If I were alone on a desert isle...

If I were stuck alone on a desert isle, with only one book - I would want to have the book of Psalms. This book of Jewish prayers, songs and praises are part of the Christian Bible as well. No other Biblical book gives me greater comfort or makes me feel closer to God than the Psalms.

I have recently been reading and re-reading Psalm 121 - which I have copied (and pasted) below from BibleGateway.com. (I'm not sure what the rules of reproducing parts of the Bible on a blog are...!)

According to my Chronological Bible, Psalm 121 was composed after exiles returned from Babylon to rebuild King Solomon's temple, which had been destroyed a century before. It would later be rebuilt on the same site by infamous King Herod the Great. "Renovated" is perhaps a better word to describe his massive improvements. In any event, his "Second Temple" is the one that Jesus would have known.

Psalm 121, is a song of ascents, sung by dusty pilgrims trudging uphill to Jerusalem to pray and offer sacrifices at the celebration of a new moon or a Jewish holy day. I wonder if the original tune was lively and energizing. (The walkers must have been in great shape!)

Whatever the roots os Psalm 121, I find great comfort in its words.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.