Within Your Gates, O Jerusalem!

I was glad when they said to me,“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”Our feet are standingWithin your gates, O Jerusalem,Jerusalem, that is builtAs a city that is compact together. ~Psalm 122:1-3 As Jewish pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem three times a year for the major feasts, they sang the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). The Temple …

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What to do on a Long Journey

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.Lord, hear my voice!Let Your ears be attentiveTo the voice of my supplications.If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,O Lord, who could stand?But there is forgiveness with You,That You may be feared. ~Psalm 130:1-4 Have you ever realized the depth of your sin and felt crushed by it? On a journey that would have take …

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May All Who Hate Zion be Put to Shame

Let Israel now say,“Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up;Yet they have not prevailed against me. ...May all who hate ZionBe put to shame and turned backward;Let them be like grass upon the housetops,Which withers before it grows up ~Psalm 129:1-2, 5-6 At times, the words of the psalmists are so raw with honesty. In Psalm 129, the …

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The Lord Surrounds His People…Forever!

Those who trust in the LordAre as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.As the mountains surround Jerusalem,So the Lord surrounds His peopleFrom this time forth and forever. ~Psalm 125:1-2 Oh, the excitement of preparing to go up to Mount Zion! We are meditating on the Psalms of Ascent, a set of psalms found in Psalms 120-134 which the …

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