Psalms number 122. I'll say it
again for the recording. All right. Verse one. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand
within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city
that is compact together. Whether the tribes go up, the
tribes of the Lord unto the testimony of Israel to give thanks unto
the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones of
judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love
thee. Peace be within thy walls and
prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companion's
sakes, I will now say, peace, be within thee. Because of the
house of the Lord, our God, I will seek thy good. Now this psalm, this is named
A Song of Degrees. And so is everything, I think
it's Psalm 120 to 134. It says A Song of Degrees right
below the number. I was just curious to see what
that was. Well, it really turns out nobody's
sure. Well, nobody knows for certain.
There's lots of theories. There's no clear-cut agreement.
Let me read you something I read. This is what Google will get
you sometimes. Various Bible scholars have attempted
to pinpoint the meaning and use of these Psalms. That's 120 to
134. Some believe that people sang them while going up to Jerusalem
for the three yearly festivals. Here's a statement I wasn't expecting.
The songs may have been like national anthems. I don't know where he got that
from. I don't know. Others believe that people sang
them after their captivity. Still others see the term degree
as referring to a certain rhythm. People would step or ascend according
to the rhythm of the song, in time with the songs. Others believe
the songs have to do with ascending the steps to the temple, which
some assume to be the number 15. So from all that, now that's
actually from the regular Baptist website, Walter. Yeah, he's just
regular Baptist, you're right. This is what you get. I'm gonna
tell you something about the Song of Degrees. I believe the
people of God sang them. That's what the Psalms are. That's
what the Psalms are. I believe they sang them. And
I believe some of them sang them on their way to Jerusalem during
the feast days. My gosh. And that's actually what they
are. They were read and they were sung. And to be real about
it, I believe I think as long as these Psalms are read and
believed, it's a good thing. It's a good thing. Because here's my point. People can get
all wrapped up in the style and they leave out totally the substance. And that's bad. That's bad. The question is, do you believe
what Psalms 122 says? That's it. And if you believe
it, and you believe it's the word of God, I'm right with you
there. Because this is an important
psalm. Y'all know why? Because all of the psalms are
important. Every single word in here is
important. whether I understand it or not. But this, for me,
and this is what caught me, and actually, it's a good psalm to
start the new year with. Because this is a psalm about
gathering together to worship the Lord. I might add this word
at the end. Publicly. Publicly. The gathering is public, but
you know, I just wanna put it in there. Now this is a song of degrees
of David. And he starts with those first
three words, which I love. I was glad. I was glad. Now I looked at it,
that means I rejoiced. I rejoiced, I was joyful. I looked at it, this word in
the Old Testament is used about 150 times. 150 times, 152 I think,
something like that. 96 times it's used some version
of the word rejoice, or rejoicing, or rejoice. The multitude of
the others, for the most part, is the word glad. So guess what? David was happy. This is a happy
psalm. It's a joyful psalm. And we should
be joyful when we read it. This is a psalm of joy and talks
about peace and the love of God by the people of God. Well, that's important, that's
important. The people of God, every single
one, is to be glad, is to rejoice, and is to be joyful in the Lord,
in the Lord. Yes, even in all our circumstances,
That's one reason why I sang that song this morning. As we
go up to worship here, sometimes in deep distress, understand,
no matter our circumstances, we are to be glad in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Yes, I know,
my wife's not here because she's not physically able. I hope she's
listening. I love you, yes. But this is
the thing. I really wish she could be here
with us, and she wants to be here with us. But even in her sickness, you
can be joyful in the Lord. It's hard. It's not easy. And you're not joying in the
circumstances, but you're joying in the one put you in those circumstances,
and he will bring you through those circumstances, and he will
raise you up at the last day because of his death, burial,
and resurrection. I was glad. I'm glad to be here
today. I missed not being here last
week, but I felt better because nobody was here. Isn't that strange? Yeah, I know. I'm not worried about ice and
snow. No, you may not be, but my car is, you know? But I'm
glad to be here today. And I'm glad to be here in this
assembly as a part of it. Even though I may dread speaking
for God. You know you're not supposed
to tell people that stuff. Yeah, yeah. Standing up here can make
you nervous at times. But he put me in a circumstance
and I'm here. And I'm glad in him. And I'm glad to be here.
But David was glad in particular when they said the next three
words. Okay, here's the point. They. They said. All right? God has
a people. God has always had a people. And God will always have a people. And they'll be on this earth
until he takes them out. Those people that God has will
say some things. You know why? You can't help
it, Mason. You can't help it sometimes.
Now sometimes you might keep your mouth shut, and sometimes
you might be better off if you keep your mouth shut. Walter, arguments on golf courses
are not productive. Arguments I've had with people
were not productive. They happened, I said some things,
and God used it for his glory. But that doesn't make it right
for me to be doing it. I'm not gonna go into any details,
but I can perfectly, honestly say I have said some things that
I regret saying. I've said them not so much sometimes
even the things I don't regret, but the attitude in which I said
them. But here, they're talking to
David. And they're talking as believers
to a believer. You know how I know this? Because
of what happened. David said, I was glad. And here's
the thing. If you're not glad when the people
of God talk about God, something's wrong with you. Now, in the proper
attitude, don't be, you know, I'm not saying be hateful or
boisterous or anything else, but here's the thing. A believer
wants to hear about his Lord. A believer wants to hear about
Jesus Christ. That's why I come here, to gather
with you people, not just to speak, No, I actually enjoy more
Paul and Walter speaking than I do. Although sometimes I get
a blessing out of this. But still, this is the thing.
I wanna hear my Lord proclaimed. I wanna hear him praised. And
that's what you all say to me. This is why we gather here. This
is why we have this building. To read his word and rejoice
in him, to hear his word proclaimed. Now I can, and yes I try, to
worship God, to pray, sometimes to sing. Walter, I was singing
that song, I sent you yesterday. Every day. By myself and maybe
with my wife. You know, you can do that by
yourself. To read his word and rejoice in his mercy and his
grace everywhere. That's all true, but that's not
what David's writing of here. He's not writing of a private
worship. Seriously, there's nothing wrong,
private worship can be great. And I still remember that sermon
Henry Mahan preached 30, 40 years ago, whatever it was. The difference
between public worship and private worship. And he asked a question
at the beginning. He said, which do you think is
more important? All of you preached on this one day. public worship
or private worship? A lot of people say private.
That's wrong. More important, now that's the
key word in that question, which is more important. God does his work in public. God calls his people in public. God calls them out of the public. Of which we all were a part at
one time. Now we're part of the family.
But he does that, he does it in public worship. Like I said,
when you gather together, what did he say? When two or three
are gathered together in my name, what? I'm not listening, no. He said, I'm there. There am
I. Where? In the midst. In the midst. And that's where he is today,
here. Whether we know it or not. Oh, I mean, you know. I was glad, David said. I rejoice,
I was full of joy when they said, and they said it to David, to
David. Now here's the other thing. They
might have said it to a whole lot of people. David responded. David responded. David responded
with joy. Oh my. David, here's the thing,
David was invited. And I'm gonna tell you something,
if you're here, you're here because you were invited. You were invited. I was invited. And you know what? I was glad. I was glad. Oh, I like that. I wanna say
it plainly. All who want to worship God where you are, TV, on the
stream, you're invited. You're invited. They said it,
they said it. All in joy and gladness, they
said it to David, and now we say it to all who are here, when
they say, let us go. They included David in their
statement. Let us go. Let us go. Here's the progression. I was
glad when they said, let us. It went from I to they. Oh, I'm
telling you something, I like that. I can get a hold of that.
There's a gathering. And you know what? I've met the
family, and it's us. It's us. It's us. And we're all invited to gather
together. Oh, I like that. A believer is
a believer. A believer is begotten of God. fathered of God. Now what's it also say about
that? A believer loves those that are begotten of God. You know why? Because they're
us. And let us go. Let us go. I like that. A believer loves
and joins with others that are fathered of God. And the believer goes from I
to us, just like that. I'll tell you a bit of a story. We were at a place before this,
before Brown's Road, where I went to church. That's where I met
Walter, Paul, Pam, Linda, Roy, Junior and senior as a matter
of fact. Other people. But there was always something
in the back of my mind that bothered me about that place. I didn't
know much when I started going there. Now I believe I knew the
truth. But I thought when the preacher
that was there said the word grace, he meant the same thing
as this book meant when it talked about grace. I found out he didn't. And I found out the people there
didn't. I didn't know this. Well, you
know, Walter, I'd been there for a while, and they had been
kind of very nicely intimating that I should have joined the
church, which I never did. And I just started to a couple
of times, and it just didn't work out. It just wasn't right,
and I don't get it. But when we got together at Browns
Road, and when we got together with you folks at Mabscot, I'm
a member, my folks. I remember one time I was supposed
to go to Collegeville or something to preach one weekend. They changed
the weekend on me. And I showed up that morning
for church at Mabscot. Earl looked at me, he says, well,
what are you doing here? And I looked at him, I said,
if you know, I'm a member in good standing. That's right. He just laughed. I said, no,
they changed the week on me. But it's where I belong. And we've moved. We've moved
from Browns Road to Mabscot. Guess what? I belong to Browns
Road. I belong to Mabscot. And we moved from Mabscot to
the firehouse at JIT for a while. I belong there. You know why? Because you people were there.
And I was glad. when they said unto me, was it?
Let us go, where? Into the house of the Lord. Now I wanna tell you something. The first word to look at there
is into. It's one of them little words.
It doesn't say go to the house of the Lord. No, we's going in.
We're going in. Let us go into the house of the
Lord. It's a little word, but I think
it's very important, because here it is. The gathering, the
assembly, the us. Let us go into the house of the
Lord. Like I said, not go to it, and
I'm not exactly sure, I typed something down here, and I typed
down, I'm not sure how to phrase this thought, because I'm not.
Because I don't want to say there's no gathering outside of the house. Because there can be. He said
where two or three are gathered. That could be Walter's living
room. That could be in Paul and Paula's house on Thanksgiving.
You understand? I don't want to say that. Where
two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst. in my name is the key phrase,
and that's right there. And I don't wanna say there's
no worship outside the house of the Lord, because there is.
Because in him, in him, we, us, live and move and have our very
being. And his spirit, the Holy Spirit,
abides in us. lives in us, and he interprets
to us, and he interprets for us. I mean, there's worship, but
this is a very special thing that David's talking about here.
I don't want to leave that out, the private part, but this is
not what he's talking about. Believers are, here's the thing,
believers are the sons and daughters of God. Right now. Right now. Right now. If you
believe Christ, you are a son of God or you are a daughter
of God. You are, here it is, a part of
the family. You are members, and members
in particular, of his body. He put you here. He put you here. Oh, I like that. Believers, know
him that is true, how is that possible? Well, because believers
are in him that is true. That is his son, Jesus Christ. Believers are the family of God
revealed on the earth. And here's the thing, the family
goes in to the house. Into the house. We don't stand
outside. Matter of fact, when I used to
go home to my house, Peter, I didn't even knock, because it was my
house. Now, sure, my dad might say something, but if you knew my dad, he'd
say something anyway. It doesn't matter. But this is
the thing. You don't knock to come in the
door here, because this is our house. This is a family house. You're welcome. Come on in. You
were invited. I was invited. If David was around,
we'd invite him. The family goes into the house
of the Lord. And here's the thing. What a
lot of people don't realize, wherever two or three are gathered
in my name, that's the house of the Lord. It's not this building. It's not this building. It's
not because of us, it's the house of the Lord. It's because of
the Lord, it's the house of the Lord. He's there in the midst. Now in David's time, granted,
the house of the Lord was the tabernacle. It was the tabernacle. Now, the house of the Lord was
a place of worship, a place of prayer, but here, most of all,
it was a place of sacrifice. That's what the house of the
Lord was. Because all of the sacrifices and all of the offerings
were offered there. By the priest and by the high
priest on the day of atonement. Pictures and types of the sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus Christ were done at that tabernacle. That
was the house of the Lord. This is not Solomon's temple
because David's still writing this. David wasn't around when
that thing was built. Solomon built it. But here's
the thing, the house of the Lord was a house of sacrifice. Not
our sacrifice, his. And we are gathered together
today because of his sacrifice. His sacrifice. There's no more
sacrifice for sin. No, it's done. The offering's
done. The sacrifice is done. The acceptance
has been made by the Father. In the Holy of Holies, not made
with hands. Jesus Christ's sacrifice was
sufficient and complete, and the Father accepted the sacrifice
of His Son. How can we know that? Jesus Christ is in the midst
of the gathering of His people. We are accepted in Christ. If God accepts Christ, he's accepted
us. Let us go. I like that. I was glad they said unto me,
let us go into the house of the Lord. Now, I do wanna give a
warning here, because Paul the apostle gave one. It's in Hebrews
chapter 10. Beginning in verse 23. Let us
hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. For he is faithful that promise.
It's not because you're faithful, it's he's faithful. And let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works,
not, not, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. as the
manner of some is. It happens. Paul's honest, he's
telling us. As the manner of some is, but
exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the
day approaching. First of all, I always like to
say this whenever I read that, it doesn't say hold fast to your
profession. There's way too many people doing
that. Hold fast the profession. Don't
hold to it. I remember the day and the place,
and I remember exactly what the preacher preached, and I hope
to God you do. That's good. But that's not the
case. That's not the point. The question
is, do you believe Christ now? Do you believe Psalm 122 now? Now. Now. Because if you don't
continue, you're not a disciple. I didn't say that. Christ did.
Well, I repeated it. If you don't know, but hold fast
the profession of faith. And the only reason you can hold
fast is because he's faithful. Otherwise we just all be like
sheep again, wander off, go astray. But here's the thing. Consider one another and provoke
unto love and to good works. How? not forsaking the assembling
of yourselves together. As a manner of some, yes. And here's the thing. Some do. What are we supposed to do? Exhort
one another. How can you do that? Well, they
said, let us go into the house of the Lord. Go into the house
of the Lord. And what happened? David said,
I was glad. That's an exhortation. When they
said, let us go into the house, they were including David in.
And we will include every believer that wants to come. We let unbelievers
come. They usually go, but I mean,
it's the way it happens some days. We've had more people leave
this place than we've had stay, if you count them up over the
years. And Walter, it's been too many years now. We have purposely set up a place
and a time to gather together. And we have purposely called
it a chapel and not a church because we are the church. The
building's not the church. The building is not the church.
The building is not the church! Sometimes you got to repeat things. And we set up a time and a place
where the people of God gathered together every week. What? To sing, to pray, and to hear
the preaching of the gospel. And then repeat. Because Paul's
going to preach after me, Walter's going to preach after him, Lord
willing. This is what we do, we're gathered together. And
this is the house of the Lord, right here, right now. Because
we're gathered together in his name. And he is in our midst,
whether we know it or not. And we want to proclaim him. Who will bless us in spite of
our circumstances. In spite of the fact we don't
deserve it. I love that one and that other
song. Nevertheless, what, what, what? You're a sinner, you're
rotten, you're having evil thoughts sitting right there in church.
I said in church. You're having evil thoughts in
the house of the Lord. Nevertheless, Jesus Christ has
blessed you with all spiritual blessings in himself. God has blessed us in his son. And he has said to us, let us
go. You understand, Christ invites
you. Let us go into the house of the
Lord. He's promised to be in our midst.
And he is. You know what we're left to do,
right? Rejoice. Rejoice, be glad. Be happy. I like that, I do. Our Heavenly
Father, we're thankful for this time and this place. And we have
set it aside to try to worship you in spirit and in truth, in
word and in song and in prayer and praise to your holy name. Thank you, Lord, for all you've
given us. And thank you, Lord, for those
that are coming. Paul, Walter, give them the words
we need to hear. Bless our souls in the name of
your dear son we ask, amen.