Songs for the Journey: The Psalms of Ascent

Songs for the Journey: The Psalms of Ascent

Summer 2021

A year ago, when travel plans were canceled and lockdown was in effect, many of us hoped that restrictions placed on our lives would result in a healthy slowing of pace, along with increased time spent with God. Instead, it seems that many just filled the time with Netflix. Where does that leave us in summer 2021?

There is an incredible amount of “noise” working to keep us from deep connection with God. Streaming services, social media apps, and reinstated leisure activities all are competing for our attention. As our jobs have become increasingly remote, some of our employers have started to expect us to us be “on” at all hours of the day. And let’s be honest: we North Shore residents were never especially good at prayer in the first place! We’re much more comfortable “doing” than “being.” We’d rather dig down deep to plan, execute, and achieve on our own strength than rely on God’s strength.

That’s why, as previously announced, our churchwide focus for summer 2021 is on prayer. We’ve focused on prayer before (e.g. here, here, here), but there are so many forces working to prevent North Suburban Church from being a praying church that we must return to prayer again.

We hope you’re planning to join us as we clear our calendars, prayerwalk our towns, step away from distractions, and prioritize prayer in our families and in our church.

The Psalms

The Psalms are perfect for a summer of prayer like this one. Poetry is a medium that slows us down, that requires us to ponder slowly and from many angles. Maybe that’s why many of the Bible’s most important ideas are communicated through poetry. Did you realize 35% of the Bible can be classified under this genre?

What’s more, many of the psalms themselves are prayers, set to music. By reading, meditating on, and praying the psalms, some of us have found our own prayers being shaped by the prayers of the Spirit-inspired authors.

Finally, for those who have settled into a rut in their walk with the Lord, the Psalms give voice to a wide range of emotions. We often find the psalmists giving voice to feelings we hold but weren’t sure we had permission to share with God (and with one other).

The Psalms of Ascent

The particular psalms we are going to study this summer are the so-called “Psalms of Ascent,” so named for their common prescript. We might call these “Songs for the Journey” because most scholars believe these were songs pilgrims would sing as they “went up” or “ascended” to Jerusalem three times a year for the major festivals. In the final form of the book of Psalms, these fifteen psalms are grouped together (120-134). It’s likely that Jesus would have sung these songs on his way to Jerusalem with his friends and family!

These psalms seem to be a perfect fit for summer 2021 at North Sub for several reasons:

- We recently studied the journeys of Abraham and reflected on how to live faithfully as we find ourselves on our own spiritual journeys in this world.

- In Fall 2021, we plan to focus on discipleship, which in a sense is a pilgrimage to the heavenly Jerusalem.

- The Psalms of Ascent, while short, are varied in style and emotional expression, giving voice to a wide range of experiences and aspects of God’s character (i.e. they won’t lead us only to lament, or only to penitence, or only to jubilation).

- They focus on Zion, the place where God dwells in a particular way. As we face increasing hostility, it will be increasingly important that we fix our eyes on Zion instead of on the troubles around us.

What to Expect

You may experience some differences in our worship services this summer.

- As many of these psalms are fairly short, expect shorter sermons.

- Expect services to feature more prayer, including unscripted/open mic prayers.

- Expect services to be slower, with more space for reflection.

A request: don’t show up with the mindset of a spectator! Come eager to participate, to bring your contributions to the worship service (1 Cor. 14:26).

Our Hopes for This Series

By the time we have completed this series, we hope that we will have:

- Slowed down our pace of life and worship, not replacing busyness with mindless entertainment but rather with more prayer.

- Cultivated a “pray-first” reflex to replace our “plan-first” or “complain-first” or “respond-first” mindset when faced with challenges.

- Connected with our Lord Jesus through the study of a portion of his songbook, a songbook that’s all about Him.

- Resumed the highly participatory nature of our worship services, which we had begun before COVID but are only now able to reinstate.

How to Get the Most Out of This Series

Here are some ways to get the most out of this series:

- Watch this video for a refresher on how to read the Psalms.

- Read the psalm to be preached in advance. Digest it slowly and meditate on it.

- Listen to “We Will Feast in the House of Zion,” our theme song for the series.

- Come to church in person if at all possible! And come ready to participate.

- Pray the psalm during the week by walking through it slowly, line-by-line, and praying what the Lord brings to mind.

- Discuss and pray the psalm with your Life Group (click here to join one).

- Follow along in Eugene Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, a classic that follows the Psalms of Ascent and offers many prophetic insights.

- Use the devotions in Tim and Kathy Keller’s The Songs of Jesus, a book of short, daily reflections on all the psalms.