It’s actually sometimes a shocking experience to read the Psalms and see how blunt and direct the questions aimed at God are.
For thousands of years, the book of Psalms has been one of the go-to locations for Christians in times of crisis. The ancients lived extremely difficult lives, enduring hardships that we take for granted in the modern day. But those of us living in the 21st century still endure hardships, though of a much different kind than those experienced by our ancestors.
Even so, the Psalms have offered the people of God the hope of making all things new, by the saving work of a Sovereign ruler who governs his kingdom with wisdom, justice, and mercy.
At its essence, the book of Psalms is a book of prayers written by various authors, King David being one of the most prominent. It is broken into five sections which are called “Books”. Essentially, the 5 books are 5 chapters, each with a different purpose or focus. It is not necessarily a “song book”, though many Psalms were sung by travelers on the way to Jerusalem (see our study last year in the Songs of Ascent - Book 5 of the Psalms). For thousands of years, however, as a part of our worship, the Church has sung the Psalms as a set of prayers to God, as we pray, in song, the words of God back to Him. Most accurately, the Psalms can be thought of as the “prayer book” of the people of God.
The Psalms of Book I (Psalm 1 - 41) are largely made up of commentaries of God’s praiseworthy attributes, as well as reminders of his covenant promises. They are meant to instill in the reader a sense of commitment to remembering and keeping the law of God, found in the Torah, as well as a call to worship by recounting the nature of God as seen in his mighty deeds, especially in the work of creation and preservation. But the entire book is also anticipating the coming of the messianic kingdom, and with it, a Messiah, who would right all of the wrongs of the world, and bring peace and harmony to God’s people.
In many of the Psalms, however, the desperation of the speaker is tangible; his cries are earnest, and in them, he is asking for some of the most foundational things from the Lord: “Preserve my life.” “Hear the voice of my complaint.” “Save me.” “Let not my enemies triumph over me.” Captivity, destruction, and death were often at the door of the psalmists, and their response was to fall on their knees in prayer.
The first lesson for us in the Psalms involves more than just the knowledge of God displayed there. It is the way in which the people of God spoke to Him and acknowledged him, even in the midst of their trials, that ought to be a model for us as we walk through all that we must endure in the personal and collective trials we face.
It’s actually sometimes a shocking experience to read the Psalms and see how blunt and direct the questions aimed at God are. No one is tiptoeing around the issues that they see before them. They are addressing the Lord of the universe with immediacy, intensity and specificity.
3:4 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.
5:2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
This too is a model for the church today. We can really, truly, go directly to God with all manner of honesty. When we confess our sins to God, we ought to be specific. When we experience doubt or fear, we ought to go to Him immediately. When we are in the midst of suffering, whether physically, spiritually, or emotionally, we ought to go to him with all means available to us, many times throughout the day, praying
without ceasing.
Perhaps the most common refrain of the Psalmists is “How Long?”
4:2-3 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
6:3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
13:1-2 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be
exalted over me?
35:17 How long, O Lord, will you look on?
If you’re like me, waiting is extremely difficult. It’s difficult in the normality of life, and it’s almost unbearable during times of great distress. The psalmists waited in dire circumstances, at one point observing the destruction of the temple (Psalm 79) and the devastation of the promised land (Psalm 74). Seeing the world as they knew it crumbling around them, they expected and hoped for deliverance. We could surmise that they expected their Messiah to come quickly, in their lifetime, to restore order and justice to the chaos they were experiencing.
And yet, in the lifetime of the psalmists, he did not come. King David himself was but a type of the messianic King, though flawed and ultimately a failure, and he too waited on the coming of the True King to undo the evil that he himself had done while he was the monarch.
The Psalms, however, don’t
remain in lament and despair forever. Instead, they always return to the promises of God, their Covenant Keeper, their Perfect Fulfiller, their Only Hope.
This is yet another critical lesson the Psalms model for us today: Are you in despair for the world? Are you feeling the weightiness of life pulling down your shoulders? Are you anxiously awaiting an unknown future? Respond as the psalmists do, by remembering the promises of God, and by putting your faith and trust in Him to see you through your circumstances.
Waiting patiently for God to do what He has said he will do can be excruciating. And yet, time and time again, we can look back to see how far He has brought us, and see how his promises have been fulfilled in our lives and in those around us. And mercifully, our Lord has given us the words of the Psalms, for our comfort, while we wait.
In Psalm 40, King David wrote these words:
40:1-3 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Imagine the sense of peace felt when you can say these words yourself. Imagine the song of praise on your own lips. Imagine the weight of all that glory.