There are fifteen psalms of ascent in Scripture, Psalms 120 through 134. There are now fifteen days until the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah. Many of us expect the LORD to do a mighty work on or about this date, September 16-17, 2012. I just happened to read a psalm today, Psalm 130, and suddenly got a feeling that these songs were important for us to read and assimilate in the coming days. It just seemed like a “now” word from God to me. Then I thought, “I wonder if this is one of the psalms of ascent?” I looked and it was. Then I thought, “we who diligently wait for Him are waiting to ascend to him, to see his face, to be like him. I bet these psalms are important for us right now.”
I felt the importance for us as I read verses 3 and 4 from Psalm 130 today. They say,
If you, O Lord, should (A)mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could (B)stand?
4 But with you there is (C)forgiveness,
(D)that you may be feared.
As with so many passages this one too reveals the entire Gospel of God. God does not “mark” iniquities because Jesus died for our sins. No one on earth could stand before God unless he had done this. His sacrifice on the cross reconciled us with and to our Father. Therefore God has forgiven our sins. But not only that, when we believe in Jesus he gives the earnest of the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in God’s ways and truly obey him. John tells us that all who really receive Jesus, who actually believe in his name, Jesus gives us the right to become children of God. We do not automatically become his children. We must learn his ways and come into agreement with him. We must desire to become perfect just as he is perfect. Thus we learn to fear him.
I believe the psalms of ascent will reveal to us the necessary steps to literally come into God’s presence, into that consuming fire, that baptism of fire, which every overcomer, every son of God, must be willing, even wanting, to endure. This is the Word of God for us today.
