A Favorite Place in Psalms – The Ascents

I love meditating in the Psalms! They are the first thing I read in the morning; it is like opening the window shade in the morning and being engulfed in brilliant sunrise.

While I have followed various reading patterns in my life, my current pattern begins each day with a psalm, which is then followed with other Bible readings and readings from other Christians. Of course, these are more than readings, they are ponderings, meditations, seasons of communion with our Father, our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit – in the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:18 – 24).

On February 29 I started the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120 – 134, this morning was Psalm 125 (today being March 5). While there are different perspectives as to how these psalms were first used as a group, and as to how they may have been used subsequent to their original usage, I don’t think there is much dispute that the theme of this collection is “upward and onward” – whether it is upward to Jerusalem from Babylon, from Egypt; or upward while ascending steps in the Temple; or upward while traveling from towns in Israel and Judah to appear before Yahweh in Jerusalem for the three Great Feasts every year.

The fact that much as been written and preached on these psalms speaks to their unity and diversity, for there seem to be countless ways to view their interrelatedness as they are woven together and as they build on one another. I often read them in one sitting, and more often I scan them all as I focus on one of them. As you will note, most of them are rather brief, and yet while they may not be wide, they are deep, very deep – I have yet to see the bottom of this ocean trench.

How do these psalms speak to you? How does Christ reveal Himself to you through them? What patterns do you see? How is the Holy Spirit revealing your heart to you in these psalms?

Why not take four weeks and spend daily time in Psalms 120 – 134? These are psalms of pilgrimage, what will your pilgrimage be like for this four-week journey? The only way to know is to take the trip!