Psalms: Not Just For The Musically Gifted

By Pastor Ryan in Arts and Culture in Worship on 8/11/10

Of all the books of the Bible, the book of Psalms is probably one of my favorites.  Even before I was a musician or a singer, the words of the psalmists connected with me at a very basic level.  You don’t need to have a music degree/ be able to play an instrument/or even be able to sing on key /to engage the book of Psalms.  Although these scriptures originally were set to music of some sort, they are in their very essence, simply the raw, genuine emotions and feelings of their authors.  No “politely spoken words” or editor censoring here…just pure, heartfelt honesty.  The authors situations and circumstances (although often extreme in nature for our time) are still relatable and moving to modern readers. 

For example, David cries out in Psalm 27:3, “Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though a war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.”  I think that most of us would admit that we never have been in quite that scenario, (soldiers hunting us down to take our life) but we can sympathize with David’s plight.  We can imagine what it must have felt like in that moment for David, and then we are inspired by how David responds to his situation…by putting his full trust in God regardless of the circumstance!  We also learn from these scriptures how to pray like David…with honesty and purity and sometimes with somewhat less than reverent phrasing.  God wants us to simply engage Him and talk with Him.  Sometimes that means vocally!  After all, I have a hard time imagining David just simply “contemplating” Psalm 27 in his head.  I’m sure he cried out before God, pleading for Him to intervene!  Speaking, and singing out loud challenges us to worship God with all of our heart, soul, mind, AND STRENGTH! 

Jesus said that the greatest of the commandments was to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37-38).  The Psalms help us love Him with our hearts by giving voice to the deepest thoughts and emotions of the human spirit.  These 150 “songs of praise”, as their Hebrew title translates, express virtually every sort of feeling, emotion, and attitude that people can have toward life.  From deep depression…all the way to exuberant joy!  Thus, the Psalms invite us to open up to God, be real with God, and wait on God!  That is why we begin each of our church services with a time of praise and worship!  Have you noticed that some of the very songs we sing closely mimic the phrasing of the Psalms?  Here are a just a few examples:

“If my lungs can’t sing, I’ll sing with my heart, with my soul, with my mind, Yeah I’ll sing it for You.”

Or,

“Everlasting, You’re light will shine when all else fades. Never ending, You’re Glory goes beyond all fame.  And the cry of my heart, is to bring You praise.  From the inside out, Lord my soul cries out.” 

And,

“Tear down the walls, see the world, is there something we have missed? Turn from ourselves, look beyond, there is so much more than this!” 

These words, much like the psalms, are simply raw, genuine emotion poured out to God!  That is why worship is such an amazing thing…it is our opportunity to allow our heart to connect with His heart.  It is no wonder that that the book of Psalms has been the prayer book and hymnal for countless generations before us.  These scriptures appeal to our emotions and intuition, not only our intellect and logic.  They highlight the subtleties of life that are more meaningfully learned through authentic experience rather than programmatic explanation.  As you enter into the Psalms, I want to challenge you to try reading them out loud.  Let them give voice to your spirit as you lift up your heart to Him! 

  -Ryan

 

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