Expository - Songs of Degrees

Psalm 123

There is also the idea of discipline here, certainly the first steps of discipline. We need to know this in our walk along the Christian pathway, if we are to press on the upward way as the Psalmist is doing in these Songs of Ascents, and if we seek to be in that place of full and constant communion with God. I am not talking about part-time, Sunday Christianity, but a moment-by-moment walk with the Lord.

In Psalm 120 it is the cry for deliverance. Then in Psalm 121 there is the upward look to the Lord from whom comes our help. Restored fellowship is the theme of Psalm 122, going on in the company of others to the place where the Lord is. It is in the fellowship of the Lord's people that we can begin again if we have backslidden. We can return to fellowship with God and His people.

In this present Psalm there is a discipline to be learned. We learned it when we first came to the Lord. We learn it again when, after a period of backsliding, we return to Him. We have to know that we must trust the Lord completely and Him alone. Although we are in the company of God's people, it is the Lord who is our help. Our help is not in man, nor in the strength of man but in God and God alone.

Here we find the Psalmist further along in his journey. In Psalm 120 he was far away from the land of promise. Then he looked up and soon was moving with others in the direction of the holy city. The walls and gates were in sight. In this Psalm, I believe he is actually in the Lord's house. There he realises that God is not actually encased in a building but He dwells in the heavens. So we find too that God is not limited to a building, or a denomination, or a group of people, but when we are among brothers and sisters, we are encouraged, as the Psalmist was, to lift up our eyes to the heavens. Hallelujah!

Just Inside the Door

Maybe this is your experience as a believer. You may be far away from God and you know you are far away from Him. You are missing the blessing of God, but you have begun to take that pathway back to fellowship with Him. You have now reached the stage where you are entering in, but you are only just inside the door. Far off you can see the glory of the presence of God as it is enjoyed by others, those who, in priestly ministry, are close to the Lord. Your eyes are now able to see it again but, at the same time, you are so close to the point where you came in that you are very conscious of the life that is going on outside.

In some ways it is like the prodigal son. He decided to go home. Imagine the scene. The father is excited as he sees him in the distance. He runs to meet him, throws his arms around him and so on. The son has been away from home for many years. He has returned home but he is a weary, empty man. He has got nothing; he has wasted everything. Now he has come back to that place where he once knew such sweet fellowship. He is unsure of his welcome. You can imagine him reaching the gate. Father is with him. And as they step inside the gate the son stops, looks and, from a distance, begins to drink in again all those scenes of past blessings. He wants to soak it all in, to appreciate it fully before going any further. Child of God, as you draw near, look at the welcoming glory of the Father's house and be assured that He wants to draw you closer still.

As the prodigal returned home and, from a distance, observed the old familiar sights, he saw the fields where he laboured as a young man. Perhaps his elder brother was still there, hard at work. He would remember the joy and feasting at harvest time, the fulfilment of a year of profitable toil. Then he would compare it with the more recent years, years of profligacy and waste. Good times? In retrospect, the only harvest they had produced was one of misery and heartache. Over there were the gardens where, after a hard day's work, he would rest and relax in the cool of the evening among family and real friends. How marvellous it used to be! How he had lived life to the full then! How satisfied he had felt! But he had gone away, far away. Things had not been as he had imagined they would be. He thought he was going to have a fantastic time, but it had all been empty dreams. Now he was back. He could see all that he had missed and wondered whether he could ever get back to where he used to be. Would he be trusted? Would he be loved and looked up to?

He stood and looked. There was his father's house. It seemed so splendid and safe. There was food and enough to spare in his father's house. But it was still in the distance. Would he ever get close enough again to enjoy glorious fellowship, or would he have to be content with a place on the fringe? Father was with him but, as yet, he did not appreciate the fulness of his father's love for him. He stood and drank it all in, from a distance. Did he deserve any more?

The Psalmist was in the same situation. He was just on the inside, not daring to go any further, contemplating past blessings but not daring to hope for them again. It is hard coming back, when you have been away from the Lord. Why? The problem lies with us. It is the pride of the flesh, the pride of life. However, just as for the prodigal son and for the Psalmist, so also for us, the Lord wants to draw us back into full fellowship and abundance of life.

We say, "Lord, I am not worthy; I once knew fellowship but I've blown it. I went my own way. I am not worthy to be called your son." Yet, in spite of all that, God wants to draw us back into full communion with Him.

A Servant but Restored to the Family

As you read this Psalm, that is the secret. Verse 2 declares:

"Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters... so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us."

We must learn to look to Jesus so that we may know, even though others may perceive nothing, exactly what the Lord would have us to do. Romans 6 v 22 instructs:

"But now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."

• David is looking at the hand of the Lord as a servant looks to the hand of his master. For us too the hand of the Lord is mighty in our lives. It is through the hand of the Lord that we have deliverance. To the Israelites of old God said, "I brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand." In Isaiah, God asks, "Is my hand shortened that it cannot save?" There is deliverance by the hand of God.
• There is also direction. "If I ... dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me...." (Psalm 139 vv 9,10) This is the leading, guiding hand of the Lord, showing us what to do.
• Then the hand of the Lord is a defensive hand. Psalm 124 tells us how the Lord has defended us: "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.." The hand of God is strong in our lives to defend and protect, as Psalm 63 v 8 puts it: "...thy right hand upholds me." Jesus Himself promised, in John 10, that you would be held secure in the hand of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, within the Father's hand.
• Further, the hand provides discipline. The Psalmist cried, in Psalm 32, "Your hand was heavy upon me." In Hebrews 12, the apostle speaks of the Father's chastening every son whom He receives. Why? Because He loves us and wants us to be partakers of His holiness. He has a firm hand.
• However, it is also a hand which distributes. Marvellous! God's hand just gives and gives. It is an open hand. Therefore David prays for mercy and grace.
• Finally it is a hand which demonstrates welcome. It is an outstretched hand. God called to Israel through Isaiah, "I have stretched out my hand to you all the day long..."

David, just inside the courtyard of the House of God, is looking to the hand of the Lord. He wants to see a welcome there. Do you remember the story of Esther? She went to see the king on a matter of urgency, but no one entered his presence uninvited. She took her life in her hand crossing the threshold into his presence and there, just inside, waiting, watching his hand to see whether it would angrily convey a signal to the guards to remove her or extend the royal sceptre in welcome, she stood and watched. Of course, there was a glorious welcome, for the king loved her. God is just like that. He loves us. Maybe we come in fear, unsure of our welcome. We stand just inside the door wondering whether He is too angry with us. Look at His hands. Will He reject in anger? No, God's hands are stretched out in welcome. "Him that comes to me," said Jesus, "I will in no wise cast out."

The Tempting Sounds I Hear

What else does he experience, just inside the door? Well, there are others who are content to be just there - in close contact with the world outside, but with just a touch of religion and respectability. They are at ease. These very people are filled with scorning. You may have met the attitude from such "churched" people. They are full of contempt and pride. They mock and laugh with words like, "You don't want to get fanatical. You don't want to go any further than that. That's enough... just one foot inside the door, once a week. Tuesday? Thursday? Come to the theatre with us. Come to our party." And so it goes on. They may seem to be religious people, but their hearts are in this world. In Amos 6 v 1 it warns, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria." They are looking at a false religious system and at what man can do. For them, putting in a token appearance is acceptable, but God requires 100 per cent.

Paul experienced much opposition which he referred to as buffetings - a thorn in the flesh. Three times he asked the Lord to take it away from him but God said, "My grace is sufficient for you." Unlike the Psalmist, Paul was not just inside the door. If you are crying to God to take away the scorn and the contempt that other people pour on you, listen to what He is saying: "My grace is sufficient." As you trust the Lord and His grace, the flesh will become less sensitive to the opposing voices. Through the Spirit you will be mortifying the flesh and its deeds. You will be moving closer to the Lord, until you get so close to Him that you will not hear those voices any more. They will still be there, but it will no longer be of any consequence to you. This is the discipline that the David was going through. All the mocking and jeering was going on around Him but he had to keep his eyes on the Lord. "When the road is rough and steep, fix your eyes upon Jesus."

Conclusion

"But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions; partly whilst you were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions..."

Maybe you have never gone astray, but all your Christian experience has been lived 'just inside the door.' Today God is calling you to a closer communion with Him. Come right into His presence. Keep your eyes on Him. You will not be a religious nutcase, but you will know fulness of life in Him. "I hear Thy welcome voice that calls me now to Thee."