Episode 383: Psalms, Part Four--Psalms of Ascent

There are a few essentials for a good traveling song: it needs to help make the trip go quicker, it needs to be memorable for people to sing along, and it helps make the journey as much of a memory as the destination.  Well, ancient Israel had its own set of traveling songs, at least for the times when the people would be going up to Jerusalem for worship at the Temple at festivals and other special occasions. They're called "songs of ascent," and they're a subset of the Book of Psalms.  They were used as people made the journey "up" (literally, since Jerusalem is on hill elevated above all the surrounding territory) for worship, and they have a way of drawing people into the act of worship, while marking out the miles along the way like a good traveling song.  Learn more about these songs and why they matter in this episode of Crazy Faith Talk!