Like drilling a well to get water, I love to “drill” into words to find their root meanings. The word “temple” is a good example. The root “tem” means “to stretch.” It comes from the time when buildings were going to be built, a string was stretched around the area where the building or temple was to be erected. We get words
like “tension, attention and intention” from this root. To attend to something means that I stretch my mind to focus on the object that I’m thinking about.
Time can be like a temple. I like to look back on an experience and see the time-frame around which it is contained. Sometimes I jot a note in my journal. I can step back and see the whole experience at once, like looking at a temple or church from a distance.
This psalm is a perfect prayer to think about and thank God for the sacred times and spaces in your life.
Examples of Bible Breaths Learn More…
You are joy of all the earth. v. 2
Pondering Your steadfast love v. 9
You reaching across the earth v. 10
You are my guide forever. v. 14
Check out Study Tools in BibleGateway.
I especially recommend the free resource
in Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
We read the Psalms in numerical order on Wednesdays
These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.
The Bible Through the Seasons 