Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 122

[0:00] So today we get to continue our series in the Psalms of Ascent. We're going to be in Psalm 122 as Josh just read. And here's what's amazing is as we come to Psalm 122, we've already seen the first Psalm 120 sets us in a place where we are unfamiliar, where we feel like we're a sojourner, I'm not home. And see in Psalm 121, the pattern of starting a journey and calling upon the Lord for all things, especially when we're in need. But now in 122, we have the vision. And the vision is set before the journeyer, the sojourner, the pilgrim. And the vision is Jerusalem.

[0:46] So I have a question just for us. Going to church. Obviously, we're all here. We're at church. So thank you for coming. But going to church, delight or dread? I think we all go through seasons of delighting in going to church, but also dreading going to church, if we're honest, or anywhere in between. Maybe for some of you here today, you may be in a season of life where you have to drag yourself out of bed to be here.

[1:20] Maybe you're going through a hardship. Maybe you've been hurt by people in the church. Maybe you're simply block motivation. For whatever reason, it can be difficult to go to church in the morning on Sundays. Maybe for some of you here today, you are riding the high of your Christian life.

[1:35] Things are going well. You're eager to burst open the church doors and bless others and be blessed by others. Maybe for some of you here today, you are simply in a pattern of habit. Maybe going to church for you right now is no different than setting out the trash the night before the dumpster comes, dumpster truck comes. Or maybe it's no different than brushing your teeth before you go to bed. You're here because you've always gone, and that's just what you do. Regardless of where you might find yourself today, this morning, here's the most beautiful part. We're all here.

[2:08] We're gathered. And that's the beauty of this psalm is it's going to paint a picture for how beautiful it is when we gather. On September 15, 2014, I attended Seattle Pacific University. On that particular day, early in the quarter, I went into my class. I walk in, and there's a whole hub of students before the class starts that are just talking and talking and talking. There was something going on. It was clear.

[2:38] So I walk in to see my classmates discussing something, and I asked what was up. And one of the classmates handed me a newspaper. Seattle Times, front page, the rise and fall of Mars Hill Church.

[2:52] Where was I a member at? Mars Hill Church. And on this day, I see the rise and fall of Mars Hill. I see my pastor on the page, and I see the all of discussion and the wow of what was happening.

[3:10] That week, after reading the first part of that article, seeing the title and seeing people talk about Mars Hill in a distasteful way, my church, the place where I worship, the place that I was committed to. I was confused. I was shocked. I didn't know what was fully going on.

[3:29] But the following Sunday, I attended the same Sunday morning, 10 a.m. worship service as I always had for the last two and a half years. But this week, there were less than 100 people in that room that used to regularly house over a thousand at the same service.

[3:46] I continued to attend week in and week out for about a month. Then finally, the main campus pastor came on stage at the end of the service after about a month and notified us that this would be our last gathering as a church. They had sold the building to a local other church body, and Mars Hill Church was officially being disbanded. I walked out of that service literally no longer a part of a local church. That was a tough week, and the next few months were very tough.

[4:18] I'm starting my next year of school. The church that I loved and was a part of and was a member of in a matter of a month disappeared and was no longer gathering. That month or two was a hard one in that I was melancholic, I was unmotivated, I was isolated, and I was joyless. I lost my church family.

[4:39] The church and its leaders had failed, and for the first time in my life, my commitment to being a part of a local church was challenged. I really want to be a part of a local church. Is this what's going to happen to me again if I go to a new church? Is this what the church is about?

[4:57] Well, by the grace of God and by the grace of my wife, who was attending a different church we were dating, I got to end up going and trying her church out, and it was a major blessing to see again there's another local church gathering in the city right down the road, and they were worshiping like there was no tomorrow. After two months of not going to church, that was what I needed, to be with God's people. This psalm moves us forward in our pilgrimage, and it gives us a picture of an assembly of pilgrims that are traveling to Jerusalem that are poetically urging one another to go, let's go worship God together. But specifically, there's an assembly of pilgrims, and there's a conversation seem to be going on in verse one and two where the pilgrims are talking to David, who's the author of this psalm of ascent. He authored, I believe, four psalms in the Psalms of ascent. This is one of them, and there's a conversation in verse one and two where the pilgrims are speaking to David metaphorically, saying, David, let's go to worship God in his place where he can be found, Jerusalem.

[6:03] There's a conversation going back and forth, and David is excited about this. Here's the picture of Psalm 122. It's God's people celebrating God's house where they can gather and worship together.

[6:17] It's a beautiful psalm, and it's all about corporate gathering. So here's the big idea for this morning, the main point of Psalm 122.

[6:32] Joy, unity, and peace accompany God's people when they are gathered together in his presence. So we're going to break the psalm down to three sections here. We've got three points to go along with this. Psalm 122, verse one and two is the joy of corporate gathering. Verse three to five is the next stanza, if you will, and that is the unity of corporate gathering. And then finally, verse six to nine, which is the peace of corporate gathering. All three virtues are ours to claim in Christ when we gather together. So let's start with verse one and two right off the top of the psalm, the joy of corporate gathering. Now, where do I get the concept of joy here? That there's three byproducts every time we gather in the name of Christ to worship together. There's three byproducts, and I'm saying that they're joy, unity, and peace as we see in the psalm. Verse one and two give us a picture of joy, gladness.

[7:35] Where we get that is right off the bat when it says, I was glad when they said to me. So here's the conversation going on, hypothetical conversation. Let's assume there's a gathering of people, or excuse me, an assembly of people, and they're journeyers. We're going to Jerusalem. We've already established this.

[7:49] That's where we go on when the feasts come around to worship God, and they're metaphorically saying to David, what? I love this line, let us go to the house of the Lord. They're saying to David, will you come with us? Let's go. Let's go worship God at his temple. And David on the other side, metaphorically says back, yes, I was glad when they asked me. I love this, and it's a joy, and it's so contagious.

[8:20] Any time anyone's ever invited me to church with a joyful spirit, it's one of the most encouraging things. You see that people like to be at church. They love the assembly of his saints, to be with them, to sing, to pray, to read scripture, to devote ourselves to the teaching of God's Word, to communion, to baptism, to fellowship, all of the beautiful things that make a gathering a gathering.

[8:45] There's joy for David, even in his time and his place. And I'd like to talk about that for a second, because it really helps us understand the psalm. So if this psalm is written by David, which it is, in verse 1 and 2, it says, I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord.

[9:02] Verse 2, our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. So the theme, corporate gathering of God's people, but the place, the central aspect of this gathering that we're highlighting here, is actually the place, and it's Jerusalem.

[9:21] This psalm is written from the perspective of an individual songwriter, amid a group of travelers. And when it says, let us go to the house of the Lord, I want to take a second here to give you a modern equivalent.

[9:35] Perhaps the modern equivalent for us would be, let's go to church to worship Jesus. And the language here, in verse 1, suggests again that David is part of this caravan of pilgrims, not separate. Let us go.

[9:53] Yes, I was so excited when the people of God said that to me. David joins in with the pilgrims as they go. That's the image we're given here. Now, verse 1 gives us this idea that there's a collective whole that goes, which tells us that we are part of a bigger whole. That in a world, in a culture, that is raging with individualism, to take your faith and make it as personal as you can, not suggesting that our faith is not personal.

[10:20] Of course it is. Jesus reaches sinners, individual, and saves us, and turns us into saints. That's an individual process that happens in our heart through confession and belief.

[10:31] But, what are we saved into? A family. A family. A communal church. We are part of a bigger whole. We are not meant to journey alone.

[10:43] And this verse 1 is a picture of that. That in any season of life, you may find yourself in. To be drawn back to the people of God.

[10:55] That is the highest calling that we have. But verse 2 is interesting because you see this language of, our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Now there's some debate over how to interpret this verb in verse 2.

[11:10] The verb being, our feet have been standing. Have been standing. It's incredibly broad. The ESV says, our feet have been standing. The NIV translates it, our feet are currently standing.

[11:23] And the CSB translates it, our feet were standing. It's a lot of openness with this verb. But here's what I'm going to suggest to us. What we're left with is multiple possibilities. And perhaps David and his caravan of pilgrims have just arrived at Jerusalem.

[11:36] Maybe they just got up and they said, oh, we have stood here before and we're back. Maybe that's the case. Certainly a possibility. Or perhaps, this is what my take would be, perhaps they are remembering the last time their feet were standing within the gates of Jerusalem.

[11:53] Let's go to the house of the Lord. There's the future language. Let's go do it. And then verse 2, oh, our feet have stood there before. Our feet have stood within Jerusalem and seen the Holy City.

[12:07] It's a hopeful image. Regardless of the view, here's what we can take away for today. The point is that arriving to the place, physical place, where God's people are assembled to worship is a joyous event.

[12:24] And this has implications for us. Because again, maybe some in this room right now, you're sitting here and you're saying, I'm here. I willed myself to be here, but I don't have joy right now.

[12:39] Again, maybe some of us in here, you're like, I walked through the building, the doors, and man, I was so happy to be here. And the reality is that for any of us in any season we may be in, the truth is that God's people are broken, we are fallen, we are flawed, and we hurt one another.

[13:08] And we make mistakes. And we are continually at the feet of Jesus receiving forgiveness. But here's what astounds me, that the Lord uses the very same broken people to also bring healing and joy in each of our lives.

[13:27] That is the redemptive work of Christ in our midst. that each one of us can be a joy to our brother or sister. But it assumes something.

[13:40] That assumes that each individual that makes up the body is daily at the feet of Jesus. Repenting of sin, receiving forgiveness, and living in the rhythms of His grace.

[13:53] And that seems to be the picture of community and fellowship we get in verse 1 and 2. I was glad when they said let's go. Together we remember standing and worshiping the Lord where He can be found.

[14:05] Joy. When we gather together this is our calling brothers and sisters. Joy. In every aspect of the service it should bring about joy.

[14:20] So secondly we have verse 3 to 5 this is the unity of corporate gathering. Another byproduct for us is unity. And here's what's so amazing. Verse 3, 4, and 5 are going to give us a really concrete visual picture of the literal city of Jerusalem.

[14:36] And so what I'd love to do is you can throw up the slide there. I've got two pictures here. This will be the first one. I'll show you the next one next. This is a rendering. All the renderings are very similar which tells you the image and the representation we have is actually pretty accurate according to what the Bible described it as.

[14:54] This is the city of David. This is Jerusalem if you will. Way before you're like that doesn't look like Jerusalem I've been there. Maybe you've been there but that doesn't look like it. This is the initial city of David as it was called that served as Jerusalem.

[15:10] Served as the place where God gathered with his people. Okay? You can go to the next picture. Now you'll notice very similar rendition here but just this one's a little bit more specific. Okay? The walls that surround the entire city it's extremely secure.

[15:23] In the day and age where David lived right? Israel was known. Okay? The whole events of Joshua right? People know who Israel is the God of Israel that wins battles. So they have a fortified city and the very top of the city on the top that you'll see there's like a little little like a fortified building if you will.

[15:42] Okay? That's David. That's where he lives. That's his place. And likely that's where the tent would be that he set up to bring the ark into. Now why am I bringing all this up? Well this is a really cool image that happens in 2 Samuel chapter 6 verse 12 to 17.

[15:57] Let me read it real quick. This is the city of David. This is David's time. He wrote the psalm before King Solomon and the crazy amazing elaborate opulent Solomon of Temple of Solomon.

[16:09] Here's this story. It was told to King David the Lord has blessed the household of Obed Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David right here with rejoicing and when he who when those who bore the ark in the Lord the ark of the Lord had gone six steps he sacrificed an ox and fattened an animal and David danced with the Lord with all of his might.

[16:35] Here's the image maybe you're familiar with. He's dancing with all of his might and David is wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord was shouting with the sound of the horn as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David.

[16:48] Michal the daughter of Saul looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord and she despised him in her heart and they brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

[17:04] This is the city of David. You can see the little gate down here is likely where the ark went through into the city of David where a lot of the dancing and the leaping probably happened. Presumably the ark would have been brought to the top and placed in a temporary tent in the top where the ark of the Lord the symbol of his presence and his power within the midst of his people is now in the city of Jerusalem small contained but it's there and here is where we see Psalm 122.

[17:31] This is our context. Now there's a giant hill way up on the top that's Mount Moriah that's where Solomon is going to build his temple and it's going to be massive and regal and then from here Jerusalem just expands to a massive city but in this small little tiny city here's some things to note.

[17:52] The city of David here is likely about 12 acres or 15 football fields and this passage recounts David rejoicing over bringing the ark of the Lord in.

[18:06] Why? Why is he dancing? Why is he rejoicing in this crazy exuberant outward fashion that's used in so many contexts as a method of worship?

[18:17] Why? Let me tell you why. It's the same reason Psalm 122 David says the following I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the Lord.

[18:30] David loves to gather with God's people where he can be found. That's the story of Psalm 122.

[18:44] Joy as we spoke before but now unity. So where do we get unity in this Psalm? Here's where we get unity. Verse 3-5 focuses on the unity first of the physical literal Jerusalem.

[19:01] The buildings the walls the structure. You can see it's a fortified city. It's tight. It's clean. It's structured. It's strong. But then secondly it focuses on the unity of the twelve tribes of Israel when they gather from afar in this city which here's my logistical question how do you fit twelve tribes into this city?

[19:19] I don't know how they do that. That would have been crazy. Maybe it would have been on the outside too. Who knows? But presumably if David wrote this and this is what Jerusalem looked like twelve tribes come together.

[19:30] So in other words the physical unity of the actual city served as a mirror to the physical or the spiritual unity of twelve different tribes all coming together as one Israel.

[19:46] So let's read this verse 3-5 Jerusalem built as a city that is bound firmly together to which the tribes go up the tribes of the Lord as it was decreed for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

[20:00] Their thrones for judgment were set the thrones of the house of David. I can't think of a better hopeful description of the church that if someone came from the outside into our midst and they saw our gathering on Sunday morning and they were to leave and tell others about it here's what I pray they would say man that that group of people was firmly bound together.

[20:28] It's intentional. This is poetry. Why when we're talking about the gathering of the people of God why is there a physical attribute of Jerusalem thrown here that it's built as a city bound firmly together?

[20:45] Why does that matter that the city is bound firmly together? It's poetic. It's describing that the nation of Israel gathers in this place and there's a congruency.

[20:58] The city is bound together and the people are bound together. Here's what's so amazing. Look with me in verse 4 to which the tribes go up. The tribes of the Lord as was decreed for Israel.

[21:12] The tribes were made up of twelve at this point. There's twelve tribes. The Levites not having a land to own because God is their inheritance. But you've got all of the tribes of Israel that are scattered throughout all of the area.

[21:28] Joshua the end of Joshua the tribes were allotted land. These twelve tribes come together at the feasts and they all bring their separate cultures their separate perspectives their separate backgrounds they're basically different cultural groups at this point.

[21:45] They come together and when they are all together as one they are Israel. They're not Benjamin they're not Judah they're not Simeon and on and on they're Israel.

[22:00] Here's the picture. The diversity of God's people come together in one physical place where God is located where God can be worshipped and as they do that they are unified together as one collective people of God worshipping the same God.

[22:19] How in the world does this apply to the church? Hopefully you see it. even though these tribes were culturally and geographically distinct they collectively made up one people.

[22:32] But just like the 12 tribes who would leave to go back to their lands and cultures after the feast we too gathered together in one physical place as one body worshipping one God we too will leave this building even in the next hour or so.

[22:50] We will go back to our lands or rhythms of life. But what is it that stays the same about us even though we have differences? The Bendewalls are going to head back out to Liberty Lake.

[23:01] We are going to head down the South Hill. Medical Lake. Sorry. Not bad. We are going to go down the South Hill. Wilsons are going to head all the way back up north. You guys are going to go hills. You guys where are you going?

[23:11] You are going to Lamont. We are literally like tribes going around. Okay. What is it that we retain when we scatter? Nothing.

[23:21] It is only when we get together that we have unity. No. Of course not. Here is the beauty of Christ. Here is what we retain, the gospel at work within us.

[23:33] When we go back to our lands this week, the hospital, the farm, the hangar, the office, the home, we retain our redemptive identity and we shape the places we go with that identity.

[23:45] identity. You want to be the light of the world where God has placed you? Remember your identity. Live out the reality of being a part of Jesus' body in the world.

[23:59] Sing, pray, read in public, express gratitude that makes you stand out. Outdo others in love in your workplaces, in our secular world, in the places that God has us.

[24:10] Embody the spirit of the gathered church when we scatter. Which is what? Well, joy. The gospel.

[24:21] Our redemptive identity. But also in verse 5, I want us to notice this. This is pretty cool. Verse 5 seems possibly out of place. What does this have to do with the theme of unity of the city and of the people?

[24:32] It says this, their thrones for judgment were set. The thrones of the house of David. Now again, presumably David's alive here and he wrote this or maybe it's one of his psalms that they've taken regardless.

[24:45] It's around the time of David. Here's why verse 5 is so important. This means, when it says the thrones of justice here, one commentator says this, the thrones of justice, the thrones of the house of David in verse 5, refer to the role of the monarchy in ancient Israel as the dispenser of justice to the people.

[25:04] Why is that so important? This means that whoever sat on the throne over God's people had the responsibility of upholding truth and honor by quitting the righteous from all punishment and delivering justice on the wicked.

[25:22] Who's king at this time? It's immediately David. And the psalm has something interesting. Notice the plural noun here. It doesn't say the throne of David. What does it say? The thrones of David, which tells us this, that this is an open-ended, forward-looking image in the psalm that assumes the just rule and reign of all who follow the Davidic royal line.

[25:43] Every king that sits from David's line on this throne, all of them, blessed be them all as they enact justice in this city and among us. Well, there is one who will rule with all justice and acquit sinners of wrongdoing once and for all through his blood and who will also enact justice on the wicked once and for all.

[26:07] The righteous will dwell in this king's kingdom forever and the wicked will be separated from this king forever in eternal death and torment. Psalm 122, verse 5, is predictive of Jesus Christ.

[26:22] His name is not used. There is no explicit reference. But I want us to see it in this light. That without justice, a city has no peace.

[26:34] It has no unity and it has no joy. But Jesus has come, is king, and will come again and bring total and true justice now through the gospel and forever through the gospel.

[26:53] Which is why Jesus says in Matthew 25 of himself, when the son of man comes in glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all of the nations and he will separate people from one another as shepherds separate sheep from the goats.

[27:09] And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats he will place on the left. That king is coming. And for those of us who have found ourselves righteous through his redemptive work, his perfect life to fulfill the law's demands that we could not, his sacrificial death to take the punishment do us and satisfy the wrath of God and his victorious resurrection, which promises new life when we die, both now and when we die, future looking.

[27:47] That Jesus who accomplished that work and gave us that good news of the gospel, that is the one who will reign one day and he will gather unto himself all those who are righteous because of Christ.

[28:02] So ultimately, Psalm, or verses three to five here, they paint a picture of God's people gathering together in all of their diversity and worshiping one God and one Lord.

[28:17] He has redeemed every tribe, tongue, and nation. One day we will see that gathering unified under his rule. Finally, verses five to nine.

[28:28] Verses five to nine, or excuse me, six to nine. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they be secure who love you. Peace be within your walls and security within your towers. For my brothers and companions' sake, I will say peace be within you.

[28:42] For the house, the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Now here's what's so amazing with the final section here. If the earlier section talked about the unity, this section is going to talk about the peace, finally and lastly.

[29:01] The peace of corporate gathering. I want you to notice three times in the five verses five to nine, the word peace is used. Our theme here, finally, is that as the people gather together in worship in Jerusalem, peace is defined.

[29:19] Now Jerusalem is thought to be named, the literal word Jerusalem is thought to be named after the word shalom, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Jerusalem. It's very similar, that's the etymology at least that we think.

[29:30] So another title of Jerusalem is literally the city of peace. This is amazing. Although Jerusalem was not always a city of literal peace as we know by reading the Bible, this is a fitting description for the city that God took up residence in via the ark here and one day the temple and finally us, the living temple.

[29:49] But mainly, this is a fitting thing for God's holy city because it will be the eternal city where God and all his saints will dwell together forever in peace. So when it says, pray for the peace of the city, peace be within the walls, for the sake of the people who gather, the brothers and the companions, say to one another, peace be within you.

[30:14] The image here is this, that the people of God within the walls would feel secure, they would feel God's presence, and they would feel unity and joy. And what does all that bring?

[30:25] What's the byproduct of all those things? Peace. So here's what we ought to do. How does this work for us? How does it apply to us? Pray for peace.

[30:39] Pray for peace. Yes, for Jerusalem, the to-be place where God's people will go and gather. But seek the good of the holy city.

[30:52] Again, we're looking forward to reality here. The psalm opens in verse 1 by saying the house of the Lord. It ends in verse 9 by saying the house of the Lord. The bookend of the psalm is the house of the Lord.

[31:04] We've already looked physically, literally, Jerusalem is the house of the Lord for Israel. Where is the house of the Lord for you and I today? The church right here is the house of the Lord. We know that because 1 Corinthians 3 says, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you?

[31:20] If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy and you are that temple. Here's what I want us to notice. That last word, you are that temple, is plural. Is our physical, literal, individual body a temple of the Holy Spirit?

[31:34] In a sense, yes, because he lives within us. But here's what Paul is saying more specifically in that section. God's temple is holy and you are that temple. He's saying you, plural, the gathered church are the temple where God will indwell.

[31:47] Every time the church gathers, God's spirit is among us. Just like Israel would gather in Jerusalem to be with God and his spirit and his presence, so too when we gather, this is the reality.

[31:58] But then finally, Israel, the literal city of Jerusalem, was the house of the Lord. For the church, the gathered church is the house of the Lord. But finally, for the universal people of God, the holy city is the house of the Lord.

[32:11] Revelation 21. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

[32:23] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven of God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

[32:35] And I heard, behold, I heard a loud voice, the dwelling place of God is with man. And he will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. Where is the house of the Lord?

[32:50] Here now? Jerusalem, physically, for Israel? But forever, in eternity? It is the holy city. And we are told, in verse 9, for the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

[33:11] Brothers and sisters, how do we seek the good of the holy city? By seeking the good of the literal city by which we live? By seeking the good of the church that we're a part of?

[33:25] What does all this mean? It means that, as God's gathered church, we advance his kingdom, here and now.

[33:39] Namely, his glory in the world and the good of all. The great commission, bringing others to see the beauty of Jesus, that they too might experience joy, unity, and peace in the city of peace, like we feel and we gather.

[33:51] But more specifically, I would argue, based on this text and others, that the greatest evangelistic witness the church has in the world is her gatherings.

[34:04] What do I mean by that? When we gather together, for us, Sunday morning, other places might be another day, another time, when we gather together, we proclaim the excellencies of Jesus.

[34:16] We remind ourselves of sin and the need to repent. We're going to take in a minute for the Lord's Supper. We remind ourselves of the grace to be found at the altar of the cross. that Jesus has forgiven us our sins.

[34:28] We find joy and unity and peace through singing God's word to one another and worship. We confess sins to one another.

[34:40] We listen to one another. We fellowship. We carry each other's burdens. As we do each and every one of these things, here's what we're doing. We are seeking the good of the city by seeking the good of one another.

[34:56] As the gathered church, we have an obligation, and it is to continue to prioritize gathering.

[35:08] Each week, I pray we would say in our hearts, I long for Sunday. Again, life is full of many things, and there's times and seasons where we will not be excited about going to church like I was not.

[35:23] But life is full of great experiences and amazing moments also. Maybe one of the days of this upcoming week, this very week, you will experience some amazing things that happen. And I pray you do. But I want to reassure us that there really is no replacement for gathering with His saints in corporate worship.

[35:41] And one day, this will be our endless experience. We will experience the fullness of joy, unity, and peace with God and His people. One day, we will be ushered into an eternal Sunday.

[35:51] And that eternal Sunday is simply an extension of these Sundays. The scope and quantity of the people and the voices that sing out surely is greatly magnified. But the object of our worship is the same.

[36:07] Both in this room today and in that holy city one day, with every tribe, tongue, and nation. We will behold Jesus, our beloved Savior.

[36:19] He will be the delight of God's people and the fixation of our hearts and eyes forever. So I want to encourage us to long for Sunday, brothers and sisters.

[36:32] To see our worship gatherings is more than just a place where some things happen. A place where we eat bread and we drink juice and we talk about our lives.

[36:44] More than all of that, may we see our gatherings as a picture of the eternal unity, joy, and peace that is to come one day in the new Jerusalem together.

[36:58] Our eternal Sunday is coming where the light of Jesus' face will be our light and ever-affectionate object of our ceaseless praise. gospelcole