Joy in Going to the House of the Lord

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” - Psalm 122:1 (ESV) [Read Psalm 121]

A ‘Psalm of Ascents’ or a pilgrim psalm, this psalm, attributed to David as author, celebrates going up to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. It has become a doxology for all peoples everywhere who worship God and who enjoy going to the church house dedicated to the worship and gathering of His people.

Within the psalm which calls the people to worship is also a poignant reminder: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers!” (Psalm 122:6-7).

A few years ago Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, went to Jerusalem, and standing on the hill overlooking Mt. Zion and the temple mount, she made a plea to Christians everywhere to pray daily for a whole month for the peace of Jerusalem, quoting Psalm 122:6. We know the distress and troubles that sacred city has known almost since its founding. Because of its importance to both the Jewish and the Christian believers, it is held in great regard throughout the world, and people are eager to hear of news of the city and its inhabitants. “Peace” (shalom in Hebrew) means more than absence of strife. It also means health, well-being, wholeness. “Salem”, meaning “place of peace,” was the original name for the city when Abraham met the priest Melchizedec there and the priest blessed Abraham (see Genesis 14:18). Jerusalem is a place many pilgrims from many lands and throughout the ages, even to our present day, want to travel to and see. It was my privilege in 1978 to visit the Holy Land with my husband, the Rev. Grover D. Jones. A special sense of sacredness and deep spiritual thoughts come to any pilgrims who can visit this city which has seen centuries of history unfold, both religious and secular. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” foresees the day when the new Jerusalem is established and the Lord reigns, a time when Jerusalem comes into its fullness and “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10).

We gain experience in bowing before and worshiping the Lord God as we gather in our congregations and worship God together in concert and individually as believers. Strength and faith come from genuine worship. Since childhood, I have been “glad,” as the psalmist so aptly expressed, when it was time to go to the house of the Lord to worship. For those who claim they can worship as well alone as within a congregation, I do not doubt—if only we will. But there is strength in numbers gathered to adore and praise the Lord. The poet Henry van Dyke (1852-1933) expressed our desire to worship in the house of the Lord in corporate adoration as he penned the words of the hymn, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.” Set to the lofty “Hymn to Joy” tune by Ludwig van Beethoven (1170-1827), our hearts are lifted as we rejoice and sing:

     “Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,/God of glory, Lord of love;

     Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,/Op-‘ning to the sun above.

     Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,/Drive the dark of doubt away;

     Giver of immortal gladness,/Fill us with the light of day!”

    “All Thy works with joy surround Thee,/Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays;

    Stars and angels sing around Thee,/ Center of unbroken praise.

    Field and forest, vale and mountain,/ Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,

    Singing bird and flowing fountain/Call us to rejoice in Thee!” Amen!

And all the people said, “Amen!” -Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.01.2016