I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the Lord— to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel. There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity (Psalm 122)
For Eugene Peterson (Long Obedience In The Same Direction) Psalm 122 is all about worship, which does three things. It gives us a workable structure for life, it nurtures our need to be in a relationship with God, and it centers our attention on the decisions of God.
The three worship festivals Scripture called the Jews to celebrate in Jerusalem, like worship today, focuses our minds on a particular worldview, or a particular understanding of how the universe fits together and work. That is the function of religion and philosophy, which is why religion and philosophy are the same things. According to some, religion is god-centered, and philosophy is man-centered, but that just proves the point. When we go to worship, no matter what we go to worship, we are declaring what has the highest rank or value in our lives. Everything else can then fall into place. Some people may declare that they don’t worship anything because they don’t believe in any god, but one worships (attributes worth to) what gives an order to one’s life. It might not be in a formal, corporate gathering, but it’s worship none-the-less.
In laying out our understanding of the universe and how it works, we celebrate and develop our relationship with it. We find our place, and in reaffirming that we are not in control, we can turn our attention to the One who is, because it is natural that the answers we seek come from that One. Worship is at the heart of our own existence, and sharing it with others creates true unity.
The three worship festivals Scripture called the Jews to celebrate in Jerusalem, like worship today, focuses our minds on a particular worldview, or a particular understanding of how the universe fits together and work. That is the function of religion and philosophy, which is why religion and philosophy are the same things. According to some, religion is god-centered, and philosophy is man-centered, but that just proves the point. When we go to worship, no matter what we go to worship, we are declaring what has the highest rank or value in our lives. Everything else can then fall into place. Some people may declare that they don’t worship anything because they don’t believe in any god, but one worships (attributes worth to) what gives an order to one’s life. It might not be in a formal, corporate gathering, but it’s worship none-the-less.
In laying out our understanding of the universe and how it works, we celebrate and develop our relationship with it. We find our place, and in reaffirming that we are not in control, we can turn our attention to the One who is, because it is natural that the answers we seek come from that One. Worship is at the heart of our own existence, and sharing it with others creates true unity.
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