Scenery Flies By

Psalm 15, 23, 24, 25, and 47

I love the scenery as we travel.

I love the landscape and how varied it is.

And how varied the sound track is that accompanies it. 

And how we travel.

And how we need to travel with open hearts, with our souls lifted only to God.

Our hearts and souls are so safe with God.

Our own story changes when we think about how God sees us.

So reading God’s Story, the Truth, looking to Him until we are radiant, is so important. 

But we can talk ourselves out of lot.

There is much brokenness in Israel’s story.

I love that.  

The do-overs.  The places where they get start over again, and over again.  With God.

Their story, our story.

All the Psalms in today’s reading note that they could be and probably were used on festival days. Songs that gave words to the feeling of joy and celebration at the Tent of Meeting and later at the temple.  The place where God Presence dwelled. 

Songs for celebration, written by David and those appointed to lead music for worship.  The birth of liturgy.  Liturgy is used today to structure our worship.  To leas us in worship of God in His House every Sunday. 

So I love how these songs fit into God’s Story today.  This Sabbath rhythm and the Sabbath type songs for life and traveling.  To celebrate God and all He has done and continues to do.  Describing who may ascend the Holy hill sanctuary of God. Because He invites all of us! 

So who can ascend this Holy Hill. (Ps 15)

Only those with pure hearts and clean hands.

Who may dwell in your Sanctuary?

Dwell as a guest not as a servant.  

Someone with clean hands a pure heart.   Who does not lift her soul to another. 

Someone who receives green pastures and quiet waters. 

This really resonates with me.

These desires of my heart to follow hard after God, to be a generation of those who seek God’s Face and filling my heart and my soul only with the richest of far that God offers.   But as far as that is up to me, I will fall short.  I fill up with lots of other things too along the way.

Ps 25:1 “To you, O LORD I lift up my soul, in you I trust, O my God.  3 No one whose hope is in you will every be put to shame.12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD?  He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. 20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame for I take refuge in you.  My hope is in you.”

And Psalm 47 talks about an awesome and mighty God who is king over all the earth.  (vs 2)

These Psalms are festival songs.

And the Christian church often sings them on Ascension Day.

To celebrate the going to heaven of Jesus to be with His Father.

Our Father.

God invites us to come before and walk and travel in step with the Spirit.

Through this ever-changing landscape around us.

We can ask God along with David

Ps 25: 4 “To show me your way, O LORD,

Teach me your paths;

5 Guide me in your truth

And teach me,

For you are God my Savior,

And my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, or LORD your great mercy and love

…according to your love

7 Remember me. “

I feel like David made this his story.

And this was his song.

And God writes David into His Story.

Reading all of this gives us a sense

Day in, and day out

That we can make this our story and our song too.   

My Hope.

No shame.