RTW 2023

I was glad when they said to me,   “Let us go to the house of the LORD.And now here we are,   standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a well-built city;    its seamless walls cannot be breached.All the tribes of Israel—the LORD’s people—    make their pilgrimage here.They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD,    as the law requires of Israel. Here stand the thrones where judgment is given,    the thrones of the dynasty of David.

Psalm 122:1-5

Let all that I am praise the LORD;    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Psalm 103:1

• Psalm 121 is a “Song of Ascent.”
• There are fifteen of them, Psalms 120-134.
• These are the psalms that were sung by Jews traveling to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts.
• The spring feast of pilgrimage is the Feast of Passover.
• The summer feast of pilgrimage is the Feast of Pentecost.
• The harvest time pilgrimage feast in the fall is the Feast of Tabernacles.
• Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets or Jewish New Year, were five and ten days before the fall feasts.
• Exodus 23:14-16; Deuteronomy 16:1-17
• Passover required the entire family to travel to Jerusalem. The other feasts would require only the men to travel.
• Jesus would have sung these psalms. Luke 2:41-42
• Jerusalem is always “up” in the Bible because of its elevation.
• The Psalms of Ascent are not just about going up in elevation, but an ascent to God.
• The cycle of trouble, testing, and praise continue through the psalms.
• These songs are the equivalent of an Old Testament Pilgrimage Playlist.
• They are the songs meant to focus the minds and hearts of God’s people on Him as they draw close to worship.
• These songs help His people focus on meeting with God and experiencing His presence.
• My Help – Angela Cruz, Travis Cottrell, Elicia Brown

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Focus my mind and heart on God as I travel this spiritual journey in a physical world, looking towards the day that I will see His face.