Psalm 24

One of the  most influential people in my life was my 3rd and 4th grade church school teacher, Mrs. Russell. She loved reading and words, as I did, and she had us memorize scripture, including this chapter, Psalm 24. Reading it now, in the King James Version, I am reminded of how beautiful much of the bible is as art:

Psalm 24 KJV

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

As a member of a minority denomination, I do not believe in the teaching of religion in school. I remember being a 1st and 2nd grader and feeling so left out when the "Catholics" left class and all of us "Protestants" were crammed into one classroom and essentially babysat while catechism was being taught in another part of the school. No child should be separated or stigmatized in a public school because of their religion, but I think we lose a lot when we throw the bible out of English Literature classes. What if we didn't study Shakespeare? Chaucer? Keats? The King James Version of the bible has some extraordinary passages that can thrill readers of any or no religion, not for their content, but for their historical value and form. The language is so incredibly beautiful, breathtaking to me as a child, and still breathtaking today.

Thank you, Mrs. Russell.