Let Us Go Up To The Mountain Of The Lord

Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. Because, in a sense, that's the title of what I want to talk to you about this afternoon. I might offer a suggestion. You might want to see 96 afterwards. So, you know, I don't know if that's set in stone already, but that's an idea. Anyway, as we observe the Feast of Tabernacles every year, and as I know, many of you have done that for much of your lives.

Many of you have gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of 40, 50, 60 years.

And for you girls, you've gone to the Feast all your lives. You've been there every year since you were born.

For some, for a few, this is newer.

And yet, one of the primary themes that we focus on whenever we go to the Feast, whenever we listen to messages, and even when we produce brochures.

Isaiah 2, verse 3, is a focus of what it is that we're thinking about. What it is that we are wanting to have our minds, our lives, our hearts focused on as far as God's coming kingdom. And in Isaiah 2, I'm not going to read the whole section there. There's four, five, six verses there that give a picture of the world to come, a picture of the millennial rule of Jesus on earth.

But a part of that is what I want to focus on today in verse 3.

It says, many people shall come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

See, that was a prediction, a prediction, a prophecy of what is going to happen. Now, we see more about that in many other parts of the Old Testament, and we see more about it even at the end of the book of Revelation.

We see how the Christ is going to come and rule for a thousand years. It talks about that rule and talks about us ruling and reigning with Him. And so, in a sense, we are preparing, preparing. Or, I thought about that. How is it that we're preparing for the world tomorrow?

How is it that we prepare? Or, I know sometimes we have thought of it and even mentioned it at times. How are we qualifying?

I don't directly like that particular description, because I don't know that I'd ever qualify for what God is offering me as a free gift.

But, how is it that God is developing us to serve with Him?

In His future Kingdom?

Well, that's what we think about when we think about the fall holy days, the coming of Christ, the binding of Satan, the millennial rule of Christ, and then God continuing to work with all of humanity.

See, that's what the final fall holy days, the end of the holy day season for every year, that's what it focuses on. And that phrase in Isaiah 2 verse 3, let us go up into the mountain of the Lord, is exactly what we should have in mind when we go to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now, I want to read another verse here. This verse is in Deuteronomy 16.

As again, many of you know, much of the instruction that we have about observing the Feast are information that you read that Moses wrote down and that he passed on to the people of Israel.

And yet, we can very clearly see that the Feast of Tabernacles was kept in the New Testament. You see an example in John 7 about Jesus telling His disciples, or no, in that case, it wasn't His disciples, it was His brothers. Well, you all go on to the Feast. I'll be there, or, you know, I'm not going right now. And we find that in the middle of the Feast, He appears in the temple to start teaching.

And then at the end of the Feast, He's making another teaching opportunity, taking another teaching opportunity and explaining that. That's all in John 7, and I'm not planning to go through that today.

But I do want to focus on one verse here in Deuteronomy 16, because here in Deuteronomy 16, you have a section that talk about the observance of the holy days.

And particularly, beginning in verse 13, it says, you shall keep the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles, for seven days when you have gathered in the produce of the threshing floor in your winepress. And so, this was in the fall. It was in the end of the year. You know, they were to gather together again as He directed.

And I want us to focus on verse 14. What does verse 14 tell us as we go to the Feast of Tabernacles? What does it say we're to do? Well, it says, rejoice during your festival, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, as well as the Levites, the strangers, the orphans, and the widows resident in your town.

It says in verse 15, seven days you shall keep that festival for the Lord at the place that He shall choose, for the Lord God will bless you in all of your produce and all of your undertaking, and you shall surely celebrate. Now, there are a number of different places here in chapter 12 and chapter 14. And in chapter 16, you see different instructions given, not contradictory, but all kind of accumulative about what is it that we're supposed to do. But what is it that verse 13 says you're to keep the Feast of Tabernacles during this seven-day period of time, and you shall rejoice in that feast, you and your son and your daughter.

Now, I think that also implies that your wife should also enjoy the feast. You, your wife, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the stranger, or the sojourner, the fatherless, so the orphans and the widow who are within your gates.

Now, obviously, it was a community affair, or it was an affair where someone from an area outside of Jerusalem would be going to Jerusalem to appear before God, to go up to the mountain of the Lord, is a reference to going to Jerusalem and to celebrating the feast where God had set His name.

That was what they were to do. And, of course, we, the application to us today, is similar, but not exactly the same. But I want to emphasize to you what verse 14 is about.

And in our 2019 Festival Planner, which we put out every year, we have a lot of information off. It's about housing. It's about different feast sites and housing and a lot of things that you need to know in order to prepare to go to the feast. But there are always a number of articles there about planning, about budgeting, about helping others, about giving, about serving, about what it is that we are, why it is that we are appearing before God in this way.

And in this Planner of this year, and I know all of you have that or you were sent that some long time ago, there was an article that was primarily focused on giving to others. And John Elliott wrote that article. He gave some very good pointers on how to go about doing that.

But I wanted to read the introduction. The introduction that he made, I think he made up, this introduction that really highlights what Deuteronomy 1614 means.

Now this is, it says at the beginning of the article, imagine this scenario.

And so if you will, just think about what this is describing. So he says, Joanna and the wife of Tobiah are preparing more food and supplies than they did last year.

Tobiah and I have built a bigger ox cart to carry it all, along with the sacks of grain and the jugs of oil and wine and some water for sharing on the daily walk. The feast is approaching and our preparations are underway. The departure for Jerusalem will take place soon.

Widow Muriel and her children are saying that they will bring along their three lambs.

Now we already heard about lambs today. And yet he says those lambs will stray easily.

So I'm going to add them to our flock where we can try to keep them together. Levite Ethan has copied all 15 songs for our joyous ascent to Zion. His young son insists I guess they want to hear the phone all through the building. His young son insists that he will provide deer on the journey with his new bull.

Maybe. Amaziah complains that some fail to repair their carts beforehand. And since several always break down on the climb past Mount Gerizim, he intends to bring woodworking tools to help make the cart repairs using wood from the forest.

Widow Hannah says she can't make it this year. Too old and no tent. Anyway, but Abner's oldest son says, or excuse me, Abner's oldest teen, it's not a son, it's a daughter, says that she's too mature to dwell in her family tent. So she has her own tent and will share it with Widow Hannah.

Garib built a bench on his cart for Hannah to ride. They informed her that she is coming. Last year, the widow Zara and her little ones tinted on a slope, and so each morning awoke together in a heap. This year, Tobiah and I must level a new spot for their tent and first lay some straw down upon it. Geriah's wife died last year in childbirth, so Joanna plans to bring his oldest daughter to some of the women's gatherings. Perhaps they can also mentor her in helping rear her growing siblings. He says this will be a busy feast in Jerusalem, and many will appreciate the helping hand. Eight days will be filled with meals, navigating to and from daily services, preparation and cleanup, hauling of water, and tending children in livestock with lots of fellowship. The air will abound with the aromas of savory food, sounds filled with stories, songs, and laughter, lasting late into the night. And so that's a scenario that we are asked to think about, and that's in connection with Deuteronomy 16.14. What's specific about that? Well, going to the feast was a community affair. Going to the feast was a, you know, we are all to go to appear before God. We are to help one another be able to do that as we need to. And of course, as I said, our setting is a little bit different today. You know, I don't think many of us are going to take ox carts to the feast. Brandons take a horse trailer, but anyway, they've got to do something. We should have had everybody stock that horse trailer whenever you took it. Anyway, you know, it goes ahead to describe thousands of years later, we too are going to prepare to travel and keep the feast in a place that God has chosen. However, in this 21st century, the service industry will provide our transportation, handle our lodging needs, and serve our meals and provide us, you know, much of the things that you read about as far as here in Deuteronomy. Now, those are things that others will do and that we will be able to access. The feast this year will involve, will again involve travel and lodging and meals and worship services and fellowship and social activities, along with all the challenges that accompany them. But it is through our efforts of love and service to one another that our individual experiences can actually be filled with joy. See, now, obviously, that's an introduction to an article about helping others, serving others, giving to others, providing as a need is seen and then met. See, that's an important aspect of celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. If we back up to Deuteronomy 14. Deuteronomy 14 verse 22, it tells us, and this section is actually going over a section about tithing. And, of course, tithing is simply another way of saying in God's terminology, tinthing. You know, we do recognize that God expects us to tithe. And He tells us that our first tithe is to Him. He tells us that we are to give that to Him. And, of course, that's what, you know, all of us contribute to the work of the church. That's what all of us are involved in helping do the work of preaching the gospel around the world. But here, it says in verse 22 that we should set aside a tithe of all the yield of our seed that is brought in yearly from the field. And in verse 23, in the presence of the Lord, in the place that He will choose as a dwelling for His name, you shall eat that tithe. And so this is obviously not talking about a first tithe, but a, what you would call a festival tithe. You shall eat the tithe of your grain and wine and oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock. And then it explains why should you do this?

Why should you follow this godly prescription for preparing financially and then preparing as you would travel to the feast? The reason is at the end of verse 23, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. See, in essence, that's one of the primary reasons that we go to the Feast of Tabernacles. It says in verse 24, if when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you're unable to transport it because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set His name is too far from you, well then you can turn that into money, and with the money secure in your hand go to the place that God will choose. Spend the money for whatever you wish, oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, whatever you desire, but you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together. And in verse 27 it concludes, as for the Levites, the Levite residents in your town don't neglect them because they have no allotment or inheritance with you.

Now again, I know, again, for the most of us, you know, we've read this many times.

And yet again, there are some important things that are pointed out here that are in connection with our preparation for year to year. Year to year, we are to prepare for the next year, and the next attendance of a festival of in-gathering, which is another name that the Bible uses for the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Booths. We also, and I want to point this out here in Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23 is a chapter that does detail all of the Holy Days, and it begins in verse, let's see, verse 33. On down to the end, it's talking about the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. But the only part of this that I want to focus on is the very beginning, because here in verse 1, the Lord spoke to Moses, said, speak to the children of Israel and tell them this. These, the things that we're going to read about throughout the rest of this chapter, these are the appointed festivals of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed festivals. And so here then you see them detailed. You see them detailed as far as when they are, how long they are. You see them described in what would be a Hebrew calendar, and so a Jewish calendar that can be accessed today. We use a Roman calendar, and so obviously we've got to translate that to what we use today, and certainly that has been done. But the point I'm making is that these are my appointed festivals. See now, who among us did God consult to determine when this should be? None of us. Not at all. God's one who gives the direction. He gives, he didn't choose December 25th, and he didn't choose March or April sometime for religious celebrations, although the Feast of Unleavened Bread is going to be in that time frame as well. But he did say that his appointed festivals, and then he enumerates the Passover in the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day, the Last Day. He's the one who designates when that is, and actually as we read here in this section in Deuteronomy 14, it pointed out in the place that the Lord will choose. And so, you know, do we decide where God is going to meet with his people?

Well, we decide if we want to go to Branson, or if we want to go to Colorado, if we want to go to England, or if we want to go to Chile, or if we want to go to Wisconsin Dells. There are a number of different options that we know we have. Let's see, what it is, is that we're appearing before God, and at his appointed festival. And so it's important for us not to miss that point. See, God is the one who has appointed these assemblies for us. And of course, he's going to use those assemblies if we appear there in a right attitude, if we appear there learning, desiring to learn, desiring to benefit from what he provides, then we're going to, you know, we're going to be the ones who will benefit from that. And of course, that will be not only a part of our obedience to God, but it will be a blessing to be able to draw closer to God in that way. To tie this into our New Testament application of this, here in Hebrews 11, we read a section that is about the people of faith. The people of faith that are described in Hebrews 11, Abel and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and later Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and David. You see all these people who are described in this chapter by, I believe, the Apostle Paul. And yet in verse 13, he says, all of these died in faith.

They died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw those promises and they greeted. They welcomed those promises and they confessed that they were strangers in pilgrims on the earth. For people in verse 14 who, speaking this way, make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country. They desire a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God. And indeed, he has prepared that country, that city, for them. See, that's directly talking about a New Testament desire for the kingdom of God. See, the people listed here are all Old Testament personages, and yet they envision what God would do in the future. And of course, that's what we are doing today. As we keep the fall Holy Days, as we look toward the coming of Jesus and the millennial rule of Christ, then we are envisioning that new country, that new establishment of the rule of God here on earth. So I want to go over, as we prepare for these fall festivals that will begin next month, actually toward the end of September, and then run through the middle part, or a little later than middle part of October. You know, that's when the fall Holy Days occur, in particular, the Feast of Tabernacles from October 14th to the 21st. As we prepare for those fall festivals, what is it important for us to keep in mind? Is it just another something to do? You know, as I said, many of us have done this for many years. Wouldn't we say, I think I would have to get all of you to agree, that in observing the Holy Days of God, God has completely rearranged your life. Completely, completely rearrange your life, from the Sabbath to the celebration of the Holy Days, to learning about what those days picture, what they mean. And so it's important for us to keep in mind. There's a number of lessons that we need to keep in mind, and I want to remind us of that. I went through what I did earlier, as far as just getting us to think about the incredible need to help one another be able to prepare for the feast, to be able to provide assistance to one another, as that might be needed. But as I did mention here in chapter 16 of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 16, again, let's see, the verse I want to focus on this time is Deuteronomy 16.

Excuse me, I think I'm mixing that up. Deuteronomy 14 is what I was focusing on. Deuteronomy 14 says you were to eat the tithe that you are using to attend this festival, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. See, that's a primary focus. A primary focus, I guess, if we want to say, if we want to give numbers to these, that would be the first thing. Why are we observing the feast? Well, we're doing that in order to obey God, of course. That's initial, but in order to learn to fear God. And see, why is the fear of God important? Well, what we read in, again, you know, the direction to Israel and what we find in the New Testament is God expects us to have a proper respect and awe of His involvement in our lives, enough so where we are able to benefit from this type of instruction and direction.

You find here in Deuteronomy 17, you see an example that also is written down. This is regarding the king. Verse 14, when you come into the land that the Lord is giving you and have taken possession and settled in it. And when you say, I'll set a, please set a king over us so that we can be like the other nations. See, that was something that God, God realized that that's probably what they would want or that that's what would come about. And we read about that in 1st Samuel. But he says in verse 18, whenever that king is appointed, and of course, as we did go through here several weeks ago, that first human king was Saul, later David, and following that, Solomon, and then others were kings in Israel or Judah. But at this point, Deuteronomy 17, Deuteronomy 17 verse 18, when that king has taken the throne of his kingdom, he should have a copy of the law written for him in the presence of the Levitical priests, and it shall remain with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life.

Again, this is what the king was supposed to do. Now, it doesn't appear Saul did much of that. I'm pretty sure David did quite a bit of it. But clearly Saul failed in this way, but it says it was to remain with him, and he was to read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of the law and the statutes. See, that was a directive to the king, that you should study the word of God in order that he would learn to fear God. See, why is the fear of God important? Well, if we don't have the respect, if we don't have the appreciation or the gratitude for what God has done for us, for what he is doing in our lives, what he is shaping in our hearts and producing in our mind, in our thinking, if we don't have the right respect for that, then we're going to miss out. We're going to miss out a great deal. In Proverbs, you have several different statements. Proverbs 1, verse 7, says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

See, we'd have to say that with 7.7 billion people on earth, you don't have a lot of people who have a proper fear of God. You have some people who want to use the name of God, but you don't have a proper fear of God. But here in Proverbs 1.7, it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the beginning of having real knowledge from God. And in Proverbs 9.10, it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

So, as we go to the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the primary reasons that we're there is not just to obey God, but to learn to fear God, to learn to have a right respect for our heavenly Father and His involvement in our lives. Now, the second thing we've already mentioned and read there in Deuteronomy 14, that we are to be saving a tithe throughout the year that we would use for a festival tithe. And again, I think many of you are familiar with that. The third thing that I will point out is simply that as we go to those festivals, and as we do, commonly, on our Holy Day services, God says to take up an offering. He doesn't want us to appear before Him empty. And so, if we're going to do that, then we're probably going to need to prepare for that as well. And I think I mentioned, and several weeks ago, many of us would have gotten a letter about the offerings, a reminder, some green envelopes, things that are prepared in order to make processing go more smoothly. But we read about that in Deuteronomy 16, and in Exodus 23. Maybe we can read Exodus 23, because here it's mentioning the festivals. Verse 14, three times in a year, you shall hold a festival for me. And so that would be in the days of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of the Weeks, or Pentecost, and then in the Fall.

And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 15.

In verse 16, you shall observe the Feast of Harvest. And in verse 16, it says, you shall observe the festival in gathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Three times in the year, all of your males shall appear before the Lord your God. And so that direction was applicable to all of the Holy Days. But he says in the latter part of verse 15, no one should appear before me empty-handed. That's why we take up an offering on those Holy Days, because God of course commands us to do it. We don't take up an offering here locally. We don't do that as far as a weekly thing, but we do do that as far as a directive from God. You see the same thing in Deuteronomy 16. Deuteronomy 16, verse 16, three times in a year, all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place he shall choose, then at the Feast of Unleavened Bread in weeks and booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. All should give as they are able according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. And so again, you know, this is a part of preparation. If we haven't thought about it, then we may not be prepared as we're going to be taking up an offering.

The next thing I'll mention is that, you know, God tells us to go to specific spots to the place where he shall choose. And we can back up here in verse 15 in Deuteronomy 16.

When it says in verse 15, seven days you shall keep the festival for the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all of your produce, in all of your undertaking, and you shall surely celebrate.

Do you know, what is that talking about? Why is it that they had to tell the Israelites that you need to go to the certain place? Well, because, you know, during the time of Israel, you know, they lived in many different parts of the land of what we would know of as Israel today. They were commanded to come up to Jerusalem. They were commanded to assemble at a specific spot, and yet at different times, God would direct that they go in other places. It would be later on. And yet today, you know, we have, as I said, festival sites scattered around the world. You know, there are many different possibilities. But if we're going to appear before God, if we're going to go where God has placed his name, where does God place his name? Well, regarding the United Church of God, as I said, there's lots of options. There's lots of places where the Feast of Tabernacles would be observed and where festival services would be conducted. But, of course, the main thing is that we want to be sure that God, we are where God is directing the services. And, of course, that's an important part. That's something I want to talk a lot more about next weekend. But, see, that's what it tells us here in Deuteronomy 16. It tells us that in numerous places that we come before God, where he sets his name. And so it's important for us to recognize that. Another thing that we want to be mindful of is that at services, we are appearing before God. That's really what we read here in verse 16 and 17 here. Verse 16, the latter part of it says, they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. And when we come to services, when we come to the services that we are asking God to bless and to direct, he wants us to recognize that we do that in a respectful way, that we do that to worship God and to praise God, that we appear before God, and we come before his presence with a sense of awe and respect. Again, I know having done this many years, it can become a schedule of things to do.

But there's more to it than that. There's more to it whenever God is involved, whenever God has set his name somewhere, and whenever God is being worshiped. And so we certainly want to keep that in mind. And one of the last things I'll mention here is what was described in the article that I read earlier, the introduction. You know, the desire to serve one another is what God wants us to do year-round. But certainly during the Feast of Tabernacles, that's a time when we can look out for, look for ways in which we can help, look for ways in which service to others could be beneficial and be able to include everyone in an inclusive group of celebrating before God.

You know, we read in John 13, and we go over this at the Passover service, about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. He said here in John 13, John chapter 13, in verse 14, So if I, your teacher, your Lord and teacher, if I have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet, for I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you.

See, that's the example, the perfect example of the Son of God. Now, of course, washing each other's feet is something we do at that service to follow his instruction, but the direction of that, or the value of that, is to have an attitude of service throughout the year and directly. We can do that at the Feast of Tabernacles. You see over here in Matthew 20, in essence, a case in point with the disciples of Jesus.

Instead of washing one another's feet, here in Matthew 20, we see the disciples arguing over who's the greatest, who's the most important, who's the most significant, who will be given more responsibility. And they argued about that, and here in Matthew 20, you see it, but you see it in other places, too. That was a big deal. It was a big deal. They were not understanding what Jesus was doing. And Jesus says in verse 22, you don't really know what you're asking for. You don't really know the manner of spirit that you were of. But he says, I want you to understand.

Jesus called the disciples to him in verse 25, and he says, you know, the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and their great ones are tyrants over others. And so those who assumedly are leading are, you know, taking advantage of everyone else, putting others down, vying for position.

And yet in verse 26, it should not be so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you, let them be your servant. Verse 27, whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be your slave.

And then he gives the reason in verse 28. The reason in verse 28 is just as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Now, Jesus' perfect example was one of service, one of giving, one of caring, one of sharing.

He was not simply there to be waited on. He says, I'm here to help others. I'm here to contribute to others. I'm here to benefit others or to serve others. And of course, that is what God expects and wants for all of us to be willing to do, to serve one another. See, if we have these different factors in mind about going to the festival to learn to fear God, to prepare for that financially, as we've mentioned, to plan for that, and to be able to do that in a joyous manner, because we're told to do so, well, then we can anticipate God's involvement in our festival. We can anticipate His blessing upon us. I want to also point out that you have a great section of Scripture here in the latter part of the book of Psalms that was often used in Israel as they would travel on the way to the feast. And I know at times I may be at a loss as far as, what am I going to read? What am I going to study during the time I met the feast? Now, I'm there for eight days or ten days usually. What am I going to read? What am I going to have filling my mind? Well, I can always go over whatever was covered in services because, obviously, you know, many of us take notes to where we can remember what it is that was presented or how it was, you know, that we could study the Scriptures that way. And that, of course, is a big part of what people often study. But I would suggest that these songs of ascent that are listed in Psalm 120 to Psalm 134, that's a 15-song section. They're called the songs of ascent for several reasons. The Israelites would often sing these songs. We have, certainly, some of these hymns in our hymn book. We don't have all of them, but, of course, you know, the Psalter that Israel used was, you know, primarily made up of these 150 Psalms in the book of Psalms. But these particular 15 Psalms are really directly about the coming kingdom of God. They're about God's rule in our lives. They're about, I think you would find, if you look at Psalm 133, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. You know, that's a very familiar Psalm. It's a song that we sing quite often. And yet, whenever we go up to the mountain of the Lord, you know, that should be a thing that we could keep in mind. Actually, in the way that they are written, they're pretty short. Almost all of them. One of them's a little longer. But those 15 Psalms are short. You can read any one of them any day, or you can read several of them any given day. And yet, to read it, and then to think about. To think about what it is that God is presenting. I want to go through the first three. Psalm 120 and 21 and 22. I want to go through those and just point out how it is that they seem to be, in a sense, an introduction. As I said, these were songs that the Israelites would sing as they went up to the mountain of the Lord, to Jerusalem.

But they were also Psalms that the priests would use as they would ascend the steps of the temple.

And so, you know, these were very familiar in Israel, and in many ways, I think most of them are familiar to us. But I'd like for us to see that Psalm 120, in a sense, could very much apply to going to the feast, coming out of the hostile world that we live in, and actually appearing then before God. And Psalm 121 appears to be talking about arriving and to recognize that God is our keeper. And ultimately then, in Psalm 122, it describes being at Jerusalem, being at the house of the Lord for the case of Israel. They were there. And I'd like for us to keep that in mind as we go through these Psalms. Here in Psalm 120, I'm mentioning the grouping of 15, but I'm only going to go through the first few here, because it's important for us, as we prepare for the feast, that we realize that we're there to appear before God. We're there to attend the services, and of course, we like to go to the activities or things that are going on, but the services are the primary reason that we would go to the feast. And see, the fact is there'll be a number of people who would be speaking. But the services are designed to, as we do here on our local Sabbath service, we're designed to ask for God's blessing, to ask for His direction, to ask that He will teach us.

And so, you know, if we have a mindset that God is going to teach us, God is going to teach us. And the fact is, you know, He's probably going to use more than likely to men to do that any given day, any given service. God is the teacher, and you get whatever you get as far as whoever speaks. It might be me, it might be others, but that's what we have to realize. So God is the one who has called us to appear before Him.

And so we can learn through whatever scriptures, I'm sure all the ministers, whoever's presenting anything at the feast, is going to go through scriptures. And yet, see, we want to keep in mind how it is that God is the one who can teach us what we need to know. You know, I've been amazed at times when I have given different sermons or sermonettes at the feast, and then find out from others that, well, you know, they learned this or they learned that.

And I'm thinking, well, that wasn't what I was trying to teach. Well, you know, that's okay, because if God teaches us something, if God shows us something out of His Word that maybe we hadn't thought of or maybe we hadn't been aware of, then that's good. That's what's important. And yet, like I say, God's the one who teaches. He happens to use a couple of guys each time, but those are, again, designated by Him.

He's the one who appoints them. So here in Psalm 120, and as the Israelites began the trek toward Jerusalem, they had to leave from where they were and then head on the way. And that's really what this Psalm seems to indicate.

In verse 1, I'm in distress or in my distress. I cry to the Lord that He will answer me, deliver me, O God, from lying lips and deceitful tongue. You know, when I read verse 2, I think about it in almost everything I hear on television. Lying lips and deceitful tongue. You know, that's basically what the world revels in, and yet, you know, that's what's available today.

Verse 5, it says, woe is me, for I'm an alien in Meshach that I must live among the tents of Kedar. This is actually talking about areas north and then south of where Israel is. I dwell among people in the north and in the south, and too long in verse 6, have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. You know, again, if we watch world conditions, we realize that people, you know, are not really trying to achieve peace.

But as this Psalm represents, you know, as we head toward the Feast of Tabernacles and appearing before God, we can have relief from this hostile world. It says, too long in verse 6, have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace, but I am for peace, and yet when I speak, they are for war. See, that was, in a sense, a pleading that you would give us relief from the system, you know, that we live in.

If we look at chapter 121, this is actually looking ahead as they are nearing Jerusalem. It talks about how the Lord is the one who provides our protection, the one who is our keeper. He is the source of our help. Verse 1, I lift my eyes to the hills from where comes my help? See, where does our help come from? Well, it tells us to look to God. Verse 2, my help comes from the Lord, who is the creator God, who made the heavens and who made the earth. See, He's the one who knows, as I have repeated to you, that, you know, Satan forgot that God was the creator.

That's how sin entered the whole system. He forgot that God was the creator. But here in verse 2, He says, my help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps his will will never slumber or never sleep. See, we're relying on a very reliable, very reliable, creator God to provide our help. In verse 5, the Lord is your keeper.

He is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the new moon by night. See, nothing shall affect us if we are protected and by the shade and the covering of the the great God who loves us and who wants us to appear before Him.

In verse 7, the Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. He uses the word keep numerous times through this song, showing that it's a secure, a protected feeling to be under God's supervision. And actually, it's a safe and secure protection.

In verse 7, the Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. The Lord will keep you. You're going out and you're coming in from this time on forevermore.

See, just sitting down and reading that and contemplating the value, contemplating the benefit, thinking about meditating on the significance of appearing before God, of worshiping God, of honoring God, of thanking God, of allowing Him to be the one in which we trust is really amazing. And then finally, verse 122, this psalm obviously is talking about a time of peace that will come in Jerusalem, a time that we think of as the time described in numerous of the prophets where many are going to go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob, and it says He will teach us His ways, and we will learn to walk in His paths. Here in verse 1 of chapter 122, I was glad. I was glad. See, this is the first one that seems to be attributed to David. Although David may have a hand in a lot of these, you see a couple or three of them attributed to David. You see in your subscript, I think. Mine says, a song of ascent of David. I was glad when they said to me, let us go up to the house of the Lord.

Our feet in verse 2 are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. See, they had come out of the world. They had been on the road. They had been under the protection of God, and they were now able to appear before God in Jerusalem. Jerusalem in verse 3, build as a city that is bound firmly together. To it, the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel. We do that to give thanks to the name of the Lord. See, we want to be thankful for what God provides, and of course, appreciate how it is that He watches over us. For there in Jerusalem in verse 5, the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David. We've talked about that sometimes here in the recent month. We've gone over how it is, and God's going to re-establish David's throne. He's going to re-establish what David was promised from God. And so in verse 6, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray for the time when that will be set up. You know, we often close our telecasts with the three words, Thy kingdom come. And this is depicting a time when it has come. It is coming, a time when peace will flow forth from Jerusalem. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls and security within your towers. For the sake of my relatives and friends, I will say peace be within you. For the sake of the whole house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

See, each one of these psalms, you know, have a different kind of focus.

But all of them, I think you could say, have a millennial feel. And surely these first three appear to be going to and arriving in, you know, the setting where God is going to place His name.

So I wanted to be able to point these out a little bit early, say earlier than, you know, we're not quite to the time of our fall holy days. But we do need to be aware of the basis for all of the things that we do. We do need to be able to prepare. We need to plan. And whenever we take these to mind, we take these to heart. Whenever we apply what God tells us to do, even as this reference in Deuteronomy 16, 14, to be looking out for ways to help others, to be looking for ways to serve, ways to give, ways to be prepared, ways to worship God, ways to honor God. That's what God not only wants to see in us, but He wants to be able to bless us.

See, He mentions His blessing. If we go back to Deuteronomy 16, it tells us there in verse 15 that we can go to the festival at the place where the Lord your God will choose, for the Lord will bless you in all your produce and all your undertaking, and you can surely rejoice. See, just rejoicing on our own is one thing. But rejoicing because of God's involvement in teaching and guiding us and leading us and directing us, that's a greater joy than we could ever imagine. And of course, Satan wants us to be, and often you find at the feast that there are problems. Things come up, distractions occur, and you could talk about many of those, perhaps. But see, Satan would love to ruin that blessing from God, and it's up to us to resist Him and truly to draw close to God. And as we do, that allows God to be close to us. So I hope all of us can be perhaps a little more prepared, a little more ready for the most joyous festival. The most joyous festival ever, because each one should continue to get better as we have a greater understanding of God's purpose and plan for man, and that we truly seek the Kingdom to come to the earth.