Vol.8 No.3

Psalms for the 21st Century
Modern Christians may still find God’s rest, peace, and strength in the ancient beauty of the Psalms.
by Adriana Timsa

A few years ago I listened to a young preacher give his conversion experience and describe his first steps in studying the Bible. “I used to open my Bible and read for a while. When it became too strong, I quickly turned to another passage. Isaiah... Oops! Too strong... Let’s go to Revelation... Hmm!... How about Matthew?... I kept flicking through the Bible... And you know what happened? I always ended up in the Psalms...!”

I smiled. A young Christian myself, the Psalms had helped me a great deal, too. But did the preacher see Psalms as “light” reading? I needed an explanation. “I heard your testimony and the part about the Psalms intrigued me. Did you mean to say that the Psalms are a lower type of inspired writings?” I gasped, praying that I hadn’t been too blunt. He looked at me as if I had accused him of blasphemy. “No, not at all. I need to be more careful. I think the Psalms are just as inspired as any other part of the Bible. My point was that I avoided God’s rebukes and quieted my conscience by reading smooth things in the Psalms. One can read smooth things everywhere in the Bible, including the Psalms. I was claiming God’s promises without fulfilling the conditions first. That’s presumption. In fact, the Psalms can get quite scary. They contain as many rebukes as the rest of the Bible.” His explanation satisfied me.

The Psalms, indeed, may be viewed as a lullaby and a theology textbook, being both doctrinal and devotional. That’s how 90% of the people I interviewed on a Christian college campus felt, too.

I went out on my little survey thinking that most people would find the Psalms as I did—a Russian doll, the meaning hidden under three different strata: the Hebrew mind, the Hebrew language, the Hebrew poetry. How can you translate this into English and still claim you understand what the author meant thousands of years ago? And, besides, generally speaking, poetry inhibits people, right? Wrong. To my surprise, all the people I interviewed study the Psalms quite frequently. They refer to them in time of need, when hurting, but also when happy; when sick or when healthy. Or, as one of them put it, “The authors wrote psalms for a variety of reasons and no matter what mood I am in, I can find something in the Psalms. Something to boost me up, something to calm me down, something to put me back into connection with God.” No less than 90% of them said the Psalms are easy to understand (or “easier than Paul’s writings,” as some put it; “in the same category with the Gospels and the Proverbs, very good for a new Christian; the author says it as it is.”). Some refer to them when tired, or before they go to sleep after an exhausting day, because they need spiritual uplifting, but are too tired to follow the theological niceties of Paul or Isaiah. Somebody even said: “They possess musical quality; that’s what attracted me to the Psalms.”

Personally, I have been impressed by the sudden change of mindset the psalmist experiences as he prays to God—quite a frequent occurrence in the Psalms. It has confirmed my own experience: the more desperate my need, the more sudden and powerful God’s help.

Take, for instance, Psalm 13. The first verse overflows with anguish: “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” The last verse bursts out in thankfulness: “I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” What happens between these two lines? In four verses, the author offers the secret to victorious prayer. We see how reason takes over emotion step by step, only to bring faith in and help the psalmist grasp the promise of God and the reality of His protection.  Verse 2 keeps asking the same question as verse one, but elaborates on the situation: “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” Verse 3 asks God to do something specific in the situation: “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Verse 4 looks at the consequences if God didn’t intervene: “Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.” The very next verse starts in a different note and the first word, “but,” prepares the change. The psalmist has made up his mind to leave fear and doubts behind and to trust in the Lord: “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.” Then comes the last verse, a shout of victory, gratefulness and praise.

You might have prayed following this model unawares. And you might have said something like this: “Lord, I am distressed and I need your help. Here’s the situation... I need You to work right now. Otherwise, this is what will happen... BUT: I know You will protect me. I know you won’t allow this to happen. I choose to believe this. I trust in You and in the salvation You provide.” Fear is lost in faith; weakness in strength; doubt in assurance. Once you decide, once you choose to trust in Him, like the psalmist, once you have aligned your will with His will, He will change your very thoughts. Then peace will flow in, and strength to wait upon His leading. You see, God’s power does not transfer from His hand to your hand, nor does it transfer from His feet to your feet. It transfers from His mind to your mind.

My favorite book in the Bible, the Psalms, has replaced the French and English literature I used to study at the University of Bucharest. But more than intellectual stimulation, they have provided for my spiritual need. As Kathleen Norris put it in her book entitled The Cloister Walk, they have defeated my “tendency to try to be holy before being human first.” For one good at self-pity, they have been uncomfortable “because they don’t allow [me] to deny either the depth of [my] pain or the possibility of its transformation into praise.” Throughout them runs the theme of God’s solution for man’s every problem, the theme of victory because God can.

I like all the Psalms, but a few have become my favorites. Psalm 16 makes a great prayer in the morning, to reaffirm my identity in the Lord. Psalm 27 brings me security and rest in a world of confusion and busyness. Psalm 37 encourages me when waiting upon the Lord may seem to stretch my faith beyond its limits. Psalm 42 helps me to gather my strength after a defeat, while Psalm 51 wipes away tears of repentance. Psalm 139 reassures me of God’s omnipresence; I claim its last two verses as I grow in Him.

The Psalms have given me a correct view of the gospel: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10). Here I see the law and the gospel joined in perfect union, each a representation of God’s love. They have taught me to trust in God’s protection: “under the shadow of His wings,” while He treats me as the “apple of His eye” (Psalm 17:8). What more can you and I expect from a loving Creator?