sermon: Psalms of Ascents
Songs of Our Pilgrimage
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Given 04-Feb-12; Sermon #1086; 73 minutes
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Richard Ritenbaugh, revealing that more space was devoted to the reign of Hezekiah in II Chronicles, II Kings, and Isaiah (11 whole chapters) than any other king, states that one of the reasons for this exposure was his example of repentance after the news of his impending death. In an assurance to Hezekiah that he would be healed and given fifteen more years to live, God worked a miracle, making a shadow appear to go backward on the sundial. Isaiah records a song or poem that Hezekiah wrote about this experience of gratitude for God’s intervention, intending it to be a legacy to posterity. J.W. Thirtle speculates that ten of the Song of Ascents or Degrees (Psalms 120-134) were composed by Hezekiah, indicated by the degrees of the sundial. A second theory posits that a choir of Levites would stand on the temple steps during the Feast of Tabernacles. A third speculation is that the Songs of Ascent refers to a musical style, perhaps moving from lower to higher pitch or from pianissimo to forte. A fourth theory is that the subsequent psalms (following Psalm 120) expand the magnitude of the theme of the preceding psalm. A fifth theory is that these psalms were composed by exiles returning from Babylon. The sixth theory is that these psalms represented pilgrim songs the faithful sang on the journey to Jerusalem to keep God’s holy days or festivals. The internal organizational pattern of these Psalms indicate a seven-one-seven pattern, with Hezekiah writing ten, David writing four, and Solomon writing the center psalm. There are 51 recurrences of the name Jaweh and 2 of Jah, distributed equally in both halves. The 15 psalms could be broken into five groups of three, in which the first psalm in each section would describe a condition of stress, trial, or tribulation. The second psalm would admonish trust in God, and the third psalm in each section expresses praise. The true pilgrimage in life is a journey upward to God, a pilgrimage we take with many others, a journey requiring God’s continual grace and protectio
Topics: (show)
Abib Ascents Exiles from Babylon Deuteronomy 16:16 Exodus 23:14-17; 34; 22-24 Hebrews 4:16; 12:1-3 Hezekiah Isaiah 38:1-11 II Chronicles 32:24 Fig poultice First Day of Tishri 14th Day of Tishri Hezekiah reigns Ma a-loth Nisan Persecution Pilgrimage Prayer for mercy Psalms 120-134 J.W. Thirtle Kyle and Deilisch 29 years Manasseh ‘Richardesque’ introduction II Thessalonians 3:1-5 II Kings:20:1-11 Songs of Ascents Sundial Tetragrammaton Thirtle’s theory
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