Psalms and worship

Let's notice another thing about the Psalms - not only do they speak to us, and speak for us, but they are so helpful in dark times, like those we face in our world today.

"Have a nice day!"

It's one thing to be able to praise God when we have had "a nice day." It's another thing entirely to praise God when it seems like the bottom has fallen out of life. If there is any time when believers have turned to the Book of Psalms, it is in their hour of deep soul struggle; it's in their time of adversity.

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord 
    Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy. (Psalm 130:1-2)

The Psalms offer us comfort, consolation, and words to praise God in our darkest hours. Maybe this is why the Psalms are usually neglected in preaching and worship in many churches. Many of us have simply had it too easy. Like the church of Laodicea in Revelation, we have become comfortable and even complacent. A psalm of lament may seem out of place. But it's when we are suffering and the presence of God seems strangely far away that our attentions turn to this precious book. Let's pray that we will not need tragedy or trouble to motivate us to study the psalms!

Lastly, the psalms can be a pattern for our worship. 

 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16)

If I am understanding the commentaries and articles that I read, they can provide us with examples of how the people of Israel worshiped, and even be a pattern for us to follow, if we choose to. We see examples in the scriptures of individuals and congregations using psalms as worship. Sometimes it was in singing, like the psalm of praise that the Israelites sang after passing through the Red Sea. Deborah composed a song of praise after God rescued His people (you can read about it in Judges) and Hannah sang a psalm of praise and worship for the gift of her son, Samuel.

Other worship times included a leader who would read some of the text and then the people would respond.  In some churches today, this same practice is used and sometimes called "responsive readings." 

All of this just to say that I believe if we study the Psalms we will find that they speak to us and that they can make us more faithful worshipers of our Father God.

Let's go back to Psalm 22 for a minute:

Yet You are holy,
O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3)

That verse was an eye-opener for me. I just got a picture in my minds eye of a throne . . .  If our God were enthroned on our praises, how glorious would that throne be? How glorious would He appear?

Many churches today are focused on evangelism, or fellowship, or edification, or discipleship, or church plantings. I could be wrong but I think this verse tells us that our praise and worship is the foundation for all those things. I don't think we can have those without worship. Fellowship? I think that's best around the Lord's table, instead of the television set or even the missions potluck. Evangelism? That's the effect of worship -- when people see our praise and our way of life that makes them ask, "What is it that is so different?" Remember when the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, "What must I do to be saved?" Why did he ask? Because in the midst of their jailtime and their persecution, they were singing hymns of praise and praying -- they were having a worship service in the jail!

I pray that worship will be something we give high priority. I pray that we will study and make the Psalms a part of our prayer and study life. Let's commit to grow in our faith and in our worship of our Redeemer. 

If you have paused here with us, and you have never become a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus, I urge you to click on the tab on the right side of our study blog and learn how to be born again. The way to worship God is through the Lord:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)

I hope you will join me as we journey through Psalms.