Today, we begin study of the largest book in the Old Testament.

Surprisingly, it is Psalms with 97 pages of moving poetry that particularly explores

our inner journey in seeking to find God. These are prayers, prophecies, wisdom,

exaltations, laments, and pleading for relief. It is a very ancient book where we could find immense

comfort today. Hello, we're Scott and Maureen Proctor, and welcome to Meridian Magazine's Come Follow Me

Podcast. The Psalms are linked to the temple in ancient Israel, and the Levites stood on the

stairs before the temple and sang these. They could also be accompanied by musical instruments.

Consequently, since they are so closely associated with the temple, the Psalms do give a sense of

being purified to be able to see the face of God and to be comforted in his presence. Unlike the

other books of the Old Testament, they aren't designed to tell us a story or follow the prophetic

line of prophecy. They are truly focused on that personal journey to God. We read a story once

about children who grew up in religious families and then continued to be faithful adults.

On top of church activity and the family's teachings at home, what had the most sway on a youth's

developing faith was alone in his bedroom. Personal study, prayer, and truly seeking,

rather than just going through the motions, was what kept a youth faithful into adulthood.

What's noteworthy is that of the 283 direct citations from the Old Testament contained in

the new 116 are identified as coming from the Psalms. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland pointed out,

Jesus himself quoted the book of Psalms more than any other Old Testament text. Beyond the

Savior's own use of these writings, the authors of the four gospels do heavily on the Psalms,

as they strove to document his life and ministry, particularly those excruciating hours of his

arrest, trial, and crucifixion. It could be argued that in all of Holy Rit, no book of scripture

goes on so extensively about the Messianic mission or the looking and longing for his return,

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