we will call this ‘the pilgrimage of the heart’, our daily ‘walking with God’.

Here, then, are the first two elements of true religion. True religion is not enthusiasm for religious pursuits and objects (verse 6), but consists of our

it is sounded six times: ‘he who keeps you (verse 3)... who keeps Israel (verse 4)... your keeper (verse 5)... will keep (verse 7)... will keep (verse 7)... will keep (verse 8).

all such speculations represent no more than likelihood.

Problem unsolved (vv. 5–7): Unanswered prayer? A deep sigh (verse 5a) announces that the same problem still remains:

our final destiny in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

verse 10 asks that – again for David's sake – the Lord will favour his anointed king;

Or is he? The heart of the message of this psalm is powerful and wonderfully reassuring, a real truth for facing life.

David became head man in the divine covenant.