The Psalmist began this psalm by saying, "If the Lord had not been on our side..." I do not ever want to forget Adonai, that if You had not been on my side and on the side of all who have walked righteously and in the fear of God; yes if You had not been on my side, I would have been engulfed by the torrent of evil that fills the world. I would have been swept away by every wind of doctrine that has so easily besieged so many "Christians". I would have been swallowed up alive by the ways of the world and the thinking of the world. But I thank You with all my heart my Saviour and my Deliverer because I have not been overcome but rather given the help from You to be an overcomer instead. Further I am grateful that You O eternal God has been my refuge and underneath me is Thy everlasting arms that keeps me safe. Let me recognize this always and never lose sight of Your grace.
Song of Ascents comprises of a collection of 15 psalms from Psalm 120 to 134. While there are a number of suggestions as to what the phrase, “Song of Ascents” could mean, one thought is that these psalms were sung by Israel as they went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the three annual feasts that the Lord had commanded (Lev. 23; Ex. 23:14).
We have concluded the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread which started on the 15th day of the first month of the Biblical calendar (or on the evening of March 30, 2018). During this seven day feast, Israel went up to Jerusalem singing these Songs of Ascent.
From the day of First-fruits, which was the day our Lord rose from the dead, we have now completed 32 days of counting up to the fifty days to Shavuot (Lev. 23:15-16), the next feast day of the Lord. This counting is also a good reminder of the fact that after our Lord Yeshua rose again, He revealed Himself to His disciples and to many others for 40 days. This means that even as we have counted 32 days to Shavuot, our risen Lord showed Himself with convincing evidence on each of these days—walking with them and eating with them—to help them understand that He truly is alive. Ten days after His ascension, on Shavuot, the Holy Spirit was poured out from heaven and filled men and women, clothing them with power from on high.
My purpose of posting a verse from these psalms each day (during these days between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) which in Greek is called Pentecost) is so that we too—if you are a son (or daughter) of Israel, even though you once may have been a Gentile but now through the great grace shown to us by the Father and through the blood of the Messiah Yeshua—can pilgrim into the presence of the Most High God (for we are the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in us) singing these psalms to Him who sits on the throne (in heaven and in our hearts).
Join with me then O son of Israel and let us exalt the name of our God together as we pilgrim on His appointed feast days just as He commanded.
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