A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel in Israel and Jordan on a tour group led by my father-in-law. Traveling in the Holy Land sounded so cliche, and at first, I resisted taking the trip. My wife had gone already on another tour, also with her father, and she could not stop talking about it — and she signed me up to go when her dad began setting up another group. It was a wonderful trip, one that I am glad I took.

Yet, this post is not about the trip or pictures or food. It is about the Psalms. As we wrapped up our tour, we spent several days in and around Jerusalem. Our guide, Harrison Cohen, read from Psalm 122 as we ascended in the bus to Jerusalem. As you might guess, he read Psalm 122:6, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Later as we began our tour of the temple mount area, we stopped by the Western Wall. Many of the men were praying aloud or reading aloud, so I decided to read the “songs of ascent” (Psalm 120-134) while standing at the Western Wall.

When I finished memorizing Philippians using the “memory moleskine,” I wanted to make sure that I did not lose the momentum I had gained. I wanted to learn more Scripture. As a summer project, I laid out the songs of ascent. I had always heard great things about the Psalms, yet it was not until this effort to learn them that I grew to share that opinion. The songs of ascent seemed so real, so down-to-earth, focusing on what felt like our own real life struggles. The songs covered times of blessing and times of despair, times of worship and times of scorn from others, times of excitement and times when all seem against you.

Each summer if the schedule allows it, I am going to work through the Psalms. This summer, I will start at the beginning, working through the first twelve psalms. I have several books to help me as I study these, but I am most excited about reading “The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life” by Dale Ralph Davis.