PSALM SUNDAY

Psalm 97 King James Version (KJV)
1 The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord.
9 For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme,
And also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme,
And also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme,
And also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

HEAVENLY LIGHT

PSALM 97:

1 The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.

² Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

³ A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

⁴ His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.

⁵ The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶ The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

⁷ Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

⁸ Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord.

⁹ For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

¹² Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

Happy Easter if you are celebrating it today!

THE JOYS OF CREATION

Psalm 95
1: Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2: Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3: For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4: In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5: The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

STORMY SKIES IN SYDNEY

Psalm 94: O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth;
O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things?
and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

CATACOMB CHURCH IN COOBER PEDY

Coober Pedy is a town in the Northern part of  South Australia, 846 kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. According to the 2011 census, its population was 1,695 (953 males, 742 females, including 275 indigenous Australians). The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there.

Coober Pedy is renowned for its below-ground residences, called "dugouts", which are built due to the scorching daytime heat. The name 'Coober Pedy' comes from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means 'white man's hole'. Opal was found in Coober Pedy on 1 February 1915; since then the town has been supplying most of the world's gem-quality opal. Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry to provide the community with employment and sustainability. Coober Pedy has over 70 opal fields and is the largest opal mining area in the world.

When we visited Cobber Pedy, we stayed in an underground motel, shopped in underground shops and visited this underground church.  Dug out in the side of a hill, it is peaceful and a wonderful place for reflection. As the last two photos show, the dugouts are constructed with a special machine that drills large holes in the rock. Drilling holes next to each other enlarges the dugout.

Psalm 92:
15: To shew that the Lord is upright: He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

PSALM SUNDAY

Psalm 91:

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

HEAVENS

PSALM 89
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

TEARS OF RAIN

Psalm 88

1 O lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:

2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:

5 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.

8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.

11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?

12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

14 Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme,

and also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.

ALL MY SPRINGS ARE IN THEE

Psalm 87
1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
6 The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.
7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

ST JOHN'S SOUTHBANK, MELBOURNE

St John's of Southbank in Melbourne offers a quiet haven for reflection or prayer in the midst of a bustling city.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

Psalm 86
1 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

LYKAVITTOS

Mount Lycabettus, also known as Lykavittos, is a Cretaceous limestone hill in Athens, Greece. At 277 meters above sea level, the hill is the highest point in the city that surrounds it. Pine trees cover its base, and at its two peaks are the 19th century Chapel of St. George, a theatre, and a restaurant.The hill is a popular tourist destination and can be ascended by the Lycabettus Funicular, a funicular railway which climbs the hill from a lower terminus at Kolonaki (The railway station can be found at Aristippou street).

Lycabettus appears in various legends. Popular stories suggest it was once the refuge of wolves, possibly the origin of its name (which means "the one (the hill) that is walked by wolves"). Mythologically, Lycabettus is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a mountain she had been carrying from Pallene for the construction of the Acropolis after the box holding Erichthonius was opened.The hill also has a large open-air theatre at the top, which has housed many Greek and international concerts.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sunday meme,
and also part of the Scenic Sunday meme.

Psalm 85: Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.
3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

PRAYERS IN ST AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH

⁸ O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: Give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
Psalm 84

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sunday meme,
and also part of the Weekly Topshot meme.

PSALM 82

PSALM 82

1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme,

and also part of the Spiritual Sunday meme.

TASMANIAN COUNTRYSIDE

Tasmania is a place of wild beauty and Australia's smallest state. The island presents enormous variety within a compact space. It is about the size of the Republic of Ireland, or that of Hokkaido in Japan, or twice the size of Switzerland. In this small area one finds |landscapes which change from green rainforested valleys, peaks and highland lakes to long glistening beaches, towering sea cliffs and cities that are not yet overwhelming. Often these contrasts are all within a 90-minute drive. It has a climate which is maritime and mild.

This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme,
and also part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river...

ST ANDREW OF PATRAS

Saint Andrew (Agios Andreas, Άγιος Ανδρέας in Greek) is a Greek Orthodox basilica in the east side of the city of Patras in Greece. Construction of the church, of Greek Byzantine style, began in 1908 under the supervision of the architect Anastasios Metaxas, followed by Georgios Nomikos.

It was inaugurated in 1974. It is the largest church in Greece and the third largest Byzantine-style church in the Balkans, after the Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. It holds relics of the apostle Saint Andrew, which were sent there from St. Peter's Basilica, Rome in September, 1964, on the orders of Pope Paul VI.

This post is part of the Sunday Psalms meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sunday meme.

"I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me."

"In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted."

"I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah."

And here is a Greek Orthodox chant, the Allelouarion in the A' mode: