What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Let all Israel repeat:
What if the LORD had not been on our side
when people attacked us?
They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.

Praise the LORD,
who did not let their teeth tear us apart!
We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.
The trap is broken, and we are free!
Our help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:1-8

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
Psalm 124:1

• The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of worship songs that shaped ancient Israel. 
• This is a group of fifteen psalms, Psalms 120-134. 
• The ascent refers to the journey both physical and spiritual toward Jerusalem. 
• Jerusalem is located on Mount Moriah, the highest point in the region of Israel. 
• In Genesis 22 when God tells Abraham to take Isaac to sacrifice, it is to Mount Moriah that they travel. 
• This same mountain became the central place of rule and worship for the Hebrew people under King David. 
• Later, King Solomon built the temple on this mountain where the Lord’s presence dwelt among His people. 
• The Bible speaks of people going up to Jerusalem and going down from Jerusalem, even if the person or group is going north. 
• The ascent to Jerusalem led men and women to the pinnacle of worship on the temple mount where the Lord’s presence dwelt. 
• Pilgrims would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year to worship during the feasts and festivals. 
• “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the LORD without a gift for him.”
  Deuteronomy 16:16
• These songs are more than songs for traveling. 
• They show a heart moving toward God. 
• They remind us how we are like these travelers. 
• Our spiritual life is full of valleys and mountaintops, but always moving to a deeper relationship with God. 
• The Psalms of Ascent remind us of three important lessons. 
• Worship is a journey…a lifelong pilgrimage is growing in our love for and devotion to God.  
• Community matters…our faith life is not meant to be lived in isolation. 
• God’s presence is always with us…in every mountaintop and valley, we are never alone. 
• I look up to the mountains—
  does my help come from there?
  My help comes from the LORD,
  who made heaven and earth!
  Psalm 121:1-2

Remember that the spiritual journey for the believer is full of struggle and joy, just like the journey for the original singers of these Psalms…and that the lessons are still the same today that will lead us closer to God.