If you ever get the chance to visit the Holy Land, there are moments when the Psalms of Ascent stop feeling like ancient poetry and start reading like a travel diary. On my last trip, there were three places where I could almost hear the footsteps and the echo of pilgrim song.
The first was in the Golan Heights, at the far north of Israel. It’s a very mountainous area, only more Blue Ridge than Rockies. I was walking down a dirt path looking up at the hills, and I imagined pilgrims setting out toward Jerusalem, singing Psalm 121:
“I lift my eyes up to the hills. From where does my help come?”
I imagined them thinking about the long journey ahead, and praying they would have the strength for it.
The second was a few miles outside Jerusalem. We were driving through a really rocky, canyon-y area, with high cliff walls in either side. It’s actually the old road from Jericho to Jerusalem, and it was a favorite hiding place for bandits and robbers (remember the Good Samaritan story?). And I imagined those pilgrims, nervously looking up at the rocks, praying for protection. And when they made it through the valley, I pictured them singing 124:6-7:
“Blessed is the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped!”
And finally, Jerusalem itself. The Southern Steps is one of the places where you can be confident you are literally walking where Jesus walked. As you ascend the Steps, there are fifteen wider landings spaced about every third step. Scholars suggest that pilgrims would stop on each of these landings and recite one of the 15 Songs of Ascent (you can read the article below if you like). If this is true, then on the last landing, with the temple just ahead and within earshot of the priests who ministered there, I can imagine the pilgrims shouting out the final Psalm of Ascent— 134:
“Blessed are all the servants of the Lord, who minister by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord!”
While the Psalms of Ascent might feel like a random Spotify playlist, there’s a beauty to the organization of the Psalms of Ascent that’s easy to miss. There’s movement– both emotionally and geographically:
- Psalm 120: The journey begins with distress and weariness– “Out of my distress I called to the Lord…” I can imagine a devout Jew, halfway between appointed feast days. He’s tired. He needs a break. “Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace” (v. 6). Like an office worker stuck in a cubicle farm and dreaming about the beach, the Psalmist longs to get back to the City of Peace.
- Psalm 121: Since much of Israel’s population lived north of Jerusalem, many pilgrims would have identified with “lifting their eyes up to the hills” (121:1) before they headed South.
- Psalm 122-123: They’re on their way! With every step, they are anticipating what it will feel like to once again “stand within the gates of Jerusalem” (122:2). Don’t miss the contrast between the first image of 121 and the first image of 123. In 121, the Psalmist “lifts his eyes to the hills” and, as I explore in another post, he most likely sees the pagan altars on top of every high place. (see also Day 189: The Hardest High Place ). Now, in Psalm 123, he lifts his eyes to the Lord, who is “enthroned above the heavens.”
You get the idea. The closer the pilgrims get to Jerusalem physically, the closer they feel to God spiritually. Some scholars have pointed out that the Psalms of Ascent fall neatly into five groups of three. The first Psalm in each triad deals with the theme of trouble, the second of trust, and the third triumph. So it looks like this:
| TROUBLE | 120 | 123 | 126 | 129 | 132 |
| TRUST | 121 | 124 | 127 | 130 | 133 |
| TRIUMPH | 122 | 125 | 128 | 131 | 134 |
Where are you in your journey? Are you feeling the weariness of longing to get back to God? Then read one or more of the “Trouble” Psalms (120, 123, 126, 129, 132). Or maybe you know you aren’t there yet, but you are taking steps to restore that sense. Read the “Trust” Psalms. Or, maybe you are on a spiritual high, and the “Triumph” Psalms will resonate.
God’s Word is beautiful, and real, and perfect, and it has a word to speak for every stage of your journey. And even if you are never able to go “up to Jerusalem” in your lifetime, hold on to God’s promise that He will one day bring Jerusalem down to you:
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 ESV)
Stiles, Wayne: “The Southern Steps and the Songs of The High Holidays,” Jerusalem Post (online), 19 September 2011. Accessed 20 April, 2021,
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