The Psalms 120 through 134 are each titled "A Song of Ascents" and scholars theorize that possibly the Jews sang these psalms as they made their way back from Babylonian captivity or as they made their annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem ascending their way up to Jerusalem and up Mt. Zion, the site of the Jewish Temple. I remember that Joseph and Mary took Jesus and travelled to the Temple to these feasts. Maybe they sang these psalms on their way.
Anyway, this title indicates that we have here a particular collection of psalms or songs that were intended to be and were customarily sung by God’s people. We live in a day of much music. Everywhere there is music - on our radios, on TV, on CD’s. We are bombarded with music. God wants Christians to sing, he wants families to sing, he wants us to sing on our way to the weekly feast and after we get here. The most important songs we sing each week are the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs we sing on our way to church and when we get here.
This morning, let’s notice selected texts from the first 7 of these psalms beginning with:
120:1
"I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me..." (NIV)
"I’m in trouble. I cry to God, desperate for an answer..." (Peterson)
Ever been there? Right now, maybe someone is there! Mark it down. Someday everyone finds himself there - overwhelmed by some kind of distress or trouble. We don’t know exactlly what is the occasion of this psalm except that the writer appears to be a long way from home and among enemies. It is interesting this collection of psalms begins with this theme - a man of God in trouble crying out to God for help. The pilgrims to Jerusalem remembered God as someone to whom they could turn for help in time of trouble.
When a man finds himself in deep trouble, God invites him to pray. "Is anyone in trouble? Let him pray." And it is then that he is most likely to turn his attention to God. If trouble or distress turns us to God, great good comes from the trouble.
121:1-2
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth."
Who will help this pilgrim in his distress and trouble? As the pilgrim approaches Jerusalem, he looks to the hills surrounding Jerusalem which makes him think of JEHOVAH who is there. His help comes from the one who made the hills, the mountains, even the heavens and the earth.
When trouble and stress and depression and worry come your way, it is the greatest of all comforts to believe that the maker of heaven and earth is there to help. Read 121:3-8 (Peterson)
122:1
As the pilgrims continue their approach to Jerusalem, they sing..."I rejoiced with those who said, ‘Let us go up to the house of the LORD."
God’s house stands for the place where he dwells. In the Christian age, he dwells in his people, the church. The psalmist is saying the equivalent of "I was glad, I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD. Let us go to the assembly of the church - for God is there. Together we will worship God there."
It is not enough to say that I can sing and pray and read the bible at home. Nothing substitutes for corporate worship, worship with the church. "Let us go..." There is something good about being together and worshiping God together.
Such gladness and joy for church assembly and worship is all too rare. The proof is seen in the multitudes who never go at all. And of those who go, many go as seldom as possible. And of those of us who regularly go, can it be said that we are glad to do it? There is the sense of duty, the necessity of upholding my reputation, the desire to please parents or friends, force of habit, desire to set a good example, fear of a condemning conscience - which are all good as far as they go. But is there gladness or joy - except when it’s all over?
There ought to be! It is right to be glad and to rejoice when on Sunday someone says, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." We ought not to loath such meetings or to look for any sort of excuse to avoid them. We come here to worship God. And God blesses those who come! With a clean conscience, with instruction for holy living, with friends who support and encourage one another in righteousness, with fervent prayers and beautiful hymns of praise, with a wonderful communion and meeting in the Holy Spirit.
123:1
"I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven and on earth."
When we are in trouble, we tend to be downcast, to look down, to see only the problems visible to us. Those who sang this psalm, perhaps the exiles in Babylon, found relief from their worry, depression and fear by looking up - to God whose throne was in heaven, who was the king of kings and Lord of Lord, the one who was in charge of the universe! That is where we will find relief as well. (Compare Revelation 4)
123:3
"Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt..."
They came to Jerusalem for mercy. They came to God for mercy. And so do we. We are here this morning because we need God’s mercy, mercy for our sins, mercy for our circumstances, mercy in the midst of our worries, problems and fears.
124:1
"If the LORD had not been on our side - let Israel say - if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us,... they would have swallowed us alive."
The pilgrims approach Jerusalem asking God for mercy and now in this psalm affirming and thanking him for his mercy, his help in their time of distress. And not only do we come asking for mercy, we sing and praise God this morning for the mercy he has already extended to us, the times when he has brought us through dreadful circumstances and carried unbearable burdens.
125:1
"Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people forevermore.
Two mountains. We are like Mount Zion when we trust in the LORD, when we look up to him in our times of trouble - strong, sturdy and still standing after the trouble has passed. "I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." (57:1)
And God is also to us like mountains. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God encircles his people both now and forevermore. It is a wonderful promise and full of comfort that in the invisible realm God is before us and behind us and on either side as a shield of protection for those of us who are his people. It gives me peace and confidence no matter what is out there and no matter what attacks may come my way.
126:1..
"When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy." (NIV)
"It seemed like a dream too good to be true, when God returned Zion’s exiles. We laughed, we sang, we couldn’t believe our fortune." (Peterson)
The pilgrims remember that God had done for them what they could only dream about - he brought them back to the land of Israel from captivity in Babylon. Something happened beyond their wildest dreams. The LORD delivered them from a situation where they thought there was no way out. But that is only half of the song. Here are the rest of the words...
126:4
"Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."
"And now God, do it again - bring rains to our drought-stricken lives so those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, so those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing." (Peterson)
God did for them before what they could only dream about. They beleive he can do it again and they ask him to do it again.
It ought to be a great encouragement to us who have been or who are or who will be in situations that look hopeless. God is a God who can bring something good out of the most hopeless situations. He can bring laughter back to the soul who feels like he could never laugh again! The cross proves it!
(PART 2; PSALMS 127-128)
Continuing our study of the group of Psalms each titled "Song of Ascent", Psalms 120-134. These psalms were apparently sung first by the Jews coming back to Jerusalem from Babylonina exile, then later by pilgrims coming to the annual feasts in Jerusalem. There is a sort of logical step by step progression to the these psalms.
They begin with a psalm crying to God for help in distress (120). This is the reason we all come to God. We hurt and are in trouble and we need him. There is the psalm that says, "I was glad with those who said, ‘Let us go up to the house of the LORD.’" (122) The pilgrims are glad to go to worship God together. They like the times of corporate worship. As they approach Jerusalem they lift up their eyes to the hills surrounding Jerusalem, and they are reminded of God and the one from whom their help comes (121, 122). They come to God seeking his mercy (123), remembering that God has been their protector and deliverer (124). They affirm that their trust in God makes them strong and unshakeable, like the mountains, during the storms of life. And they affirm that God is to and for them like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, protecting them from their enemies (125). Finally, they remember that God had before turned their mourning into gladness, their despair into praise, their weeping into laughter - and they both celebrate and anticipate this power of God to bring some good out of the most hopeless situations.
This brings us to the final seven of these psalms sung by pilgrims on their way to "church", beginning with a couple of my all time favorite psalms that celebrate God’s blessing on the home.
127:1
"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain."
This psalm fits very well the circumstances around the rebuilding of the temple. Both the temple and the city of Jerusalem were in constant danger from those who didn’t want the temple rebuilt or the city resettled. If you read the book of Nehemiah, you can see just how precarious the situation was. The author’s point - which the pilgrims understood - is that when it comes to building the LORD’S house or the city of Jerusalem, God’s help and protection are a must. Labor apart from the LORD is vain labor. Efforts at protecting the city, the community from destruction and defeat are doomed to failure if God’s help is not employed in the process.
This is a lesson our politicians would do well to learn - before it is too late. One of the great lessons from the history recorded for us in the Bible and confirmed to us by secular historians is that true religion and morality are indispensable supports for the welfare of the state and for a secure and stable culture. We kick God out of the schools and out of the public sphere at our own peril. It was gratifying after 9/11 to see a President call together the whole government and the nation for a day of confession and prayer for the aid of the Almighty. Because "Unless..."
127:2
"In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves." He continues the thought of the first verse. He has in mind someone who seeks to build or to protect - without God and without the help and assistance of God. This too is vain. It won’t work.
In particular, he seems to direct his attention to the efforts of a father or a mother as they try to build their family and protect it from the forces of destruction. What is their strategy? What means do they employ to create their "dream home"? They work. But God is nowhere to be seen. He is not at the dinner table. He is not at the bedside. He is not a part of their daily conversation - except as a byword or a cussword. But the parents and the children work. They rise early and stay up late making money and filling their lives with a thousand other things - except God. They never imagine that God is who is ultimately needed for a happy and lasting home. They exhaust themselves and wear themselves out as they attempt to make a home - but God isn’t part of it. Compare Jeremiah 12:13; Isaiah 49:4)
It occurs to me that this is pretty much a picture of the typical American family. Lots of hard work. Very, very busy from early morning till late at night. But too often God isn’t in it. It isn’t that people are necessarily opposed to God. It’s just that there isn’t any time left for God. There is time for work and for school and for a second job and for trips on the weekend, but after all that, there is no time left for God.
In this scripture God is telling us there is a sort of vanity in trying to build and protect a family that way - without God it is in vain. It is not that God is suggesting that industry and hard work are of no use. The scriptures teach the opposite. But the psalmist is thinking of someone who makes a great effort to build and provide for a family - without God. He works very hard at it - but there is no room for God.
The psalmist’s conclusion is that you can work yourself to the bone to build and provide for a family, but you can’t work enough to do this successfully without God! You can stay up till all hours of the night, but you cannot stay up long enough to protect your home from the forces of destruction - without God. But with God as the builder and protector, a father and mother can find time to sleep. Everything does not depend on them. Yes, they work but not as though the success of the family depends solely on their work. They find a place for God - and in this way, they are able to sleep.
This is not the first time in the book of Psalms where it says God is able to give us a good night’s sleep. "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me." (3:5) "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." (4:8) The principle stated is that when in the midst of my troubles I take God as my helper and protector, when I call on and rely on him for protection, there is no need to worry about things and I can lie down and enjoy a deep night’s sleep. "God gives sleep to those he loves."
Continuing this theme around the house, family and community...
127:3
"Sons are a heritage (inheritance) from the LORD, children a reward from him."
How different from the popular view of children, that they are accidents or misfortunes or nuisances or inconveniences to be aborted or discarded... On the contrary, God is saying that children are to be viewed as a heritage, part of the inheritance, a reward given by the LORD.
Sometimes, it is very hard to think of children this way, especially if they are argumentative or irritating or teenagers or rebellious or if they do things that embarrass, disappoint us, or break our hearts. Sometimes children seem more of a punishment than a reward!
But in this text, the writer is trying to illustrate how that it is really God who builds and protects the community. And one of the ways he did that was to give offspring to couples. Especially in that day and time children were a great source of protection to the elderly and to the community. It was God who gave the children without which the elderly and the community would be vulnerable to attack and destruction. So...
"Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them (Also a view counter to our culture). They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."
Children were seen as arrows, as protection for the elderly and the community.
Even today, this same principle can be illustrated. No matter how disappointing children may be to us in our youth, when we get old, if we have children, they can protect us, they can provide for us, they can be a blessing to us. Then, the more, the merrier. Pity the man or woman without kids to bless him in his old age.
Psalm 128 is a companion to 127 and continues the same theme around the family.
128:1,2
"Blessed are all (is everyone) who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours."
It is the same theme echoed throughout the Bible - God can bless you, and he promises to bless those who will cooperate with him. Particularly, in this context, the point is that God and only God can bless the house, the family and the community.
In the family in particular, when all, when each one fears the LORD (anxious to please him, afraid to offend him, entirely submitted to him), and when each one walks in God’s way, the family is blessed. There is peace, tranquility and contentment at home. Specifically, in this psalm the writer notes that the husband and father is blessed.
"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house" (Instead of seeking distractions outside the home, she shall be in your house and shall impart to the home gracious shade and shelter from the heat. She will be someone entirely devoted to the happiness of her husband and children.)
"Your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD."
This promise is not universal and absolute but rather is generally true. A godly husband and father is only more likely to have a wife and children who are a great blessing to him. It is not always true but generally true. Where there is a godly wife and God fearing children, it is a great blessing for the husband.
But this godly and God fearing father and husband is blessed only if there is wife who also fears the LORD and only if there are children who fear the LORD as well. His wife is a blessing (like a fruitful vine), his children are a blessing (like olive shoots around the table) only if they, too, fear the LORD and walk in his ways. Where there is a godly and God fearing husband and wife and when the children fear God as well, honoring and taking care or parents as they get old, it is a marvel and wonderful blessing. The family stays together. It stands up against the cultural forces of destruction. It shows great strength, great unity, great love. It is a beautiful sight to behold.
This is true blessedness. This is the blessing God envisioned when he promised Abraham, "In you and your offspring all the families (nations) on earth will be blessed."
So the psalmist closes with this prayer of hope and expectation:
"May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem, and may you live to see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel."
A prayer that you will receive the blessing God can give from Zion, a blessing in this life - prosperity, children, family, grandkids, and peace in the community and nation.
It is the same message as always. God wants to bless us beginning right now - not only in heaven later. "He that would love life and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it." (1 Peter 3:10) "...godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)
(Part 3)
Psalms 120-134 are called Songs of Ascents and scholars think they are a collection of psalms sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem up to Mount Zion. They are songs sung by Jews on their way "to church". When we come to church on Sunday morning, I like to listen to religious songs and am not inclined to listen to any other. The Jews who made the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the three special feasts had their songs they sang on the way. Perhaps they are called songs of ascents because there is sort of a progression to these psalms, like the singers are ascending steps to a staircase up Mount Zion and up to the temple.
They begin with a psalm crying to God for help in distress (120). This is the reason we all come to God. We hurt and are in trouble and we need him. There is the psalm that says, "I was glad with those who said, ‘Let us go up to the house of the LORD.’" (122) The pilgrims are glad to go to worship God together. They like the times of corporate worship. As they approach Jerusalem they lift up their eyes to the hills surrounding Jerusalem, and they are reminded of God and the one from whom their help comes (121, 122). They come to God seeking his mercy (123), remembering that God has been their protector and deliverer (124). They affirm that their trust in God makes them strong and unshakeable, like the mountains, during the storms of life. And they affirm that God is to and for them like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, protecting them from their enemies (125). They remember that God had before turned their mourning into gladness, their despair into praise, their weeping into laughter - and they both celebrate and anticipate this power of God to bring some good out of the most hopeless situations (126). Then they think of the blessing God brings to the home, to the marriage and to the family, when there is a godly husband, a godly wife and godly children. When God is allowed into the home this way, it is the greatest of all earthly blessings.
Now we come to the final of these psalms collected to be sung on the way to the temple. I will choose one word that best describes each of these last six psalms.
129:1,2
"They have greatly oppressed me from my youth - let Israel say - they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me..."
The word is "resilient". God’s people are resilient. The pilgrims would have been thinking about all the persecution and opposition they had endured from their enemies over the centuries - from the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Amalekites, the Assyrians, and now the Babylonians. These were enemies committed to the destruction of Israel, but the pilgrims could celebrate the fact that though had been terribly oppressed, their enemies had not gained the victory.
Even today, I doubt if there is any existing group of people on the face of the earth which has received and is now receiving more persecution than the Jewish people, but it is a most amazing fact that they still manage to survive. Their enemies do not gain the victory over them. They are persecuted but not defeated. They are resilient.
The lesson for us is God’s people are a resilient people. We have our tragedies and problems and heartaches and persecution, but we manage to bounce back because God helps us. After each difficulty, and after the smoke clears, we are still standing. "A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all." (Psalml 34:19) "Put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:13) With God’s help we are still standing after the attack comes, after the smoke clears. We are a resilient people.
130:1-4
"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD, O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are to be feared."
The word is "forgiveness". There is no one like our God Jehovah who forgives. As the teachers of the law put it, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And I might add, "Besides Jehovah God, the Jewish and Christian God alone? With Jehovah and with him exclusively is the mercy that removes the guilt of sin and its consequences and puts freedom, peace and joy in its place.
When David wrote this psalm, he was in deep distress, not of circumstances but of conscience. He constantly mentions iniquities and begs forgiveness. He feels like a shipwrecked sailor carried overboard into the raging sea. "Out of the depths I cry to you O LORD..." Can you identify with David? Ever felt just mortified and overwhelmed by guilt from something you had done? "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand?" Here is the recognition that I am a sinner and I am doomed just as truly as the other guy. It is not just the other guy who is in trouble, doomed and condemned. It’s me!
But David finds relief for his situation because God is a merciful and forgiving God. "But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are to be feared." David knows what all the animal sacrifices pointed to - that forgivenenss is found in God’s substitute.
But we who are Christians understand and can sing this psalm even more truly than David - "...with you there is forgiveness..." We understand more fully than David that God is willing to forgive, how much he is willing to forgive and what he has done that he might be able to forgive. We understand that God sent his only begotten son into the world that whoever believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Jesus took upon himself the weight of human sin and bore it to the cross. He was arrested by the hand of divine justice and treated by justice as though he were a sinner. He was numbered with the transgressors and given over to wicked men who killed him on a cross. He died not for any sin of his own, but for the sins of his people he was smitten. "The chastisement of our peace was on him..." and "he was made a curse for us all... that we might be made the righteousness of God in him... He died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God."
Luther called this the greatest of the psalms because it encapsules the good news of Jesus. "If you, O LORD, kept a record of wrongs, who could stand? But with you, O LORD, there is forgiveness, therefore you are to be feared." It is precisely because our God is a forgiving God that we revere and fear and have gathered today to worship him. More than anything else, this is why we are here. We have found forgiveness, cleansing for a dirty conscience in Jehovah and his Son Jesus and there alone.
131
"My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore."
The word is "humility". I consider it one of greatest of all virtues, perhaps only exceeded by love. Humility. (Probably this psalm looks back to the time when David brought the ark back to Jerusalem. Compare 2 Samuel 6:21-22.) David epitomized humility. He does not push himself forward, but has to be drawn out of seclusion and away from his work as a shepherd. It wasn’t his idea to be king, but God’s. He does not take the throne by force but after Samuel anoints him, he patiently waits and waits until God finally gives to him the throne he had promised. He leaves it entirely to God to remove Saul. He lets Shimei curse him. He leaves Jerusalem before Absalom. Submission to God’s direction, resignation to his providence and contentment with what was allotted to him are the distinguishing characteristics of David.
He speaks of not being concerned with things too wonderful for me. He is not against ambition, but he is perfectly content to be just what God has made him, to go where God sends him, and to do what God has placed in his hands to do.
He describes himself as a weaned child resting on his mother’s bosom. He has gone through a time of weaning. It has not been easy for him, but painful. Now he has learned the lessons of a life of pain and suffering. He has learned he is not as big and great as he might have otherwise thought. No, he is human and subject to all the frailties of humanity. And he admits, "My heart is not proud... my eyes are not haughty."
Greatly blessed is the man who can say this because God has taught him through experience and suffering to be humble. The Jews coming back from Bablyonian exile could say this and the pilgrims could sing it. If God has taught us anything about being humble, we also should rejoice in it.
132:1-5
"O LORD, remember David, and all the hardships he endured. He swore an oath to the LORD and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: I will not enter my house or go to my bed - I will allow no sleep to come to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob." "I’m not going home, and I’m not going to bed, I’m not going to sleep, not even take time to rest, until I find a home for God, a house for the Strong God of Israel." (Peterson)
The word is "priorities". As the pilgrims make their way up to the temple, they remember not only when David brought back the ark to Jerusalem (Psalm 131), but they also remember whose idea it was to build this temple and they feel and express gratitude and admiration for David for whom building the temple was such a priority. David felt badly that he lived in such an expensive mansion while God’s earthly house was only a tent. And he determined he would do something about it. It became a top priority for him so that it was like he did not want even to enter his house or sleep until he provided a suitable dwelling place for the LORD.
The building of God’s temple was top priority for David - as it should be with us. The church is God’s temple for today and the building of this church, the appearance of this church, the money spent on this church, the time invested in this church ... ought to all be a top priority for us even moreso than was true with David. For we are building the temple of which David’s temple was only a picture. Our temple is the real thing.
O for Christians for whom building the church becomes a priority like it was with David. O for Christians who with David say, "I will not enter my house or go to my bed - I will allow no sleep to come to my eyes, no slumber for my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place fo the Mighty One of Jacob." O for Christians for whom building the church is a greater priority than building a house, more willing to spend time and money on God’s house than their own. O for Christians for whom building the church is such a priority they are willing to lose some sleep over it...
133:1
"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity." "How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!" (Peterson)
The word is "unity". David is first of all thinking of the uniting of the people of all parts of the land for the purpose of divine worship in the one place of the sanctuary. The pilgrims coming to Jerusalem could sing this psalm with special meaning. From all over the country and beyond, Jews would gather as one people to observe the special feasts at the temple.
But this was only a picture of a greater more real unity God desires to foster. Ever since sin entered into the world, there has been a state of division, particularly between people. First between Adam and Eve, then between their children and right on down to every man ever since. God intended to save us from sin and from all the divisions caused by sin including the division in human relationships.
That truth is even more understood by those of us who live this side of the cross. For Paul tells us that God purposed "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." God wants to foster unity in our homes, in our marriages, in our parent-child relationships, in our other family relationships and in the church.
If you have peace in your family, it is a wonderful thing. Today we have peace in our congregation, and it is a wonderful thing. It is what God wants. It is what people want. It is what will attract people to us. And we ought to be thankful for it and strive to nurture it. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"
134
"Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion."
This collection of psalms ends as all worship should end - with the voice of thanksgiving and praise. As we think over this list of psalms, we can remind ourselves of all the blessings for which we have to be thankful and should offer praise: God’s help in distress, his mercy, his protection, his deliverance and relief in times of trouble, his ability to turn our mourning into laughter and our darkness into light, his ability to bless the family and marriage and children, his strength to help us be resilient and carry on, his forgiveness, the lesson of humility, the lessons of proper priorities...
And as we praise and worship God for all of this, he blesses us still. There is a blessing in worship, in communion with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are blessed by being here and by our worship!