Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. – Psalm 124:8
The songs of ascent are particular psalms that are typically only a few verses long, and they are meant to help the worshipers get into the right headspace, as it were, while coming into the temple complex to worship. The idea is if we remind ourselves of the wonders of God, the majesty of God, the help that God has proved before, then when we arrive in the presence of the assembly to worship God, we enter with thanksgiving and joy. Remember that other song – I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter his courts with praise, I will say this is the day, that the Lord has made, I will rejoice for he has made me glad.
The songs of ascent are to aid in getting our hearts and minds focused on the main thing, God and his glory. It is with great joy that we can then enter into the assembly, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, and know that we have been in the presence of the Holy Spirit, energized to make it through the days ahead. It is part of what I have missed as we have not gathered together in worship. I bring this up, as we prepare for our first in-person worship service, wondering how we each might be preparing for worship.
A friend of mine, who once served at one of our larger congregations as an associate pastor, told me, his favorite place to be on Sunday morning was in his office. His office had a window that overlooked the parking lot. What he loved about sitting there in his office was watching couples and families pull in a park their cars, and seeing how they had prepared themselves for to come to worship. The reality of what he saw, was that most pulled in having arguments, or yelling at the teenage kids, or even coming in stoically silent, not conversing at all. However, the moment they would get of the car and walk in the door, it was all smiles, “God bless you,” “what a joy it is to be here, today,” “I couldn’t be more blessed.” They put on their “praise- faces” for worship, but we would talk about what might really be going on in their lives below the surface.
The songs of ascent help us to understand that there may be a lot going on under the surface, under the “praise-face.” However, God meets us where we are, and lifts us to something better.
This coming Sunday, July 5, we will gather for the first time in the assembly at St. Mark since March 8. Sixteen weeks since we last gathered as a church family, and I know it will be longer for some of us. Some of us will remain apart, and that is okay because we know you are being cautious. We know that the care of our hearts for you extends beyond a building, or seeing each other face-to-face. But for those who do join us, how will you prepare you hearts to ascend into the assembly of the Lord? Will you come with thanksgiving in your hearts? With joy? With praise? May the cries of our hearts be always to praise the Lord even in the midst of sorrow and pain, to lift His holy name higher and higher each day. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Sam