I have confessed it before, and I’m sure I’ll state it again in the future—I’m not a “Psalms-guy.” Many people just love the Psalms; they appreciated the emotional framework of the Psalms, the poetry, the imagery and the personal voice of the author. Even without music, the Psalms move some people in dramatic and spiritual ways.
Not so for me. My appreciation of poetry never really evolved past “roses are red, violets are blue…” I have a good sense of metaphors and imagery, but it always appears lost to me in poetic form. I like hearing people’s testimonies, their personal interactions with my Lord, but set in the “wrong” format, I tend to get lost and miss the interpersonal dynamics of the author’s engagement with God.
When I first became a follower of Christ I was deeply immersed in Paul’s epistles. There’s where I found a home! Paul’s didactic style, his clear articulation of theological points, his direct and thorough description of the Christian life all appealed to me. I could follow that, enjoy it, and be drawn deeper in my relationship with Jesus. The more time I spent with Paul’s letters the less I spent with the Psalms.
Yet, the Psalms are God’s Word to us. The Psalms are the Bible’s praise and worship of the Lord. They are the experience and expression of deep passion and love. I know this to be true, and realize that, if I’m personally moved by the Psalms or not, they are given to me by my Savior, and I must embrace them. The Psalms are important, not because we like their poetry, or intimacy, or imagery, or emotion. The Psalms are important to us because God has given them to us. That is reason alone to study the Psalms.
Yet, even more, the Psalms speak God’s Word to us in different ways than do the Gospels or Paul’s letters. As humans we share many characteristics, none more so than our deep need of redemption. That message of redemption, the Good News, comes to us in various ways, intending to touch us on different levels, and we would be remiss to ignore any of them.
And so, this summer, we will be spending time in the Psalms. We have been studying the Gospel of Mark, and we will pick that up again in the new year. The idea is to work through Mark’s Gospel in the springs of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Taking a break from Mark this summer, our worship together will include looking each week at one of the Psalms. The personal “flavor” of these texts are intended to enhance our faith, enabling us to lean into God, His care and provision, in various ways. Therefore, the series will center on “Leaning into the Lord’s _____,” where each week the “blank” will be filled in with a different character, gift, or promise of God for His people.
This week, we are “Leaning into the Lord’s Way.” God has a plan for the world and for His Church, and that plan is well summarized in Psalms 1 and 2, our text for this week.
