Experience a vacation touring the Holy Land and your moments in Jerusalem would undoubtedly include stops at the Chapel of the Ascension, the Church of All Nations, the Church of John the Baptist, the Church of Mary Magdalene, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Redeemer, the Church of the Visitation, the Garden Tomb, the Monastery of the Cross, the Pool of Siloam, the Temple Mount, the Tomb of Lazarus, the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, the Via Dolorosa, and the Western Wall of the Temple.
Jerusalem houses memories and moments of the Savior.
The hymn by Geoffrey O’Hara reminds us,
I walked today where Jesus walked.
In days of long ago,
I wandered down each path He knew,
With rev’rent step and slow.
In the Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned more than any other city (about 800 times). We read that “the Lord has chosen Jerusalem and will dwell there forever (Psalm 132:13-14). The Bible urges God’s people to never forget Jerusalem and to exalt it to a place of primary joy (Psalm 137:5-6). Jerusalem is the center of predictions and prophecies of peace and blessing, as seen in the coming Messiah (Isaiah 2:2-4). It is the city of the Great King (Psalm 48:2).
Jerusalem has a special place in the plan and heart of God. It carries the same weight and importance to God’s people. The Song of Ascents is a title given to Psalm 120 through Psalm 134. Many scholars believe these psalms were “sung” – chanted or recited – as they ascended to Jerusalem when they planned to attend one of the three pilgrimage feasts held in Jerusalem. They are well suited for such a task for their poetic form as well as the deep feelings they express.
But the psalm for our consideration today is not one of the Songs of Ascent about Jerusalem, but it was written while the Jewish people were exiled in Babylon. The 137th Psalm laments time away from Jerusalem as it fondly remembers the importance of God’s presence and the Holy City.