Sermon Follow-Up
This past Sunday at North Anderson, we began a new sermon series called, “Summer In The Psalms”. In the first message of the series, we unpacked the 122nd Psalm and were reminded of the gladness that accompanies the presence of God, the place of God, the gathering of the people of God, and the promises of God. The Lord really blessed our time in the Word, and I cannot wait to see what He does in our hearts this Sunday as we examine the 55th Psalm.
With that being said, while Psalm 122 certainly informs and instructs us on our posture and passion concerning corporate worship, it also, I believe, serves as an ancient prayer guide that shapes how we intercede for Israel today.
In this sermon follow up, I want to share how this Psalm has helped form the structure and content of my prayers for Israel.
As we pray for Israel, we should give earnest thanks to God for Israel’s place on the pages of Scripture & In Redemptive history
As we saw on Sunday, the Psalm begins by capturing the deep and sincere longing of the Psalmist heart to get to Jerusalem.
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” - Psalm 122:1-2
The mere thought (and certainly the sight) of the Tabernacle, in Davids’s day, and the Temple in the day of his son, Solomon, stirred the Jewish heart with great gladness.
Why?
Because the land of Israel, particularly Jerusalem (where the Tabernacle/Temple was located), is a symbol of God's presence and dwelling place, representing the spiritual reality of God's relationship with His people and the blessings that come from obedience.
Saints, one doesn’t have to look read very far into the scriptures to find Israel's importance in the Bible.
Think about it: God sovereignly and specifically chose the Israelites as His "treasured possession" and made a covenant with them, promising blessings and a special relationship. This beautiful covenant with Israel is foundational to understanding God's broader plan for humanity and His interactions with the world.
He promised Abraham was that it would be through his descendants that all nations would be blessed. This promise is ultimately fulfilled through the Messiah, who offers salvation to all who believe, regardless of their ethnicity.
The scriptures contain numerous prophecies about Israel, including their exile, restoration, and future role in God's kingdom. These prophecies link Israel's destiny to the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of God's eternal reign, providing insight into God's purposes and His plan for the future.
Jesus Christ, the central figure of the Bible, was born into the lineage of Abraham and David, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
Israel is the nation through which God's redemptive plan unfolded, culminating in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who was a Jew born into the lineage of Abraham and David.
In short, we cannot overstate the importance of Israel in the story of scripture and certainly in the story of salvation. For that reason alone, we should regularly thank God for Israel!
As we pray for Israel, we should give earnest thanks to God for Israel’s place on the pages of Scripture & In redemptive history
BUT THERE"S MORE...
In verses 6-8 of Psalm 122 we find an ancient prayer guide that shapes specifically how we should pray for Israel: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.”
Pay careful attention to that often-quoted 6th verse, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”
As we see the headlines and video clips that describe and accurately depict ongoing, terrible conflict in Israel, we might assume this text simply means praying for an end to war, or a negotiated peace in Israel. That is certainly an aspect of what praying for the peace of Jerusalem entails but as we continue the text, we find that it’s much, much more than that.
You see, the psalmist has a certain kind of peace in mind.
“They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee”
Notice that three times in this Psalm, we find the word, “peace”.
We translate this English word from the Hebrew word, shalom. Shalom means more than an end to war.
When read in context with the rest of the psalms of ascents, this peace is nothing less than a stability and security of the people of God that results in gladness, harmony. and worship.
The security, stability, gladness, harmony and worship that is petitioned for in this Psalm is only truly possible with the transformation of the people inside those walls into those who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind. This reality must guide our prayers for Israel.
You see, while weapons can be laid down and treaties can be signed, there is no real peace for anyone, Jew or Gentile, apart from King Jesus. Israel rejected the Messiah who came from within their lineage and continues to reject Him today.
So, as we pray for peace in Israel today, we must pray that her people would acknowledge Jesus as the rightful king on David’s throne.
In order for true and lasting peace with God to come to pass, the people of Israel, like the people of Palestine, Iran, Africa, America, and everywhere else, must confess that there is no salvation apart from Christ and his cross and trust Him by faith for their redemption.
“In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” – Ephesians 2:13-16
Praying for the peace of Israel,
Pastor DK
With that being said, while Psalm 122 certainly informs and instructs us on our posture and passion concerning corporate worship, it also, I believe, serves as an ancient prayer guide that shapes how we intercede for Israel today.
In this sermon follow up, I want to share how this Psalm has helped form the structure and content of my prayers for Israel.
As we pray for Israel, we should give earnest thanks to God for Israel’s place on the pages of Scripture & In Redemptive history
As we saw on Sunday, the Psalm begins by capturing the deep and sincere longing of the Psalmist heart to get to Jerusalem.
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” - Psalm 122:1-2
The mere thought (and certainly the sight) of the Tabernacle, in Davids’s day, and the Temple in the day of his son, Solomon, stirred the Jewish heart with great gladness.
Why?
Because the land of Israel, particularly Jerusalem (where the Tabernacle/Temple was located), is a symbol of God's presence and dwelling place, representing the spiritual reality of God's relationship with His people and the blessings that come from obedience.
Saints, one doesn’t have to look read very far into the scriptures to find Israel's importance in the Bible.
Think about it: God sovereignly and specifically chose the Israelites as His "treasured possession" and made a covenant with them, promising blessings and a special relationship. This beautiful covenant with Israel is foundational to understanding God's broader plan for humanity and His interactions with the world.
He promised Abraham was that it would be through his descendants that all nations would be blessed. This promise is ultimately fulfilled through the Messiah, who offers salvation to all who believe, regardless of their ethnicity.
The scriptures contain numerous prophecies about Israel, including their exile, restoration, and future role in God's kingdom. These prophecies link Israel's destiny to the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of God's eternal reign, providing insight into God's purposes and His plan for the future.
Jesus Christ, the central figure of the Bible, was born into the lineage of Abraham and David, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
Israel is the nation through which God's redemptive plan unfolded, culminating in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who was a Jew born into the lineage of Abraham and David.
In short, we cannot overstate the importance of Israel in the story of scripture and certainly in the story of salvation. For that reason alone, we should regularly thank God for Israel!
As we pray for Israel, we should give earnest thanks to God for Israel’s place on the pages of Scripture & In redemptive history
BUT THERE"S MORE...
In verses 6-8 of Psalm 122 we find an ancient prayer guide that shapes specifically how we should pray for Israel: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.”
Pay careful attention to that often-quoted 6th verse, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”
As we see the headlines and video clips that describe and accurately depict ongoing, terrible conflict in Israel, we might assume this text simply means praying for an end to war, or a negotiated peace in Israel. That is certainly an aspect of what praying for the peace of Jerusalem entails but as we continue the text, we find that it’s much, much more than that.
You see, the psalmist has a certain kind of peace in mind.
“They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee”
Notice that three times in this Psalm, we find the word, “peace”.
We translate this English word from the Hebrew word, shalom. Shalom means more than an end to war.
When read in context with the rest of the psalms of ascents, this peace is nothing less than a stability and security of the people of God that results in gladness, harmony. and worship.
The security, stability, gladness, harmony and worship that is petitioned for in this Psalm is only truly possible with the transformation of the people inside those walls into those who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind. This reality must guide our prayers for Israel.
You see, while weapons can be laid down and treaties can be signed, there is no real peace for anyone, Jew or Gentile, apart from King Jesus. Israel rejected the Messiah who came from within their lineage and continues to reject Him today.
So, as we pray for peace in Israel today, we must pray that her people would acknowledge Jesus as the rightful king on David’s throne.
In order for true and lasting peace with God to come to pass, the people of Israel, like the people of Palestine, Iran, Africa, America, and everywhere else, must confess that there is no salvation apart from Christ and his cross and trust Him by faith for their redemption.
“In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” – Ephesians 2:13-16
Praying for the peace of Israel,
Pastor DK
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