Psalm 40: The Song of Thankful Deliverance
The Psalms teach us to praise and to weep, to laugh about the goodness of God and to cry out in pain and confusion. The more time we spend in the Psalms, the more we learn how – in every and any circumstance – to hold contradictory emotions together as we wait for the LORD.
Psalm 34: The Song of Alphabetical Thanksgiving
The Psalms invite us into both weakness and strength. They welcome the one who is overly confident in their position to rely on the mercy of the Lord and humble themselves, but they also welcome the one who can barely pray by encouraging them to look again to the faithful, strong God.
Psalm 32: The Song of the Forgiven
The Psalms assume that your relationship with God is fractured. They were written in the context of the biblical story in which we were made by a holy God, we have rebelled against him in selfish sin, and we need forgiveness. The Psalms prepare us to meet our God on holy ground as we kneel […]
Psalm 30: The Song of Dancing
The Psalms teach us to be storytellers. They invite us to tell our individual stories to the corporate people of God so that they may learn from our mistakes, rejoice in our victories, and ultimately praise the goodness and mercy of God in all of our lives.
Psalm 18: The Song of the Servant’s Love
The Psalms are usually short meditations and conversations between the psalmist and God, but sometimes we find a psalm that is long and descriptive, with lots of different images and emotions. There are hills and valleys, rising tension and decisive conclusions. These kinds of psalms invite us to step inside a story, experience it, and […]
Psalm 9: The Song of the Afflicted (Part 1)
The Psalms are often written from the perspective of the sufferers and the oppressed. We are given an opportunity to hear the cries of the victims, and when we ourselves are victims to injustice and evil, we can find comfort in these ancient prayers that give voice to our pain.