JAN/FEB 201 4
Songs for the Road ‘And you will sing … your hearts will rejoice as when people go up to the mountain of the Lord.’ Isaiah 30:29
Selwyn Hughes Revised and updated by Mick Brooks Further Study: Ian Sewter © CWR 2014. Dated text previously published as Every Day with Jesus: The Songs of Ascents (January/February 1996) by CWR. This edition revised and updated for 2014 by Mick Brooks. CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK Tel: 01252 784700 Email: mail@cwr.org.uk Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered Limited Company No. 1990308. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of CWR. Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. © International Bible Society. Other versions used: Phillips: J.B. Phillips The New Testament in Modern English, © 1960, 1972, J.B. Phillips, Fount Paperbacks; TLB: The Living Bible , © 1971, 1994, Tyndale House Publishers; Moffatt: The Moffatt Translation of the Bible, © 1987, Hodder & Stoughton Acknowledgements: Selwyn Hughes wishes to acknowledge the help he has received in preparing this edition from Eugene Peterson’s book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (formatio) and thoughts from the NIV Study Bible. Cover image: Getty/Iconica/Superstudio Quiet Time image: sxc.hu/colinbroug Printed in England by Linney Print
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A word of
ıntroduction … I
find the whole subject of memory intriguing, fascinating, and occasionally bewildering. Memories are incredible: they can paint our past with rose coloured glasses or with a fretfulness that is more frightening than the reality. Why is it that I can remember words to tunes and songs from 45 years ago, yet still forget my pin number, the names of my children and what I had for breakfast yesterday? Scripture regularly prompts us to remember. Remembering to remember is of vital importance on a personal level, (the prodigal son was prompted to action when he remembered his Father’s goodness: ‘even my father’s servants eat better than this’) and on a national level. This year in the UK and across Europe there promises to be much activity to mark the centenary of the First World War.The British Prime Minister recently stated: ‘remembrance must be the hallmark of our commemorations’. One of the reasons we struggle when faced with new or difficult situations and circumstances is that we often fail to remember the goodness of God in the past. God, in His wisdom, gave the children of Israel songs to sing: songs for their journey, songs we can still sing today, songs to remind us of God’s past faithfulness and love which gives us strength to face not only today but also whatever is ahead. Let’s learn these songs together at the beginning of this New Year. Have a God filled year, Mick Brooks, Consulting Editor Free small group resources to accompany this issue can be found at www.cwr.org.uk/extra. The EDWJ Facebook community is growing! To join the conversation visit www.facebook.com/edwjpage
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‘Songs for the road’
Wed 1 Jan
For reading & meditation – Mark 10:32–45
‘They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way ...’ (v32)
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ogether we stand on the threshold of another new year. What do the next 365 days hold for us? How can we prepare ourselves for the journey through the year? I know of no better way than by focusing on that section of the book of Psalms known as the Songs of Ascents. These songs, fifteen in number (Psa. 120–134), are thought by scholars to have been sung by Hebrew pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem to attend the three great festivals of worship – the Feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. We know from the Gospel of Luke that Jesus at the age of twelve ‘went up’ to Jerusalem for the Further Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41–42), and a similar Study phrase is used in our reading today: ‘they were on 2 Chron. 6:1—11; their way up to Jerusalem.’ I wonder how many of you reading these lines Eph. 5:15—20 on this first day of a new year will identify with 1. Why is the disciples and the people in this passage who Jerusalem were ‘astonished’ and ‘afraid’. Are you feeling special? apprehensive as you set your feet on the road 2. What did Paul that leads into the New Year? Does the prospect of encourage? the unexpected and the unknown fill your heart with trepidation? Then I think I have an answer for you. Learn to sing with me the fifteen psalms of the Songs of Ascents and you will find your fears are quietened and your feet become firm and steady. These ‘songs for the road’, as Eugene Peterson calls them, are a song book and a guidebook combined. They not only lift the flagging spirit but provide direction when the path is dark and unclear. Let’s learn to sing them well.
Father, on this the first day of a new journey I put my hand firmly in Yours. Help me travel the new road not with a sigh but with a song. Teach me to sing well, with an ear for the lyrics as well as the tune. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
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Thurs 2 Jan
‘Long obedience’ For reading & meditation – Hebrews 12:1–13
‘... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’ (v1)
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efore looking in detail at the Songs of Ascents we pause to consider that everyone who travels the road of faith requires help and encouragement from time to time. We need cheering up when our spirits flag and direction when the way ahead is confusing and unclear. The Songs of Ascents provide us with some of the best spiritual encouragement I know. Eugene Peterson (on whose thoughts I am drawing heavily in this issue) suggests that there are two Biblical designations for the people of faith: disciple and pilgrim. We are disciples because we are apprenticed to a Further Study Master, Jesus, and pilgrims because we are people who spend our lives going somewhere – going to Rom. 1:1—6; God. However, he further suggests that religion 1 Cor. 9:24—27 today has been captured by a tourist mindset. 1. What comes We spend our time visiting attractive religious from true faith? sites when we have adequate leisure, for instance 2. What are the when we make our weekly visit to church, and characteristics we occasionally dip into the Bible, go to see the of a successful newest Christian personality on the scene or runner? investigate the latest blessing. Tourists want only the high points, but a Christian cannot come to maturity that way. Friedrich Nietzsche is quoted as saying: ‘The essential thing in heaven and earth is ... that there should be long obedience in the same direction.’ Long obedience in the same direction. Nietzsche said many strange things, but he seemed to be thinking clearly when he made this statement. Where can we go in Scripture to learn the art of ‘long obedience’? Many passages and verses, of course, but most effectively to the Songs of Ascents. O Father, forgive me if I approach the Christian life more as a tourist than a pilgrim. Prepare my heart now for the days that follow as I seek to understand and put into practice the art of ‘long obedience’. In Christ’s Name I pray. Amen.
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Disappointments
Fri 3 Jan
For reading & meditation – Psalm 120:1–7
‘I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.’ (v1)
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e look now at the first of the fifteen psalms which comprise the Songs of Ascents. May I suggest, by the way, that even though we shall be exploring just a verse or two at a time, you read the whole of the psalm under consideration. This will mean that you read it repeatedly, but you will, I promise, benefit greatly from this spiritual exercise. Each of the psalms in the Songs of Ascents has a single focus. Often, one word can be used to summarise what each psalm is saying, and together they reveal to us the foundational aspects we need to understand what it means to have ‘long Further obedience in the same direction’. Study The psalmist begins by telling us he is in distress. Most likely, he has been the victim of lying and Eccl. 2:1—23; deceit (v2). His soul was in pain over what was going 12:13 on in the world, yet he did not repress his feelings 1. Describe and pretend that he was not feeling the way he the preacher’s did. Many Christians think that admitting to pain feelings. and disappointment concerning the way things are 2. What was his is not ‘christian’, lets the side down and results in conclusion? only negativity. If indulged in it can become that, but please note that to admit to something is not necessarily to indulge in it. We must not stay there but we must start there. Sometimes we have to be thoroughly disappointed with the way things are before we find the motivation to cast ourselves fully on the love and grace of God. This might seem a discordant note to strike as we embark on our journey, but the more keenly we allow ourselves to feel the disappointment that the world ultimately brings the more motivated we will be to join the journey of Christian discipleship. Father, help me see that dissatisfaction with the world is the first step in preparing to set out on a new journey with You. The more disillusioned I am with the world the more my appetite is whetted for grace. I am grateful. Amen.
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Sat 4 Jan
Before you can say ‘Yes’ For reading & meditation – Psalm 120:2
‘Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.’ (v2)
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e said yesterday that the more disillusioned we are with the world, the more motivated we will often be to pursue God’s way. If we are not willing to face the reality that we live in a fallen world, that the latest invention or nostrum is not going to bring us Utopia, that possessions ultimately fail to provide any lasting happiness, then we are not going to move along the rugged road of faith with a firm and steady tread. Commentaries use different words to summarise the message of this, the first of the Songs of Ascents, but the one I like best is renunciation. The psalmist Further seems to have made a decision to move away Study from the lies he has heard, and we too must Matt. 10:37—39; make a similar decision. Like the psalmist we Phil. 3:1—16 learn to recognise the lies we have been told 1. What did by the world – lies such as these: we are not Jesus explain? responsible for the way we are; we can find 2. What did Paul happiness independently of God. So often the renounce? truth of God does not begin to dawn upon us until we realise that what we have assumed was the truth – that we are the masters of our fate – is in fact a lie. The difficulty is that it is painful to admit that we have been taken in by the world’s lies but until we accept that we have, and confess it, we are not ready to move on into all that God has for us. If the psalmist was writing today he might have worded his prayer like this: ‘Save me, O Lord, from the lies of those who think they know the answer to life, but don’t.’ We must discover, as someone put it, that before we can say ‘Yes’ to God we must first learn to say ‘No’ to the world.
Father, I would make the prayer of the psalmist my prayer also. Rescue me from those who represent the world to me in terms that are not entirely true. I turn from the untrue to the True. Help me dear Lord. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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CWR Ministry Events Please pray for the team
Date Event
Place
Presenter(s)
Jan—Mar
Developing Pastoral Care (part 2)
Waverley Abbey House Andy Peck and team
18 Jan
Insight into Anger
WAH
Chris Ledger
23 Jan
Refreshing Your Spiritual Life
WAH
Andy Peck
27—31 Jan January Bargain Break
Pilgrim Hall
6 Feb
Preachers’ Day
WAH
8 Feb
Counselling Enquirers’ Event
WAH
12 Feb
Insight into Dementia
PH
Rosemary Hurtley
15 Feb
Christians @ Work: Working with Myself
WAH
Beverley Shepherd
Andy Peck
21—23 Feb Bible Discovery Weekend: WAH The Cross Through the Eyes of Jesus
Philip Greenslade
22 Feb
Peter Jackson
Insight into Bereavement
WAH
Please also pray for students and tutors on our ongoing BA in Counselling programme at Waverley and Pilgrim Hall and our Certificate and Diploma of Christian Counselling and MA in Integrative Psychotherapy held at London School of Theology. For further details and a full list of CWR’s courses, phone +44 (0)1252 784719 or visit the CWR website at www.cwr.org.uk Pilgrim Hall: www.pilgrimhall.com
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Sun 5 Jan
Vindictive-free For reading & meditation – Psalm 120:3–4
‘He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows ...’ (v4)
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learly, the first of the Songs of Ascent is not a cheery little ditty, but it is where we start. The psalm makes the point that we live in a world where lies and deceit are commonplace, and the sooner we face that painful fact the better. This is not negativism, this is realism. In verses 3 and 4 the psalmist tells us that God has sharp arrows which He aims at those who persist in lying and deceitfulness. These verses have been paraphrased as: ‘What will you get from Him, O crafty tongue, what punishment in full? Sharp arrows poured on you, and burning coals!’ What is the psalmist saying here? Further Study And why such strong language? Doubtless the psalmist’s persecutors had used forceful language Matt. 3:1—12; (perhaps even oaths) to make their point and to Luke 13:1—5 impress others with the ‘truth’ of what they said 1. What arrows about him, but he reminds them that the strength did John the of their vindictiveness will be met by the strength Baptist shoot? of the Almighty. As they have shot their arrows of 2. How were vindictiveness at him so God will send His arrows Jesus’ arrows of justice as their reward. ones of truth We must always remember, however, that God’s and revelation? justice is designed to lead a person to repentance. How unlike God we are in this respect. Honesty compels me to admit that we rather enjoy seeing those who have hurt us going through some painful experiences themselves. The psalmist, I believe, prays for his persecutors not out of a spirit of vindictiveness but with the desire that through the pain of ‘their reward’ they might be brought to the path of peace. How wonderful it would be if that same spirit was amongst us.
My Father and my God, help me keep my spirit free of all vindictiveness. May I be like Your own Son, and say to all who hurt or disappoint me: ‘Forgive them ... for they know not what they do.’ In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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A wake-up call
Mon 6 Jan
For reading & meditation – Psalm 120:5–7
‘Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!’ (v5)
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t is interesting, as Eugene Peterson highlights, that one of the first words in this psalm is distress and the last word is war. From start to finish the psalmist pours out his heart to God concerning the pain he feels at living in a world full of deceitfulness and lying. The reference he makes to Meshech and Kedar is designed to show how difficult it was for him to be living with people who acted more like foreigners than friends. The tribe of Meshech lived between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and Kedar were Arabian nomads. They typified barbarian society and represented the strange and the Further hostile. So the psalmist is implying that the Study people in his community treated him more like an outsider than one of themselves. ‘I am “a man Matt. 2:13—23; of peace”’, he says, ‘but those around me seem Acts 8:1—8 to be bent on hostility and combat.’ Paraphrased 1. What prodded his words might read like this: ‘I live in the Joseph to midst of people who behave like barbarians.’ This leave Israel and complaint is made not simply to give vent to his then return? feelings but to let his pain motivate him to move 2. What prodded from confidence in people to confidence in God. the believers His anguish penetrates through his despair and to share the gospel further? stimulates him to make a new beginning. The first word we need to remember then as we set out on our journey into the New Year is renunciation. It is the wake-up call we need to get us moving. As we said yesterday, there is nothing joyful about this psalm but it gets our footsteps started. Having rejected the world and the lies it feeds us about life we turn more readily to the truth. The rejection is also an acceptance, the leaving and arriving, the ‘No’ to the world a ‘Yes’ to God. Father, help me realise that I am called to be a pilgrim, not a tourist. I am on a path that leads away from the world, and upwards to You. I renounce all the world’s false assumptions to follow the path of truth. Thank You my Father. Amen.
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Tues 7 Jan
Able to keep For reading & meditation – Psalm 121:1–8
‘... where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord ...’ (vv1–2)
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t is not unusual when we say ‘No’ to the world and ‘Yes’ to God for a doubt to arise in our hearts as to whether or not God is able to keep us safe on the arduous journey that lies ahead. This is what the pilgrims sang about in the second of the Songs of Ascents. Commentators regard the psalm as conveying the same message as Philippians 4:7: ‘And the peace of God ... will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ The keyword of Psalm 121 therefore is this: kept! Let’s face it; travelling along the road of faith is not always easy. Many Christians are surprised at the Further Study number of difficulties they encounter on the way. A fairly new Christian said to me on one occasion, 2 Tim. 1:3—14; ‘I thought becoming a Christian meant floating to 1 Pet. 1:3—9 heaven on a bed of ease. But I have been rudely 1. Of what was awakened.’ So what do we do when, on the walk Paul convinced? of faith, we meet with some major difficulty 2. What or trip over some obstruction? Often when in shields us? trouble we scan the horizon hoping that someone will appear and come to our aid. However, the psalmist is illustrating the point that we do not look to the hills for help but to the God of the hills. This is not to say, of course, that the beauty of nature possesses no calming or healing influence – it does. But it is powerless to heal by itself alone. The hills cannot answer back. The mountains cannot love or laugh or weep. The help we need when troubles come is not found in nature. It can be a wonderful bonus but never a substitute. When troubles come we have a hope so much higher and mightier than the hills. Our help comes from the Lord.
O God, forgive me that so often I look around when I need help rather than looking up. Give me the attitude of the psalmist and all the pilgrims who have gone before me who looked not to creation but to the Creator. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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