Today you should read: Psalm 133
Our passage for today is the concluding “Psalm of Ascent, ” a series of songs written for Jewish men to sing as they journeyed to the Temple in Jerusalem.
To conclude this section, Jewish men sang a charge to the servants of the Lord, those who worked in the Temple, to “praise” or “bless” the Lord. The men traveling to Jerusalem were specifically singing to those who worked in the Temple overnight.
This Psalm includes an exhortation to the priests in the Temple to “lift your hands toward the sanctuary and praise the Lord” (v.2).
The priests then respond to those traveling and departing from the Temple by praying for them: “May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem” (v.3).
When we started our study over the “Psalms of Ascent,” our worship & college pastor, Todd Thomas, wrote about preparing our hearts for worship. Too often, we go into Sunday service without examining our hearts.
But, what about the end of service? When we leave our Sunday service, do we continue worshiping the Lord throughout the week? When the Jewish men left the Temple, they were praising the Lord and singing to Him. Is our worship just reserved for an hour and a half on Sunday mornings?
Just as you should prepare your hearts to worship before Sunday morning, we should prepare our hearts to worship throughout the entire week. How do we do this?
I encourage you as a part of continuing worship on Sunday to develop the habit of consistently reading the Bible, praying to God, and singing to the Lord. Maybe this week you can start a new Bible reading plan (continue reading Jumpstart daily with us!), start a prayer list, and create a playlist of your favorite worship songs. If you have multiple people in your household, do this as a family each day!
It is my prayer for you today that “the Lord, who made heaven and earth, [would] bless you…” with a disciplined heart to continue worshiping him throughout the week.
By: Lucas Taylor — West Campus Pastoral Ministry Apprentice
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