A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath

81.The Book of Psalms; a selection from 24 - 95

And so we journey on, pausing at Psalms and quotations that appeal to me, and I hope, to you also.

Psalm 27 David describes the Lord as his light and salvation. He advises us to wait on the Lord and to be of good courage and he shall 'strengthen thine heart'. This is first class advice to all of us who follow the Lord.

Psalm 33. We must praise God for his goodness and power: The earth is full of the goodness of God'. Verse 12 tells us that 'blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord'. I feel that many people have shut God out of their lives.

Psalm 34, v. 14. Here is another piece of sage advice: 'depart from evil and do good and seek peace and pursue it'.

Psalm 36. ‘For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light'.

How true this is. Once God enters our lives his love is indeed a fountain of love,

refreshing and helping us every day.

Psalm 42*, v.1. 'As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul

after thee, 0 God'. What a wonderful verse. Recently I was watching some deer

in Africa seeking water in the dry season and their excitement upon finding

some. In the same way we seek the love of God and find it all around us, giving

us joy throughout our lives.

* See Bluebell Nature notes for more about the hart

Psalm 65, This lovely psalm tells us of the infinite power and goodness of God.

It is a psalm that is sung at harvest festivals. As David says about God in v.11,

'thou crownest the year with thy goodness'.

Psalm 67. This is a very familiar psalm to all who know the Book of Common

Prayer, where it is called 'Deus misereatur'. It is used in Evensong. It asks for

God's mercy and that his face shine upon us. If we praise God he will bless us

and the 'earth shall yield her increase'.

Psalm 71 v. 3. David says of God 'for thou art my

rock and fortress'. This reminded me that much later

in our journey we shall find Christ calling his

disciple Peter `the rock upon which he will build his

church'.

Psalm 72 is written in praise of Solomon. The kings

of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the

kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts'. Here we

think of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon

and the many gifts she gave him.

Psalm 95. This is very well known. In the Book of Common Prayer it is called

the Venite (= Latin for 'come). It calls us to praise God and to worship

him, as we are his people.