by Jill Ice
The Psalms for today's reading all have the ascription "A Song of Ascents". There are fifteen Psalms with this ascription in the Bible - Psalms 120-134. Most scholars believe the title was given to the psalms the Israelites sang as they ascended (went up) to Jerusalem for the three pilgrim festivals, or the psalms that the priests sang as they ascended the fifteen steps to minister in the temple.
The Psalms for today's reading are so powerfully infused with hope -
- My hope comes from the Lord (121:2)
-The Lord is your keeper (121:5)
-The Lord will keep you from all evil (121:7)
-The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in (121:8)
-Our help is in the name of the Lord (124:8)
One of my favorite hope-filled verses -
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. (130:7)
Steadfast love - a term used for our covenant-keeping God. Love that is never shaken, never broken, never ending.
Plentiful redemption - a phrase we could all meditate on for the rest of our lives and not fully comprehend. For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. (John 1:16)
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