#songsofascent

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They Have Not Prevailed

#Psalm129 is a #songofascent which speaks of one of the trials of pilgrimage: the injustice of those who should be of help to us. This #poem is titled, Though Greatly Afflicted

Psalm 129is located in a collection of psalms called the Songs of Ascent. These psalms are the songs sung by pilgrims on their way to celebrate the great Jewish festivals and to worship at the Temple of Jerusalem. These psalms speak of encouragement and comfort, they exhort and challenge, and some speak with a voice of defiance against the adversity one faces on just such a journey. Psalm 129 is…

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Holy Saturday

The pilgrimage from Good Friday to Easter morning, passes through the still, quiet of Holy Saturday. How might Lazarus thought about whether there was any hope on this day?

Holy Saturday is one of my favorite days. There is a slowness and calm from the business of the week and the events of Thursday and Friday. It seems to me to be a pensive day.

This sonnet, titled, ‘Arise’ takes for its inspiration Psalm 124 which is one of the Songs of Ascent. In this pandemic day in between the devastation of the cross and the miracle of the resurrection, marks a pilgrimage of…

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A Psalm for Evening and Morning

A Psalm for Evening and Morning. Psalm 127 is both a psalm with which to start the morning and head to bed. Tonight what will bring sleep, and how can I rest peacefully waiting and wondering if blessing ever will come?

The Daily Office Psalter readings are currently in the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). I preached a series from that section in the Psalter a few years ago, and it remains one of my favorites. And by favorites, I think I mean that I grew to be surprised at how dear they became especially as I engaged them imaginatively in trying to communicate them poetically myself.

One of today’s psalms is…

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Waking in a Dream

The Psalms are prayers which help give words to our prayer. To read the words of those who lived thousands of years ago and to read that they experienced life in much the same way (though the circumstances seem vastly different) is in its own way a great comfort. The psalms train our imagination to articulate the experience of the life of faith in God. Psalm 126 is one such psalm.

The author of…

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[imdaministries]

I lift mine eyes to the hills, whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the lord, maker of heavens and the earth. #Psalms121 #SongsofAscent #BeYou #LookForward @daboikam

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Bless God

Psalm 134 is the last of the collection of songs in the Bible’s book of Psalms called the Songs of Ascent. These songs serve as a guide or a map of the life of faith, whose destination is the presence of God. The psalms were sung by pilgrims on their way to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem during the great annual festivals. In Psalm 134, the pilgrim at last, arrives at his or her destination.…

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What Fellowship?

I am continuing my current project of writing a series of poems based on the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). The Songs of Ascent are a collection of songs intended to guide the pilgrim in their upward ascent to God. They are traveling songs meant to encourage, challenge, and console the singer and listener. They are a map of the life of faith. Psalm 133 is the second to last of the songs, and…

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What End?

Over the past several months I have been working through a collection of psalms in the Old Testament’s book of Psalms called the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). This collection of songs is believed to have been sung by pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem for the great Jewish festivals. The Songs of Ascent are more than a collection of songs, they are a geography of the pilgrim’s walk of…

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