Psalms 1 - 45
I'm not much of a poet nor am I one to appreciate poetry all that much. So naturally it is difficult for me to read the Psalms this fast. My favorite way to "read" the Psalms is to pray the Psalms. I traditionally have dissected down an individual Psalm verse by verse and made a small prayer out of it for myself based on the author's words. However, at this rate of reading that is not reasonable. I find myself reading but not really applying them. You see I like context. I like to know who is writing the Psalm and the situation in which they are writing it. Individually reading the Psalms doesn't provide much context for understanding.
There are so many phrases that speak to me as I read them that I can't record them all here. Rather as I was reading I reflected on the following things...
- Each of the authors has an intimately personal relationship with the Lord. This is evident because the author speaks to God as if they are personal friends. Pouring out emotions, fears, concerns and joys. We don't get this deep with causal relationships... only those that are intensely personal. Do I have this deep of a relationship with God and how often do I pour myself out this intensely to him?
- There are many different attributes of God named in these Psalms. Comforter, sustainer,counselor, Righteous one, rebuker, shield, protector... God is bigger than you and I can imagine. How many attributes of God do I recognize?
- Though I'm not a poet, I recognize that many poets are often inspired and in order to relay their emotions appropriately record their artwork in poetry. Surely this was the case with David and the other Psalmists. What do I do when the Lord inspires me? How do I show him my praise and adoration? What do I do when I'm upset or frustrated? God created us us to be creative in His image.
- I've only been reading these Psalms for 2 days now yet there are enough Psalms for 6 days worth of reading in this 90 day format. That is more than any other single book of the Bible. If it is important enough to capture this much space in the preserved Word, then it must be important enough for me to carve out this much proportional time in my life to give the Lord praise and create dialogue with Him. Unfortunately I fall extremely short in this area. What would it be like to spend an entire day with God talking to Him like the Psalmists do? Maybe you and I should try it more often....
My prayer is as go through the remaining days of Psalm reading, I will draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit to help me understand what God is speaking to me about.
Help me use these Psalms as a model for the depth of relationship I should have with you and to learn how to relate to you as Friend AND God.
