Psalm 36:5-9 - How great is our God

This was the very first passage I journalled, so it's very simple. I'd heard you shouldn't start journalling with your favourite verse (you're unlikely to feel that you've done it justice when you're just starting out) so the page I decided to start journalling on was Psalm 36.

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
    your justice like the great deep.
    You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast in the abundance of your house;
    you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light.

- Psalm 36:5-9                                      

I had the song The splendour of the king going round in my head - a song with fantastic lyrics about God's attributes taken directly from scripture. As a result, when I read the passage the phrase that immediately came to mind was 'how great is our God'. While the song doesn't mention any of the attributes in this passage, it's another reminder of how big, strong, powerful and generally amazing God is.

After prepping the page with gesso I wrote out 'how great is our God' in various lettering, then coloured with Copic markers. It was very simple but because of that it gave me the confidence to actually put pen to paper in my Bible without worrying about it too much.

I kept the lettering to the margin because Psalm 37 is also on that page and over on to the next, and some of my favourite verses are in that psalm. I'll be returning to these pages and verses later.

Psalm 91:4 - Cover me with Your wings

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

- Psalm 91:4

This was one of the first passages I journalled. It's a verse that I've known in a sort of passing way for a long time but not really thought about in depth. I was inspired by Rebekah R Jones' Bible art journalling challenge (week 25) to think more about what it means to be covered by God's wings.

It's reassuring to know that God is always there, in a way (and I mean no disrespect) like a spiritual comfort blanket, covering us, there for us to duck under whenever we need somewhere to go to hide or think or grieve or rest or anything else.

As far as the artwork goes, it's not the best art I've ever produced and in all honesty if I look at the page just as a creative product then I'm not happy with it. But that's not the point of Bible journalling. Through the process it made me think more about who God is, so even though I'm not happy with the end result, I'm pleased I got to spend time thinking about that verse more in depth and understanding more what it means for me.

I used some feather stamps as the basis for the page then embellished them with coloured pencils and added the lettering. I prepped the page with a very thin layer of white gesso, leaving the verse I was journalling uncovered so it stands out on the page.

Psalm 29 - The voice of the Lord is powerful

I often dip into the Psalms when I don't know what to read, and I found myself in Psalm 29 recently. The Psalm is all about how amazing God is and what He is capable of. I often find that it's difficult to conceive how big God is, but this Psalm goes some way to explaining His splendour.

A psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name; worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King for ever.
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

 - Psalm 29

Often when I Bible art journal I create something that speaks to me from the passage, but this time I thought I would illustrate what the passage said. There's so much in there and it all talks about how great God is, and I thought illustrating it might help me grasp better more of God's character and power.

I used coloured pencils, blended with a baby wipe, a white gel pen for the lightning and a black pen for the lettering to write out the part of the passage which seemed to sum it all up for me - 'the voice of the Lord is powerful'.