SUMMER IN THE PSALMS
Thousands of years ago, an Israelite named David poured out his heart to God in song. He wasn’t embarrassed to lay before God his deepest thoughts and rawest emotions—sadness, anger, lament, fear, and joy. Ever since, God’s people have been singing and praying his words, and others like them, in the book of Psalms. In the Psalms, beautiful poems and vulnerable prayers flow from real human hearts across a wide range of seasons and circumstances. The Psalms sing forth with hymns of praise, reflecting on the goodness of God in the land of the living. Yet the Psalms also cry out to God from the valley of the shadow, overwhelmed by doubt, loss, and death. That’s why Christians have never stopped meditating on these words. Because in the Psalms, we see a reflection of the delights and longings we feel in our own hearts.
The Psalms is the greatest book of poetry ever produced. We need this book. It meets us in each part of our story. In the place of both trial and celebration, we often find that our own words fall short. We don’t know what to say or what to feel. In the midst of our circumstances, we are left with shallow wells from which to draw. The Psalms deepen us and enrich our souls. It gives language to our stories. Its songs and prayers become our own. It lifts our eyes up to the hills to see that our help comes from Jesus. No wonder the New Testament quotes the Psalms more than almost any other book. Join us each Sunday as we explore the deep and still waters of the book of Psalms.
Resource Recommendations
- How to Read & Understand the Psalms by Bruce Waltke
- How To Read the Psalms by Tremper Longman III
- In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions through the Psalms by Dane Ortlund
- Praying with the Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections by Eugene Peterson