SALT Challenge - Psalms

This week it was Lythan's turn to set the challenge on the SALT blog and she chose the Psalms. (You can read her entire write up here). I was thrilled with this challenge as I truly enjoy reading the Psalms. The Psalms deal with every kind of emotion and life situation, as well as herald the good news of the coming Messiah. I have always found the Psalms to be a great place for inspiration and encouragement.

Providentially, I was hindered from attending church this week so I decided to listen to a sermon on SermonAudio (wonderful place to download sermons, BTW!) The message I listened to happen to be on Psalm 24...how fabulous and perfectly timed is that? :-) My ATC (are you totally bored with my ATCs yet??) showcases the last three lines of Psalm 24, which scholars believe is set up as a question from an OT priest, "Who is this King of glory?" and a response from the congregation, "The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!" Here's the entire Psalm (with a few notes from Sunday's sermon!) It was a good message! :-)

The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.

Notes - Verses 1-2 speaks of God's ownership. The earth and all it's inhabidents belong to God. He made all things, He sustains all things. As His creations, we are not free to act however we please but should seek to act in a way that glorifies the One who gives us our breath and has the power to take it away. That was so powerful to me, especially as we live in a world when everyone feels "in control" of their own destiny.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Notes - Verses 3-5 speak of the future, of a life after death. The question is placed before us...who can ascend to where God is? What will be the result of those that do? These verses also give us a code of ethics, how should we live?

This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face.

Notes - Verse 6 - None of us are any different, nauturally, than anyone else. No one deserves eternal blessings from God. And yet God is gracious and loving towards those who do not love Him and He changes the hearts of those who sincerely "seek" His face.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory!

Notes - These last verses speak to our worship. Humans worship, we were created that way. Everyone worships something or someone; money, our bodies, our accomplishments, God, false gods, etc. Based on historical evidence, it's believed that these last verses may have been a song that was sung by the OT priest and this congreation. The priest would start a "stanza" by asking a question and the congregation would respond with an answer. Would be an interesting way to sing in church nowadays, wouldn't it? :-)

Whew! By the time I finish my SALT posts...I have a mini sermon going! Sorry about that! LOL! I'll end now and get on with the crafty business...

ATC was created with one of my favorite Crate papers. The heart was cut from a piece of felt and "crazy" stitched to make it look "quilty." (Do you know why it's really stitched that way? I haven't a clue how to sew so this was my only option! ha ha ha) Twill ribbon is from Stampin' Up! and I stamped on the twill for some added decoration. My "joyful" tag is attached with a mini safety pin (I love mini safety pins!) and I decided to go out on a limb and add a tiny bit of bling with four crystal brads in each corner.

If you've made it this far...congratulations! And yes, I am this long winded in person, but I try to break it up with some jokes or something so your eyes don't glaze over. ;-) Enjoy and thanks for your patience with my long post.

Hey...read a Psalm today...you might find that you like it...and, if you're not exhausted after reading this post and still have energy to create something based on this week's challenge, pop on over to the SALT blog and leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. We'd love to share!