380 So the Church where Christ has put his name and promised his presence in the New Testament 303 00:25:30,380 –> 00:25:36,380 is uniquely blessed and uniquely troubled. 304 00:25:36,380 –> 00:25:38,739 Paul says there is one body. 305 00:25:39,680 –> 00:25:44,219 Peter says we declare the praise of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful 306 00:25:44,219 –> 00:25:46,560 light. 307 00:25:46,560 –> 00:25:49,619 But the Church has its enemies. 308 00:25:49,619 –> 00:25:52,719 Jesus said to his disciples, in this world you will have trouble. 309 00:25:52,719 –> 00:25:58,180 The world hated me, it will hate you. 310 00:25:58,180 –> 00:26:08,500 And if you look at the Church carefully across history and across the world you look at the 311 00:26:08,500 –> 00:26:13,020 Church of Jesus Christ carefully. 312 00:26:13,020 –> 00:26:19,780 You will see that it bears all the marks of this fallen world. 313 00:26:19,780 –> 00:26:30,359 If you look at the Church, what you will see will include some tragedy, conflict, sin and 314 00:26:30,359 –> 00:26:33,699 death. 315 00:26:33,699 –> 00:26:36,819 I don’t suppose that there has ever been a Christian believer 316 00:26:36,819 –> 00:26:42,060 who has not experienced some disappointment in the Church. 317 00:26:42,060 –> 00:26:47,199 It’s part of life. 318 00:26:47,199 –> 00:26:52,540 The Church has its blemishes, it’s troubled. 319 00:26:52,540 –> 00:26:55,099 You know what this is? 320 00:26:55,099 –> 00:26:59,520 The silly things Christians sometimes say, the poor decisions Christians sometimes 321 00:26:59,520 –> 00:27:04,719 make, the personal agendas that so often seem more important than God’s purposes, 322 00:27:04,719 –> 00:27:09,000 and sometimes when you’ve had your fill of it, you get to the point of saying where 323 00:27:09,000 –> 00:27:12,199 is God in this? 324 00:27:12,199 –> 00:27:18,859 And the answer is He’s right in the middle of it. 325 00:27:18,859 –> 00:27:26,319 But in order to see that you have to grasp that you have to move from seeing to believing. 326 00:27:26,319 –> 00:27:28,760 What do we believe? 327 00:27:28,760 –> 00:27:35,819 What we believe about the church is that God is at work redeeming people in Christ. 328 00:27:35,819 –> 00:27:39,640 God is at work reconciling people through Christ. 329 00:27:39,640 –> 00:27:41,640 God is at work bringing hope. 330 00:27:41,640 –> 00:27:47,439 God is at work bringing His people to everlasting life and He’s at work at doing these things 331 00:27:47,439 –> 00:27:51,280 in the middle of all the trauma and all the difficulty. 332 00:27:51,280 –> 00:27:57,099 The Bible describes the church as the bride of Christ. 333 00:27:57,099 –> 00:28:03,880 Frankly right now we’re talking about a bride that needs a great deal of makeup and probably 334 00:28:03,880 –> 00:28:14,119 an extreme makeover as well, but for all her faults she is loved by Christ. 335 00:28:14,119 –> 00:28:16,859 She bears His name. 336 00:28:16,859 –> 00:28:20,739 She is the place of His presence. 337 00:28:20,739 –> 00:28:30,239 She represents him on the earth and those who love him love her. 338 00:28:30,239 –> 00:28:37,520 See, that is why when you have grasped that the church bears the name of Jesus Christ 339 00:28:37,520 –> 00:28:42,020 and for all its unique trouble it is also uniquely blessed, you will be able to say 340 00:28:42,020 –> 00:28:47,920 about the church as David said of Jerusalem in verse nine, “‘For the sake of the house 341 00:28:47,979 –> 00:28:52,479 of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.’” 342 00:28:52,479 –> 00:28:59,479 And IV says, “‘Prosperity,’ probably better translated, “‘I will seek your good.’” 343 00:29:02,520 –> 00:29:06,760 And one of the distinguishing marks of a person who belongs to Jesus Christ is that they have 344 00:29:06,760 –> 00:29:16,719 a deep passion for the good of the church, a deep commitment to the health of the body, 345 00:29:17,239 –> 00:29:25,099 a passionate desire to see the church prosper right across the face of the Earth, and a 346 00:29:25,099 –> 00:29:32,540 lifelong readiness to serve and to give and to pray and to work for the good of the church 347 00:29:32,540 –> 00:29:41,199 because this is the place where Christ has put his name. This is the place where he has 348 00:29:41,260 –> 00:29:51,219 promised his presence. I love a comment from C.S. Lewis. He says, 349 00:29:51,219 –> 00:29:59,819 “‘If you could see the glory that will one day be revealed in the most ordinary Christian, 350 00:29:59,819 –> 00:30:08,819 if you could see it now, you would seriously be tempted to fall down in front of that person 351 00:30:08,839 –> 00:30:15,640 and worship.’” Isn’t that beautiful? If someone is saying extraordinarily foolish 352 00:30:15,640 –> 00:30:22,640 things or behaving in an extraordinarily foolish manner, try and remember that. 353 00:30:23,040 –> 00:30:30,699 “‘The glory that will one day be revealed in you is such that if I saw it now, I would 354 00:30:30,900 –> 00:30:37,900 be severely tempted to fall down in worship.’” What we will be has not yet been made known. 355 00:30:44,459 –> 00:30:51,459 And those who’ve grasped this will seek the good of the church. 356 00:30:52,000 –> 00:30:59,000 Let’s apply this thirdly to the story of your life. 357 00:31:01,540 –> 00:31:05,160 The story of Jesus, the story of the church, the story of your life. 358 00:31:05,160 –> 00:31:09,219 If you’ve seen how this psalm works out in the verse 2u, it’ll be very obvious now how 359 00:31:09,219 –> 00:31:11,859 this relates to the story of your life. 360 00:31:11,859 –> 00:31:18,859 If you are a Christian believer then God’s presence is with you and in you. 361 00:31:19,699 –> 00:31:22,540 Christ puts his name upon you. 362 00:31:22,540 –> 00:31:24,260 That’s what it means to be Christian. 363 00:31:24,260 –> 00:31:28,640 I bear the name of Christ. 364 00:31:28,640 –> 00:31:31,119 I bear his name. 365 00:31:31,119 –> 00:31:33,300 I have his presence. 366 00:31:33,300 –> 00:31:39,280 And what that means is that as a believer I am uniquely blessed, it also means that 367 00:31:39,280 –> 00:31:41,699 I will be uniquely troubled. 368 00:31:42,500 –> 00:31:50,560 So a follower of Jesus, you have to contend with the world, the flesh, and the devil. 369 00:31:50,560 –> 00:31:57,260 You’re living a life of faith but you’re living it in the difficulties of this body. 370 00:31:57,260 –> 00:32:02,099 You’re uniquely troubled because, of course, any dead fish can float down the river but 371 00:32:02,099 –> 00:32:07,939 it takes life and energy and a great deal of struggle to move against the stream. 372 00:32:07,939 –> 00:32:11,239 That’s what you’re doing as you pursue the Christian life. 373 00:32:11,239 –> 00:32:16,140 Now, as you look at your life, what do you see? 374 00:32:16,140 –> 00:32:23,280 You’re going to see at times your fair share of tragedy and conflict, and sin and death. 375 00:32:23,280 –> 00:32:28,959 You look at your life, you’re going to see your own failures, your own sins, you’re going 376 00:32:28,959 –> 00:32:33,680 to see people you love who are far from Christ, you’re going to see all kinds of things that 377 00:32:33,680 –> 00:32:35,640 are not the way you would like them to be. 378 00:32:35,640 –> 00:32:39,500 It’s what you see. 379 00:32:40,459 –> 00:32:46,900 And there may be times when you look at your life and you say, where is God in this? 380 00:32:46,900 –> 00:32:52,619 And the answer is he’s right in the middle of it. 381 00:32:52,619 –> 00:33:00,780 But in order to grasp that, you need to move from seeing to believing. 382 00:33:00,780 –> 00:33:08,099 What you believe is that he’s redeeming you, that he’s reconciling you, that he’s always 383 00:33:08,180 –> 00:33:15,500 always at work to give you hope and that he is always leading you into everlasting life. 384 00:33:15,500 –> 00:33:21,900 Paul leaned into that when he said look, outwardly we’re wasting away but inwardly we are being 385 00:33:21,900 –> 00:33:24,939 renewed day by day. 386 00:33:24,939 –> 00:33:32,660 Our light and momentary troubles, that’s what we see, are working for us and the eternal 387 00:33:33,520 –> 00:33:40,219 That’s what we believe, that will far outweigh them all. 388 00:33:40,219 –> 00:33:45,319 Then the last thing is how this psalm relates to the story of eternity. 389 00:33:45,319 –> 00:33:51,900 The story of Jesus, story of the church, story of your life, the story of eternity. 390 00:33:51,900 –> 00:33:55,680 Because at the end of the Bible the apostle John was given a vision of the future and 391 00:33:55,680 –> 00:33:58,119 he saw a new heaven and a new earth. 392 00:33:58,119 –> 00:34:02,439 You remember in Revelation chapter 21 seeing the new heaven and the new earth he sees a 393 00:34:02,439 –> 00:34:08,439 new Jerusalem coming down out from heaven. 394 00:34:08,439 –> 00:34:13,360 The curse on the old earth has now been removed and God’s people are entering into this 395 00:34:13,360 –> 00:34:19,800 city through open gates to the north and to the south and to the east and to the west. 396 00:34:20,360 –> 00:34:27,399 You know, when that happens you’ll take another step forward. 397 00:34:27,399 –> 00:34:31,639 You move from seeing to believing. 398 00:34:31,639 –> 00:34:36,760 On that day you will move from believing to seeing. 399 00:34:36,760 –> 00:34:43,879 But what you will see on that day is not this fallen world with its curse, with its death, 400 00:34:43,879 –> 00:34:47,800 its mourning, its crying, and its pain. 401 00:34:47,800 –> 00:34:59,560 What you will see on that day is the presence of God, the completion of His purposes. 402 00:34:59,560 –> 00:35:07,899 You will see the Lord, and the Lord will wipe all tears out from your eyes. 403 00:35:07,899 –> 00:35:13,800 You will enter the place where He has put His name, and you will begin to enjoy His 404 00:35:13,800 –> 00:35:25,520 immediate visible presence, which will be your life forevermore. 405 00:35:25,520 –> 00:35:37,100 In this fallen world, you got to move from seeing to believing that in the new Jerusalem, 406 00:35:37,100 –> 00:35:43,239 we may move from believing to seeing. 407 00:35:43,239 –> 00:35:46,540 Just moving in the right direction. 408 00:35:46,540 –> 00:35:50,679 Let’s pray together, shall we? 409 00:35:50,679 –> 00:35:55,620 Father, s many of us gathered here confess before you that there are things we see that 410 00:35:55,620 –> 00:35:58,620 we do not like, they disturb us they trouble us 411 00:35:58,620 –> 00:36:04,179 and we often question, where are you in this? 412 00:36:04,179 –> 00:36:10,840 Thank you that the story of Jesus, the story of the church, the story of our lives all 413 00:36:11,000 –> 00:36:17,040 tell us the same thing that we find in Psalm 122. 414 00:36:17,040 –> 00:36:21,540 That you are present in the darkest hour. 415 00:36:21,540 –> 00:36:28,800 That you are our refuge and our strength and ever present help, not just in tranquility 416 00:36:28,800 –> 00:36:31,860 but especially in trouble. 417 00:36:32,800 –> 00:36:38,320 Father, help us to move from seeing to believing. 418 00:36:38,320 –> 00:36:47,659 Even as we gather around this table in which Christ is presented before us in symbols, 419 00:36:47,659 –> 00:36:51,840 may we lean into that which we believe. 420 00:36:51,840 –> 00:36:58,040 That You are our Redeemer, that in Christ we are reconciled to You and embraced in Your 421 00:36:58,040 –> 00:37:00,679 love. 422 00:37:00,679 –> 00:37:07,639 That You give us in Jesus hope and a future, that You are leading us step-by-step through 423 00:37:07,639 –> 00:37:12,159 all the things that we do not understand into everlasting life. 424 00:37:12,159 –> 00:37:20,979 When in that holy city we will see You and enjoy the purpose for which You have created 425 00:37:20,979 –> 00:37:23,340 us forevermore. 426 00:37:24,340 –> 00:37:28,780 Heed our prayers, for Jesus’ sake. 427 00:37:28,780 –> 00:37:30,500 Amen.