Why I Love and Need the Book of Psalms
- Sherry Coyle
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 minutes ago
I love the Book of Psalms. If you've lived long enough on this fallen earth, I'm sure you do too.
Our time on this fractured, groaning planet is often hard. So unpredictable. Uncertain and unnerving. Disappointing and distressing. The Old Testament's Psalms, in powerful, poetic language, speak directly to the raw realities that life eventually brings: Joy is overshadowed by sorrow. A friend becomes a foe. Godly pursuits are sabotaged by sin. Success shifts to failure. Well-being gives way to sickness and disease. Justice is overrun by injustice. Acceptance is replaced by rejection. God's purposes seem thwarted by Satan's. Clarity becomes clouded by confusion. Hope battles with hopelessness. Faith falters, letting fear take the lead. Worship wanes and pulls out a welcome mat for woe.
And what I very much appreciate about the Psalms is that the psalmists talk honestly and openly to their loving Creator about it all.
If you were to look at my present Bible, which has been my primary study Bible since March 2016, you would find just about every psalm of the 150 with markings, dates, or writing in the margins. Some with all three. With each Bible I've used over the past forty years of my adult life, this would be the case.
The markings and notes or the repetitive times I've meditated on a particular psalm (indicated by multiple dates recorded) don’t reveal that I’m an Old Testament scholar, or well-learned student of ancient hymns and prayers, or some super Christian—no, I assure you that I’m nothing of the sort—but just that I came to an experiential understanding very early in my life that I’m desperate for God, in every desperate-feeling, desperate-looking reality I encounter. So very desperate and so very needy every day, even when the proverbial sun is shining, and my life circumstances are faring well.
Throughout my Christian journey, I’ve had many days, and even lingering seasons, when the honest, heartfelt words of a specific psalm—perhaps a verse, a section, or the psalm in its entirety—spoke directly into my challenging situation, articulating exactly how I was feeling. This has always brought such comfort because when the journey gets extremely hard, especially when never having traveled that difficult way before, the psalms remind us that our pained hearts, anxieties about the future, doubts and fears, anger and anguish, questions and confusion about what the Lord is allowing, weakness and weariness in the wait, feelings of distress and disappointment, and even moments of heavy despondency and depression, can be, and should be, unburdened before the Lord, then relinquished to His sovereign wisdom, control, provision and power.
However, what I truly love most, more than the realistic portrayal of life or the candid, raw emotions the psalms honestly convey, is that they continually direct my attention away from the heavy toward the heavenly, shifting me from pity to praise, from woe to worship.
And this is where my mind needs to be redirected. However, I will admit it often clings to a feels-right, stubbornly earthly, temporary mindset, as unwise and spiritually unproductive as this is. In such testing times, the eternal truths of a psalm are exactly what I must repetitively read and consider, until the lowly atmosphere of my mind is exchanged for a higher elevation.
How thankful I am that the Lord chose to include the Book of Psalms in the Bible. He gifted us this collection of God-breathed words that encompass a gamut of raw, identifiable human emotions. Words that become a lifeline in this oft-tumultuous life that stirs tumultuous emotions. Words that, ultimately, herald hope and salvation.
The Psalms, if we let them do what they're intended to do, have the power to settle what's unsettled within. This is because as we rehearse and release our burdens to Him, it brings a refocusing on what’s true, and supernatural rest that’s transcendent our earthly trials.
Fellow sojourner, I have no way of knowing what you're specifically facing this day or this season of your life, or exactly how you're feeling and faring; yet, if you're a redeemed child of God, these truths I do most certainly know:
Almighty God, your loving Father, is right with you, walking it through, walking it out. He has never left your side.
His Son, the Suffering Servant, understands—yes, understands like no other—all that you're going through, everything you're feeling.
His Holy Spirit resides within, ready to comfort you, assist you, direct you, and convert your thinking, change your responding.
If you need a beautifully written reminder of these truths and more, as you face your unsettling times, don't merely settle for how you're feeling, which is what Satan desires because flesh-driven thoughts lead to flesh-driven speech and flesh-driven behaviors. Instead, pick up God's Word, turn to the Book of Psalms, and let God’s presence and perspective transform your mind, words, and actions.
And, most importantly, because the Psalms always compel us to worship (a choice that's more readily made when we choose to unload the weight of our emotions and see the LORD for who He really is), exchange your woeful mood for one that's worshipful, and worship the One who’s always worthy of exaltation. Truly, the Psalms lead us to lift high, to elevate and magnify our matchless God, especially in pressing times when Satan aims to keep us feeling down.
I believe this is the greatest value of this ancient, inspirational book.
The highest form of worship we can offer is not when we're dressed in our Sunday best with our perfect Sunday smiles, singing resounding praise songs during corporate worship, as heartfelt and exalting as this can and should be.
No, it's when we're in the darkness of the distressing moment, when we're alone in our hard realities and despondent thoughts, and through the pain, tears, and unknowns, with hands lifted high, still proclaim the character and glory of our great God—the One who is the Sovereign over all, including your life and mine, and is more than worthy of our adoration, come what may.
This is why I love, and very much need, the Book of Psalms.
“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.” Psalm 71:14-19
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