Psalm 17: The Song of the Innocent
The Psalms show us how to relate with God both as our friend and as our judge. The psalmists will often move fluidly from a conversational intimacy to a formal plea for vindication and back again, because in their minds, God is both near to his people and high above humanity as the transcendent, sovereign […]
Psalm 13: The Song of Questions
The Psalms ask God questions – hard questions, big questions, questions that we might think God would be offended to hear. The psalmists are unafraid to be utterly, brutally honest with God because he welcomes us and hears us. Ironically, expressing this kind of raw emotion to God leads us to greater trust and safety […]
Psalm 12: The Song of Speech
The Psalms are words. They are the words of the psalmists, and they are the words of God, inspired and inerrant. And sometimes these psalms speak about words themselves, teaching us how to respond to and rely on God’s Word in our daily lives.
Psalm 10: The Song of the Afflicted (Part 2)
The Psalms offer us an analysis of evil. When the psalmists cry out to God for justice and refuge from suffering, they often describe those who are causing them this misery. Therefore, the Psalms serve as a warning for us. If we see ourselves in these descriptions of wickedness, it will hopefully lead us to […]
Psalm 7: The Song of the Hunted
The Psalms have a balanced perspective on justice. The Bible doesn’t often allow us to see people as entirely innocent or entirely guilty, because even the most innocent victim can do wrong in the way they call for justice and even the most guilty criminal can change their ways and be reformed. There is right […]
Psalm 6: The Song of Weary Tears
The Psalms are much more honest with emotions than we are. We often hide how we feel not only from others but also from ourselves or from God. We might feel pressure to say that we’re fine even when our lives are crumbling. But the Psalms can open a pressure release valve that allows us […]
Psalm 5: The Song of Sacrifice
The Psalms invite us to meditate not only on what we are experiencing and how we are feeling but also on the character of God. They honor the troubles and distress that we’re in, but then they lift our eyes out of our circumstances so that we can see how God fits in with everything […]
Psalm 4: The Song of Sleep
The Psalms are literary masterpieces, some of the greatest poems and songs ever written, and like all great works of art, they surprise you and take you down paths you didn’t expect. They force you to think, to ask, “Why did the author say this and not that?” They are meditation literature, intentionally written for […]
Psalm 3: The Song of the Surrounded
The Psalms are sometimes written out of a specific situation and life event for the author, but they are also written to be sung and prayed by the people of God in every time and age and situation. For example, most of us have not experienced a time when our child formed a rebellion against […]