Enough of the Bad News

Before I travel, which I love to do, I will usually spend time carefully creating a music soundtrack; a ‘playlist’ for the adventure ahead. In 2010, my family travelled to the USA for 4 weeks, with 7 of us piling into a van for a road trip. Of course, we had a playlist for the road including everything from songs my 8 year old daughters appreciated, like ‘Party in the USA’ by Miley Cyrus to ‘Surfin’ Bird’ by American surf rock band ‘The Trashmen’, which my Dad’s voice boomed out as we drove around the beaches of California. The playlist created unity in our little van and represented the themes of our holiday. Still today, those songs bring back memories and the feelings of an amazing adventure. The Psalms of Ascent worked in a similar way for the Jewish people travelling to Jerusalem. Their ‘playlist’ (Psalms 120-134) was memorised and sung by travelling worshippers as they walked long distances to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and the feast of Tabernacles. The people of God would travel across the nation to the city of Jerusalem from wherever they lived, ascending the mountainous terrain as they neared the sacred city of Jerusalem, which sits at an elevation of about 2,700 feet. They travelled together in groups to be safe from thieves, wild animals, and the elements. While they were walking on these trails, they sung songs to encourage one another, to keep their spirits high and to focus their hearts on the things of God. Not unlike the journey of the Jewish people on the way to Jerusalem, our life of following Jesus is a climb - it is a life of constant growth, sacrifice, and trusting God for what we cannot see. As Eugene Peterson said, ‘We are pilgrims, but we are also disciples - always moving and always learning.’ This week we commence a new series, ‘Happy Trails’, where we’ll dig into these travelling songs and discover that though these Psalms are around 3,000 years old, they still speak to us, inspire us and help us to focus on the important themes of our lives today.

Scripture References: Psalms 121:1-8

From Series: Happy Trails | More Messages from Rebecca Inglis | Download Audio

From Series: "Happy Trails"

A four part series on the psalms of ascent, sometimes known as the pilgrim psalms. These were psalms sung by people on their way to the temple in Jerusalem for special feast days.