Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten
from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me
today.
There is a portion of the Psalter called the Songs of
Ascents – they are Psalms 120-134. We don’t know for certain what it means to
be a Song of Ascents, but we think that these psalms were sung either on the
way up to Jerusalem, which is on top of a hill, or ascending the temple stairs.
Either way, these psalms are connected to the anticipation of worship,
remembering God’s salvation, and looking ahead to His future blessings and
care.
The psalm appointed for the 3rd Sunday of Advent
is one of the Songs of Ascents. It is Psalm 126. Let’s read it.
Psalm 126 (ESV)
A Song of Ascents.
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our
mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done
great things for them."
3 The LORD has done
great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore
our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those
who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home
with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Comments
This psalm was probably written after the Babylonian
captivity – the time that God exiled Judah and punished them for their
unfaithfulness and idolatry. So, we can read this psalm recognizing God’s
salvation for His people at work in Israel. It describes God’s salvation like
finding that your dreams and hopes had come true because God had rescued you.
Nevertheless, we live in a world full of trouble so the prayer is to be restored
again; to be saved again. And when that happens it is a great change – from tears
to joy, and from weeping to rejoicing in God’s blessings. So, we can imagine
Jewish families going up to worship singing about how God had saved His people
and looking forward to worshipping God and living in His salvation.
But what does this have to do with us and with Advent? Well,
Jesus looked at the Old Testament Scriptures and said that they bore witness
about Him. So for Christians who read the Old Testament we read it through the
filter of Jesus’ life, ministry, and salvation.
So when did the Lord restore the fortunes of Zion? It was
when he gave his only begotten Son to rescue and redeem us from our captivity
to sin! And that salvation is like a dream – so fantastic that we could not
imagine it – God in human flesh? The Son of God born in a stable, and laid in
the hay? Angels? And later crucifixion – God dies? – and resurrection? It’s all
so amazing that when we take it in our mouths are filled with laughter, and our
tongue shouts with joy! And when the world sees what is happening they too are
amazed as they recognize, “God has done a great thing!”
So we celebrate that God has done a great thing. He has
given Jesus to save us from our sin! Our God saves! Yet, do we not still fall?
Do we not still disobey God, wrestle with temptation, and sin? Yes we do, and
when we do it brings us sorrow and pain, so we pray, “Restore our fortunes, O
Lord.” Return us to Your grace and help us to live in Your loving forgiveness.
Because when we recognize our sin we sow in tears of repentance, and God
forgives and restores us so that we reap with shouts of joy.
So, let’s listen to this psalm again, thinking about how God
has restored our fortunes in Christ.
Psalm 126 (ESV)
A Song of Ascents.
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our
mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done
great things for them."
3 The LORD has done
great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore
our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those
who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home
with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prayers
O God, You are so good. You have restored our fortunes with
the salvation Jesus won, and our mouths are filled with laughter and joy
because of Him. Thank You for Your salvation, and thank You for restoring us
over and over again. Yet, we still weep because of our sins, and in tears we
confess to You that we have not lived as we ought to live. Restore our
fortunes, O Lord, secure our future in Jesus who was born to die and rise for
us, and help us to live each day in the joy of His salvation. Amen.
Memory Verse:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - 16 Rejoice always, 17
pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day.
I want to remind you to be prayerfully and thoughtfully
generous in the giving of alms during this Advent season. Pray that God open
your eyes, your heart, and your hand to help others in need.
Another devotional habit we can use to help us meditate on
God’s word is memorization.
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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