“He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth … Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust.”

~ Psalm 40:2-4

Music is my air.

I breathe it in, filling my lungs with its life, allowing my vision to be painted with it’s possibilities. Music lifts my soul above circumstance, connecting my truest and most needy self with the only One who is not turned off by it. For as long as I can remember, music has been my retreat. I escape into its beauty, sometimes dancing on the ivory keys for hours at a time, only aware of my fingers’ ache to give voice to my most inexpressible thoughts.

David was a musician. And a writer. As few others have been able to do, he married the beauty of the two in a book called the Psalms. With the skill of a wordsmith and the heart of a musician, David connected joy and despair in authentic worship. Some verses tell of depths of hearthache, so horrific and dark that he despaired of life. But every tearful lament is soon followed by a soaring spirit, once again lifted above circumstance by the melody of heaven.

As David knew and I’m quickly learning, God’s an accomplished composer. He’s always writing new songs to make the despairing heart sing.

• Day 141 (Monday): 2 Samuel 22-23, Psalm 57
  
• Day 142: Psalm 95, Psalm 97-99
  
• Day 143: 1 Chronicles 21-22, 2 Samuel 24, Psalm 30
  
• Day 144: Psalm 108-110
  
• Day 145: 1 Chronicles 23-25
  
• Day 146: Psalm 131, Psalm 138-139, Psalm 143-145
  
• Day 147: 1 Chronicles 26-29, Psalm 127