Greetings brethren and Happy Sabbath! Just a reminder this is a potluck in all three congregations tomorrow.

“Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi….”

I have no idea if they actually do it or not, but in the movies and TV, you sometimes opera singers drink a glass of water and warm up by singing “Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi…” (as in doh-rey-mi, I assume).

It’s doubtful they did it that way in Ancient Israel, but one thing they did do was sing on their journey to Jerusalem during each of the three Feast seasons.

Playlist for the road trip

Even back then, the Israelites had something of a ‘playlist’ they would use on these long trips. They didn’t have digital recordings or satellite radio to arrange them though. They did it by singing a specific set of Pslams!

Specifically, they sang Psalms 120 through 134, collectively known as the Psalms of Ascents. It’s called that because as they approached Jerusalem, it was on a hill and they would ascend upwards to it on their final approach.

Deep meaning

These Psalms weren’t just sung to pass the time, although I’m sure it helped in that regard. They were sang in praise to God and to express the feelings of those sojourners.

These Psalms contain themes such as deliverance from enemies, the joy of children, the coming Kingdom of God, and of course praise and worship.

In tomorrow’s message, we’ll review these Psalms and see what lessons and inspirations they contain for us as we prepare for this year’s Feast of Tabernacles!