Reading through Psalms

For the next three months, we will be reading through the book of Psalms together. Our reading plan is designed to help you build the habit of reading the scriptures. During the first couple of weeks, you will be encouraged to read just one or two psalms each day. Later, we will challenge you to read more, building to about 10-15 minutes spent in the word daily.

If we are going to obey Jesus by teaching disciples to observe his commands, we must know what those commands are. Likewise, if we want to do the will of God, we should understand what he has already communicated in his Word.

We are starting, though, with Psalm 119. Many of you know that this is the longest psalm, and in fact the longest chapter in the Bible. We are starting there because Psalm 119 is different from every other psalm in length, style, and aspiration. Most psalms aspire to address one or two topics. Psalm 119, on the other hand, sets out to address many aspects of a faithful life. It is true that the psalmist who wrote Psalm 119 often returns to the theme of God’s law. But there are also references to the struggles of youth, to prayer, to oppression, and to salvation.

Psalm 119 is also a helpful place to start because it is very clearly a poem. All of the psalms are poetic. Most are songs that were written to be sung. Some are more clearly poems of praise or prayer. But as poems, every Psalm should be read with certain characteristics in mind.

First, pay attention to metaphors and other comparisons. The psalm writers often use descriptive metaphors to help us understand the significance and meaning. Consider Psalm 119:103 – “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” Here the psalmist compares the Word of God with sweet honey to get the point across that God’s Word isn’t just good for us, but that it is also enjoyable! Many other psalms do this as well.

Second, poems have verses or stanzas. Even a shorter psalm might have two or three stanzas, and so you shouldn’t try to read a psalm like a story. Instead, expect to read it in pieces: looking for different themes, ideas, and descriptions. Psalm 119 is a perfect psalm for developing this habit as it has 22 different stanzas that are all 8 verses long. As you read these different stanzas, try to focus on the separate meaning of each section before attempting to figure out how they fit into the larger whole.

Finally, as you read the psalms, look for repetition. Hebrew poetry often uses restatement and repetition to draw attention to certain points, or place emphasis on specific ideas. If you’re reading through a psalm and think, “this has been said already,” you’re probably right. Go back and look at the repeated text so that you are clear on the points that have been emphasized.

Spending time in the Word of God is one of the core Christian disciplines. If we are going to obey Jesus by teaching disciples to observe his commands, we must know what those commands are. Likewise, if we want to do the will of God, we should understand what he has already communicated in his Word. For this season at Grace Community Church, we’re going to seek him out in the Psalms.