Why the Psalms are Good for the Soul
It has been said that you can’t know God unless you know yourself and you can’t know yourself unless you know God. In the quest of nourishing our souls, it is important to be growing in our knowing of both ourselves and our creator. In the Bible, in its entirety, we learn about both God and man, but if you want to read the one book of the Bible that helps you to understand the human condition and the God of the Bible, that book would be Psalms.
Psalms is comprised of 150 Hebrew songs, poems and prayers. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David. In these psalms from David we see him expressing the full range of human emotions to God. David knows that God is a safe place where he can express his anger, disappointment, fear, doubt, depression and anxiety. Yet, because David truly knows his God, often in the same prayer that he expresses anger and disappointment he also expresses gratitude, hope, and praise.
We see in the Psalms that David had a healthy relationship with God: David could be vulnerable and honest because he knew the character of his loving father, Yahweh. David could proclaim with his whole heart that his Lord was: slow to anger, compassionate, faithful, forgiving, and just. David knew that God was able, powerful and willing to act. David was deeply connected to and trusted in God’s lovingkindness. Knowing God in this intimate way, lead to David’s personal praise and worship of his loving, faithful God.
In each of our journeys we have times and areas of struggle. When our souls are deeply nourished by our relationship to our Heavenly Father we find strength and hope to sustains through those times. So whether we are currently experiencing highs or lows, Psalms is a good place to spend some time.
Below are some tips for ways to read Psalms:
Read one psalm a day, corresponding with the calendar and keep going until you finish. (150 days of psalms)
Pick a psalm, any psalm, anytime you pick up your bible.
Read a psalm devotional book such as: In the Lord I take Refuge by Dane Ortland or Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis
Pick one Psalm or a portion of one psalm to meditate on for a period of time. For instance, you could read Psalm 23 every night before bed for a week or longer.
However you choose to spend some time in Psalms, I would like to encourage you to seek to know yourself and God better as you read them. Remember that David and the other psalters were trying to figure out life just like we are. And God, well, He doesn’t change. Jesus quoted the Psalms more than any other Old Testament book. Perhaps this book should be just as familiar to us, guiding our way and nourishing our souls.