Prayer/Quiet Times

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Psalms

You are free to read the Psalms in your personal prayer time through the year. (I am leaving that for you to organise.) There are only 150 Psalms and 365 days in the year so you can be free to use them here and there as you so desire.

The Psalms appear to have been written as songs used in Israelite corporate worship in the sanctuary. These psalms (or ‘praises’) are heavily grounded in the covenant relationship that the LORD has with His people. Most of the Psalms centre on David with roughly half of the psalms being associated with him. A handful of other people are responsible for fifteen others, while the rest are not attributed to anyone.

The Psalms is a collection of wonderful poetry. They use similes and metaphors, repetition and they are also highly emotive. John Calvin described the Psalms as “an anatomy of all parts of the soul for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.” How are you feeling spiritually at the moment? Chances are you can find a psalm that takes the words out of your mouth, expressed in beautiful and inspired terms.

The content of the Psalms include praises to God, questioning God, surveying God’s relationship with His people, prophecy of Christ and visions of the future Kingdom of God and its glory.

Not only that, it is also important to be aware that they all relate to the Christ, each in their own way. Some remind us of the wonderful covenant relationship we have with God thanks to the Christ. Some speak (for example) of the Temple or God’s enemies in ways that we can only understand in light of how the Christ has now redefined the Temple or God’s enemies. Some psalms are even the words of Christ, coming out of David’s mouth!

Because of this we must understand that the Psalms have layers of application. And so we need to proceed with caution as we read the Psalms and make applications. Sometimes we are to place ourselves in David’s shoes, as he cries out to God, and yet, on another level, we are to see in David the words of our Savior, as He is abandoned by His disciples, as He heals people of their sicknesses and diseases, and as He suffers and dies and is finally vindicated by His Father.

Key reflection questions:

• What am I thankful to God for?
• Martin Luther called the Psalms “a little Bible, and the summary of the Old Testament.”
  Do you agree?