Psalm 122. Psalm 122. 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 built 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 companions'
sakes, I will now say, peace be within thee. Because of the
house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. There are 15 of the 150 Psalms
that we have in our Bible that have this same title. If you
see, A Song of Degrees. A Song of Degrees. David was
the human author of this psalm. But like all of the Bible, like
all of the word of God, we know that God the Holy Spirit is the
divine author. David lived, he reigned just
a little over a thousand years before the Lord Jesus Christ
came into this world. There are several ideas or thoughts
as to the meaning of the title, A Song of Degrees. Some believe
that this tells the people that sang these hymns the tune that
they were to use. It was to be sung in a very high
pitch. There are others who believe
it refers to the songs that were to be sung as the Israelites
made their way. Remember, three times a year
they were commanded to go and worship God. where God had put
his name, that they would sing these hymns, these songs, these
15 songs as they made their way toward the temple. Now, the fact
that David wrote this psalm tells us that the temple in Jerusalem
had not yet been built. The temple would not be built
until Solomon, David's son, came to the throne. In David's lifetime,
the house of the Lord, you notice he mentions the house of the
Lord two times. In the first verse and in the
last verse, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into
the house of the Lord. And then in verse 9, because
of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. Where would the house of the
Lord been in the days of David if the temple was not built until
Solomon came to the throne? Well, keep your places here,
but turn back a few pages in your Bible to 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel chapter 1. We read here
about a man named Elkanah. He had two wives. One of them,
of course, was Hannah, who was the mother of Samuel. But I want
you to notice in verse three what is said about this man.
This man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice
unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. When Joshua came into the land
of Canaan, the children of Israel came across Jordan, came into
the land, they pitched the tabernacle that God had instructed Moses
to build in Shiloh. And so that's where the house
of the Lord would have been in David's day. When he said, I
was glad that they said unto me, let us go into the house
of the Lord, the house of the Lord at that time would have
been in Shiloh. In David's day, we know that
the Ark of the Covenant was no longer there. Remember, they
got the Ark of the Covenant out of the tabernacle in Shiloh and
brought it out in one of their battles with the Philistines
and the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and carried
it to their God's house, the God Dagon. And then when David
in one of the Psalms says, when he came to the throne, they found
it in the woods. In other words, it was no longer
in the temple. But my point is the place that
would have been the house of the Lord in the days of David
was in Shiloh, the tabernacle of the Lord. It was not a Jerusalem. In fact, when David became king,
the Jebusites, you say, who are the Jebusites? They were a nation
that lived in the land of Canaan that the Israelites were never
able to dislodge from Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a well-fortified
place because of the hills upon which it was built. And it was
only when David became king that they captured and put out the
Jebusites and David made his house there, his home there in
Jerusalem. And then near the end of David's
reign is when God told David at that particular place, this
is where the altar This is where the altar is going to be, and
it was in Jerusalem. So that's a little bit of background
or history this morning, but I want to speak to us from this
psalm around three words, three words. And the first word is
glad. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the Lord. The first meaning,
For the word glad, the first meaning in the dictionary, there's
a number of meanings, but the first meaning is pleasure or
pleased, it pleased. David's testimony was, I was
pleased. I was pleased when they said
unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. And I have six things
that I want to mention this morning that may have caused David to
be pleased. Six things that I think of that
may have caused David to be pleased when he heard that. I was pleased
when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. First of all, David may have
been pleased when he heard that because God had given him a father,
Jesse, who I assume was the first one from whom he heard those
words. The first man, I assume, was
his father that he ever heard say, let us go unto the house
of the Lord as the law commanded. Three times each year, they would
go up to the house of the Lord, and I just assumed that he heard
those words first from his father, David. And no doubt he's saying,
I'm glad, I'm pleased that God gave me a father. God gave me
a father who realized he's not only to be the breadwinner of
the house, of the family, but he has to be the spiritual leader
of the family. He has to take his responsibility
seriously and to take us unto the house of the Lord. I was
glad. I believe that may have been
the first reason that David could say this. It pleased him that
he had a father. He was born into a family who
had a father that loved God and loved the truth of God and the
commandments of God. And I say to every young person
here this morning, how blessed you are. How blessed you are. I know you may wish you We're
not obligated or brought to the house of the Lord like you are,
but one day you will come to realize what a blessing, what
a blessing that God puts you into a family that has a man
at the head of the house, as the scripture teaches, a man's
to be the head of the home, and he takes this as his responsibility
to have his family in a place of worship. As for me, Joshua
was able to say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. What a blessing when a family
has a father like that, the head of the home, when he says, as
for me and my house, I can't talk for anyone else. I can't
speak for anyone else, but as for me and my house, we're going
to serve the Lord. And how many fathers have I known
who have told their children, as long as you put your feet
under my table, as long as you put your feet under my table
and eat food from my table, you will, you will go with us to
the house of the Lord. That's important. That's important. Why is it important? Well, we'll
get to that in just a moment. But my second thought is, David
may have been glad that there was a house of the Lord to go
to, to which to go. He, he was born into a chosen
nation. Now, Paul and The letter of Romans
tells us that the chief blessing for the nation of Israel was
the word of God, the oracles of God. If David had been born
in a family of the Philistines, the Moabites, or the Canaanites,
or any of those other nations that were there at that time,
they didn't have the word of God. They may have had a house
for their gods, like I mentioned a minute ago, The Philistines,
they had a house for Dagon, their god. But David was blessed of
God, being born into a nation that was chosen of God. And God gave them his word. And more than that, as we will
see in just a moment. I want you to look in Deuteronomy
chapter seven. We talk about Israel being a
chosen nation here in Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verses 6 through
8. Deuteronomy 7, verses 6 through
8. For thou art an holy people unto
the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. Can that be right? Someone said, well, that's not
fair. We're talking about grace, my
friends. We're not talking about justice. The Lord did not set his love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people, for you were the fewest of all people. But because
the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which
he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out
with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage
from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Now, I want to make
this clear. God chose the nation of Israel. That doesn't mean that every
Israelite was chosen unto salvation. Doesn't mean that at all. Remember,
in Romans, the apostle speaks about the fact in the days of
Elijah. Remember, Elijah got that, what
they now call an Elijah complex. He thought he was the only one.
He thought he was the only servant of God in the world. And God
reminded him, no, I've got 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to
Baal. But 7,000 out of a nation of
probably several million people by that time. They were a chosen
nation, but that doesn't mean that every Israelite was chosen
unto salvation. But here's the point I want to
make before we move on. We have a beautiful picture here
in these words in Deuteronomy of election unto salvation. Do you see that? A beautiful
picture. of God's sovereign election unto
salvation here. God did not choose anyone because
of anything that he foresaw in that person. Don't believe. Don't believe these men who will
tell you, well, election means God looked ahead and he saw who
would choose him and then he chose them. That's not true,
my friends. No, because he loved you. That's what he tells these people
here, right? Because he loved you. Because
of his love and his love is eternal. It has no beginning. Don't ever look within yourself.
If you're concerned about your salvation, you say, well, maybe
I wasn't one of God's elect. Maybe He didn't choose me. Listen,
if you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you look to Him today,
yes, yes, He chose you. Don't give yourself any credit,
my friends. You would never have turned from
your sin and looked to Christ apart from the saving work of
the Holy Spirit. Make your calling and election
sure, calling first. And if you've been called and
you have come to Christ, then yes, you were chosen and you
were chosen because he loves you. Not because of any good
he saw in you. Oh no, that's not what the word
of God declares. All right, let me move on. Here's the third thing. It was here I was glad when they
said unto me, David may have been pleased and glad because
it was here where he witnessed the gospel. You say, witnessed the gospel?
Yes. It was at this house of the Lord.
He witnessed the gospel. Now, I mentioned his father probably
was the first one that said these words unto him. But his father,
Jesse, maybe he had a special animal that maybe it was a beef. Maybe it was a lamb, something
that he had watched and fed and cared for for a year, and now
it's time to go up to Jerusalem, or go up to the house of the
Lord in Shiloh. And what would he see his father
do? He'd see his father put his hands over on that animal, that
animal that's going to be sacrificed, that animal whose blood is going
to be shed and poured out at the altar. And what is he seeing
when he sees this? He's seeing, first of all, that
there's substitution. that Jesse, when he laid his
hands upon the head of that animal, is confessing his sins, that
he is the one who should die because of his sins, but in his
place or in his stead, this animal is going to die. The blood of
this animal is going to make an atonement. Now, of course,
we know that the blood of bulls and goats cannot put away sin,
but it did picture the way God puts away sin. How did he do
that? By substitute, by an innocent,
sacrificing his dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you put
your hand upon Christ by faith, And know that your sins are transferred
to him, that upon the cross that he was bearing your sins, my
sin. Substitution. Every year, no
doubt, when they went to the temple, not only at time for
sacrifice, but to worship God, they would take the fruit of
their ground, the fruit, from their harvest, the first fruits,
and they'd take it up there to Jerusalem, and they would acknowledge
God. Who sends the rain? Who sends
the sunshine? Who gives us food to eat? God
does. They would worship God. I was
glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the
Lord because here is where he actually saw the gospel worked
out and heard of the Passover lamb. Every year at the feast
they went up to was the first day was a Passover and then the
next seven days was of unleavened bread. They would be reminded
that they were slaves in Egypt and God redeemed them. And he
redeemed them with blood. And every year, actually every
day, not only did they observe the Passover once a year, but
every day that they would have been there at the house of the
Lord, every morning and every evening, there would be a lamb
without spot and without blemish would be sacrificed and burned
upon the altar. he would see the gospel. Here's another reason. David
might be glad, he might be pleased, because he had the physical ability
to go to the house of the Lord. They didn't have a car to get
in and drive however far it was. And maybe if David wrote this
song in the later part of his life, he may have thought, there's
Mephibosheth. the son of my friend Jonathan. There's my Fibonacci. And he
puts his feet under my table every day. He would love to go. But you know, he's laying on
both his feet. He can't go. He can't make that
journey. And God has given me the strength. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I was pleased that
I have the physical ability to go. Not everyone in Israel was
able to go. My wife and I were talking, thinking
about someone we know just recently. And we were commenting, it won't
be long. They will never be able to go
again to the house of the Lord. And I think I made the comment,
I hope it comforts that person at that time to know that when
they were able, they were in the house of the Lord. When they
were able. When they were able, they were
in the house of the Lord. Here's another thing, David might
be glad that he was given the disposition to go. Not everyone
went to the house of the Lord in Israel. You think of our group
here this morning around us, probably in a radius of what,
five or 10 miles, there's probably over a million people. Probably
closer to 2 or 3 million people who have no desire whatsoever
to go to the house of the Lord. No desire. Who maketh thee to
differ? Huh? Who maketh thee to differ? You're here this morning because
you want to be here. You're here this morning because
you love to come and worship the Lord and hear the gospel
proclaimed. Who maketh thee to differ? David said, God's given me a
disposition. He's given me a heart. I'm glad
when they say unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. A fifth thing, David might be
pleased knowing that he would have fellowship with like believers
at the house of the Lord. There were people that lived
as he did in the tribe of Judah. There was a tribe of Zebulon
and Ephraim and Dan and people would come from all over, you
know. Not everybody would come. but
he'd have fellowship with like believers. Isn't it a blessing
to come into the house of the Lord and shake hands and give
an embrace to those that you love and you have fellowship
with? They're your family. It sure
is, isn't it? It is to me. He wasn't any different. I was glad, I was pleased to
go to the house of the Lord. And the last thing, he may have
been pleased in knowing there's some people who care for my soul.
Someone said to him, let us go. Let us go. Someone in this world,
David said, someone in this world cares for my soul. Whoever it
was. And I know we care for the souls
of others. I trust we do. Brother Streeter
mentioned in his class this morning, praying for the lost. Paul said,
my heart's desire and prayer to Israel is that they might
be saved. Might be saved. Someone cared
for David's soul. Someone cared for your soul.
Maybe your parents. Maybe your neighbor, but someone
cared for your soul and said unto you, let us go into the
house of the Lord. Aren't you thankful? Aren't you
glad? Amen. The second word is the
word Jerusalem, Jerusalem. In Hebrews chapter 12 and verse
22, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to in these
three ways. First of all, Mount Zion. Well,
Mount Zion was one of the mountains upon which Jerusalem was built. Mount Zion. And then also it's
referred to as the city. Jerusalem was a city. And it
is the heavenly Jerusalem. So thinking about Jerusalem here
as a church. Now, I'm not talking about this
local church. I'm talking about the Lord's
Church. It's made up of people from all
over the world that are saved. All of His elect from all time
and all places. There are several things that
we're going to spiritualize here, but several things that speak
of the church here, words that he says about Jerusalem. First
of all, he says, Jerusalem has gates. Our feet shall stand within thy
gates, O Jerusalem. Now, in Revelation chapter 21,
the heavenly Jerusalem is pictured there with 12 gates. And we know
upon each of the gates, was the name of an apostle. Well, the
12 apostles, they all witnessed to the same gate. They're not
12 gates. I know that the word is plural
here, that Jerusalem, there's gates, but really there's only
one gate. the straight gate, that is the
Lord Jesus Christ. And these 12 gates of the heavenly
Jerusalem, which refers to the various apostles of the Lord,
they all witness the same thing. They all preach the same thing.
They all preach that salvation is in Jesus Christ and in him
alone, that he is the gate. If any man enter in, there's
only one way. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. The
church has one gate, and we enter by this gate. He said, I'm the
door. There's only one door, one gate
into everlasting life, and that is through his Son, Jesus Christ,
our Lord. The broad way, broad way that
leads to destruction, There are many that go in there at, but
few, relatively few, go in at the straight gate. The second
thing we see about Jerusalem, that's the first thing here.
Jerusalem in verse two has gates, but we're told Jerusalem is built
as a city that is compact together. Well, first of all, we see it's
built. Jerusalem is built. Now, every
building has a builder. That's very simple, isn't it?
Building just doesn't spring up like weeds. No, every building is built by
someone. We know the Lord Jesus Christ
said, upon this rock, I, that is Christ, will build my church. He is the one who builds his
church. And I have pity upon those poor,
deceived people, millions of them in this world today who
believe that our Lord built his church on Peter. How sad, how sad to believe that
lie. No, upon this rock, Christ is
a rock. And Paul said that to the church
at Corinth. I laid the foundation and the
foundation is Christ. He's the foundation and he's
the builder of his church by his spirit. And by the preaching
of his gospel, he's calling out his people, building his church. The third thing we read here
is Jerusalem is compact together. Have you ever seen these cities,
maybe in Europe, where everybody shares a wall with their neighbor?
You know, there's just one house built onto the other, no space
between them. Well, that's a picture here,
right, of Jerusalem, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
compact. There's no light. There's no
light, no difference between this believer and that believer
about the Lord Jesus Christ. That he's the way, that he's
the truth, that he's the life, and that no man comes unto the
Father but by him. There may be some differences
about the future, about the coming of Christ. There may be future
about the past even. But among believers, believers
are, there's no light between us. We're compact, built together. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. And then there's a fourth thing
here said about Jerusalem. It's where the tribes go up.
Now I mentioned the various, some of the tribes a while ago,
but people, this refers to God's spiritual, And it's not just
the tribes of Israel, but it is the nations of the earth are
brought into this church. From every tribe, every kindred,
every tongue, he's redeemed his people by his blood. And do you
notice what he says they go up to do? It says unto the testimony
of Israel. Whither the tribes go up, verse
four, the tribes of the Lord unto the testimony of Israel. What's that? That's a gospel.
That's a gospel. We come to hear the gospel. We
come to hear about Christ. And you know, if we preach the
Bible, we're going to preach Christ. He said, search the scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life. They are they which
testify of me. Yes, God's people come up to
hear the gospel, God's testimony. But not only that, we come to
give thanks unto the Lord. To give thanks unto the Lord.
The fifth thing, Jerusalem is a place of thrones. Now you say,
how are you gonna deal with that, preacher? Thrones are for kings. I understand that. And that's
what the Lord has made us. Huh? Say, I don't see myself
as a king. Well, read the Bible. Read the
Bible. Revelation chapter 1, verses
5 and 6. Unto him, who? Christ. Unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
unto God his Father. To Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. The third word is the word peace
in this psalm. First of all, the word glad.
Second, the word Jerusalem. Now, the word peace. We find
it three times in this psalm. In verse six, pray for the peace
of Jerusalem. Verse seven, peace be within
thy walls. And verse eight, for my brethren
and companions sake, I will now say peace be within thee. Three times, I'm going to say
like Charles Spurgeon said, at least we have a hint of the Trinity,
a hint of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit. When we talk about peace or read
about peace in the scriptures, we're talking about reconciliation,
being reconciled to God. God the Father purposed it. In
fact, the covenant, the everlasting covenant in one scripture is
called the covenant of peace. God the Son purchased this peace
for us with his own blood. And God the Holy Spirit, he's
the one who applies this peace to our conscience when we believe
and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord. Therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God. It would be sad, wouldn't it,
to be living in this world and not have peace with God? Wouldn't that be sad? You may
be here today like that. You're living in God's world,
and you don't even realize it. But according to God's word,
you're his enemy. You're his enemy. You've never
been reconciled unto him. The apostle Paul, writing to
the church at Corinth, he said, we are ambassadors for God. Be ye therefore reconciled. We beseech you in Christ's name,
be ye reconciled unto God. Be reconciled. Lay down your
arms. Surrender. Surrender to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Be at peace. Look to him. May the Lord bless this word
to all of us here this morning. I hope every time we, we hear this psalm, it's a very
common psalm, isn't it? I hope every time we hear this
psalm, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house
of the Lord. And we can think back on these
things and say, God, I'm thankful. I'm thankful. And I just say
it. But from the heart, I'm thankful. Someone said unto me, let us
go into the house of the Lord. Let us go hear the gospel. Amen. OK, we're going to stand. We're just going to sing a chorus.