Reflecting on the Psalms – An Introduction

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,

LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

~Psalms 19:14 (CSB)

The Psalms – a collection of 150 psalms, written over countless years, preserved for thousands of years – are a record of people responding to God in every imaginable circumstance of life.  It is a prayer book of songs expressing worship, gratitude, sorrow, and all depths of human emotion.  Barry C. Davis writes, “They [the psalms] attack our sensibilities – shaking us to the very roots of our beings – yet they resonate within us with the realization that, perhaps for the first time in our lives, we truly have been understood.”  Do you need to feel understood?

This collection of Hebrew poetry explores every aspect of human emotion as a response to our lives and to the God who created us.  As I read through the Psalms recently, I was struck by the unapologetic emotional response to the difficulties the writers were experiencing.  It made me wonder if I had been so honest with God about my circumstances and emotions, would I be struggling with the things I do today?

I tend to stuff my emotional baggage, sharing it with few out of fear of being too much of a burden.  I do not open myself up easily to others, including to God.  The writers of the Psalms let it all out – all the fear, the anger, the ugly.  It’s right there on the page.  

Conversely, though, the awe that they express for the Living God is beautiful and indescribably pure.  The Psalms reveal God’s character to us while simultaneously responding to the God of the universe.  One commentary describes the Psalms as unique: “In them not only does God speak to his people, but the people speak to God” (Expositor’s).  And what a privilege it is that we can approach God with every emotion and in every circumstance.

Please join me this month as we reflect on the Psalms and specifically on the glory of God, the character of God, on suffering and distress, and on praise as revealed through the Psalms.  And I leave you with a challenge for the month.

Challenge: Sit down and read through the Psalms as you would a novel.  We tend to read the Psalms one at a time.  I challenge you to read through the Psalms as a whole, to see it as a whole rather than individual Psalms.  You can read it in large chunks such as the five sections that it is already broken into, or in chunks of 25 or 50 Psalms, or read it in one sitting (you’ll need a few hours).  Then ask yourself, “What did you notice about God?  How are you encouraged to approach God?”

Bibliography

Barry C. Davis, “Psalms,” in The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, ed. Gary M. Burge and Andrew E. Hill (Michigan: Baker Books, 2012), 494.

Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger III, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Abridged Edition: Old Testament(Michigan: Zondervan, 1994), 790.