Reflections on the way...from Psalms

The book of Psalms is not at the end of the Old Testament, but it is the book with which we will end the Old Testament part of our journey. We have met travellers whose journey changed the future for themselves, their families and the history of God's people, and we have met travellers whose journey was seemingly insignificant, mattering only for them. We have shared the journeys of those who travelled in hope and excitement, looking forward to better things, and those whose journey was one of escape or desperation, forced to run away or reluctant to leave. We have begun to see that while travelling is not inevitable, it is a reality for many of God's people and it is often by undertaking a journey that we learn new things about ourselves, about what matters to us and most of all, about the God we worship.

Psalms 120 to 134 are called the Songs of Ascent, and are traditionally thought to have been used as songs to sing while travelling- specifically on a pilgrimage to the temple at Jerusalem. This weekend find time to read each of them- from the call of Psalm 121-

"I lift my eyes to the hills- from where will my help come?"

to the certainty of Psalm 134-

"Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord."

Which of this group of Psalms best voices your hopes, dreams and prayers this Lent?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

advent day two

Advent Day TWO~ Every one of you, hide among the rocks and in the ground, Because the LORD is fearsome, marvelous, and glorious. When the LORD comes, everyone who is proud will be made humble, And the LORD alone will be honoured. The LORD All-Powerful has chosen a day When those who are proud and conceited will be put down Isaiah 2: 10-12 What are we waiting for? Its good to remind ourselves  of who God is. What words would you use to describe God? Glorious?...Marvellous?...Fearsome? Try to spend some time today in a place where you can see something of God’s glory– it might be at the sea, under a starry night sky, watching a sunset or down on your hands and knees with the insects. God created this world we live in. He controls it, orders it, sustains it. He breathed life into our bodies– and He will decide when life leaves us. This is the LORD we worship. And he has chosen a day to return to earth in unmistakable power and glory. The angel choirs who sang to shepherds
Read more

Peter- walking a rocky road

Sometimes reading self help books or well-meaning blogs can make us feel that adopting a regime, a mantra or a new habit will lead to measurable results in a steadily increasing way. We feel as if we should be drawing a progress chart that climbs steadily upwards- but real life is just not like that. Maybe that's why so many of us find Peter an encouraging character in Scripture. When Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, meaning the Rock, we cheer for him as we see Jesus recognising his strength of character. Jesus replied,  ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,   and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [  will not overcome it.   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be   loosed in heaven.’   Then he ordered his disciples not to tell any
Read more

advent day fifteen

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord! Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice; Tender to me the promise of his word; In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice. Do not be afraid! When Gabriel appeared to Mary, she was confused and frightened. He had to reassure her by reminding her how much she meant to God: “You’re beautiful with God’s beauty. Beautiful inside and out! God be with you.” And then he told her of her part in God’s plan…. We can’t begin to guess what her first reactions were. Whether it even made sense to her. She could hardly talk it through with Joseph– so she went off to visit Elizabeth, the only one who might begin to understand, to help her make sense of what was happening to her. Three months later, Luke lets us see what Mary is thinking. Is it a tear soaked page of her diary? Is it anger and outrage at God? Is it despair as she works out what to say to Joseph? No– God has brought Mary to a place where she can sing. We call her song the Magnif
Read more