A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Week two - Let’s Go
Psalm 122
[Repentance] is a rejection that is also an acceptance, a leaving that develops into an arriving, a no to the world that is a yes to God. —Eugene Peterson, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction”
We are on a journey - travelers going to God, and the way is Jesus
Psalm 122 - the travelers are going to Jerusalem for a reason and a focus and an opportunity to propel themselves forward in their journey to God
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together. 4 That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the Lord— to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel. 5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David. —Psalm 122: 1-2
Place (v. -1-4) - we go to worship (for Israel that place was Jerusalem, for us Jesus made it the gathered community, meaning wherever we gather together in His name)
Having a place gives us a tangible reminder of who we are and what we’re about - In the case of Jerusalem, the Temple was the center point for celebrating the festivals and calling out that GodPurpose (v. 4) - to praise God
We are built to worship, but that doesn’t mean we always
like it.
Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshiped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. …We live in what one writer has called the ‘age of sensation.’ We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship. —Peterson, p. 54
3.Focus (v. 5) - to pay attention to the decisions of God
Every time we worship our minds are informed, our memories refreshed with the judgments of God, we are familiarized with what God says, what he has decided, the ways he is working out our salvation. (p. 55) —Peterson, p. 55
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. 7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” 8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity. —Psalm 122:6-9
Pray -
The Hebrew word used here is not the formal word for prayer in worship, but the word that means “ask”
Pray for
Shalom (peace) - the wholeness that comes with trusting God’s work in us and in the world
Shalvah (prosperity) - the idea of leisure -
The relaxed stance of one who knows that everything is all right because God is over us, with us and for us in Jesus Christ. It is the security of being at home in a history that has a cross at its center. —Peterson