Why the Psalms Matter

“When I pray the Psalms, I remember that I am joining in the same prayers that the people of God have voiced for some 3,000 years.”

My earliest memory of the Book of Psalms is from my kindergarten Bible class. Over the course of a few weeks our teacher Mrs. Thornman led us in memorizing Psalm 23 in the beautiful language of the King James Version. My understanding of God as a young child was deeply shaped by the central image of the psalm, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1). I envisioned God as a caring and protective presence in my life.

Many years later, as a pastor, I began reading from the early church fathers for 20 minutes a day. For over a year, I read different books by the North African bishop, Augustine. About halfway through that year, it struck me how often Augustine quoted from or used the language of the Psalms. I decided to do a little research. I discovered that over the course of 30 years of his life, Augustine worked on a commentary on the Psalms that fills six volumes in English translation.

In addition to that massive work, Augustine either quotes from or clearly alludes to the Psalms over 10,000 times in his other writing. The way he was saturated in the language of the Psalms was fascinating to me. I wondered: What would it look like for someone to know the Psalms so well that your language and theology were shaped by them? Perhaps the Psalms are included in the Bible to do just that.

When I later went on to earn a PhD in Biblical Studies, my dissertation was focused on Psalms interpretation. So, for the last decade and a half, the Psalms have been a constant companion in my devotional life, in the seminary classroom, and in my academic work.

One of the purposes of the Book of Psalms is that it provides us with examples of how to speak with God in just about every situation that life can throw at you. Of course, the Psalms do far more than that. They teach profound truths about God’s nature and character, and they prophesy about the coming Messiah. But one of their most important functions is to give us language that we can imitate in our own life with God. Like a young child learns to speak their native language, we learn appropriate ways of addressing God.

How did you learn to speak your native language? Did someone sit you down one day and teach you the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of the language? Of course not! Can you imagine trying to get a two-year-old to sit still for more than 15 seconds? But by the time you entered school at age four or five, you already had a good grasp of the language. How did that come about? You learned by listening to and imitating those around you. From real-life experience with your family, you picked up on what kind of speech was appropriate in different situations, not just the meaning of words. You probably learned not to call your parents by their first names. You learned the right way to ask for things and to express your needs and wants.

The new book, Talking with God, is a devotional guide to the Psalms compiled from studies I did with Today in the Word. We studied one portion of the Psalms a year for four years. We have dedicated this book to you, our readers, who walked with us through those Bible studies. My hope is that this collection of devotional reflections, which now includes every Psalm—even the ones we originally skipped—will help you engage more deeply in this book of the Bible.

Make the Psalms part of your relationship with God. When I pray the Psalms, I remember that I am joining in the same prayers that the people of God have voiced for some 3,000 years. The Psalms teach us to bring our sorrow and frustration to God in lament, to overflow with thanksgiving at answered prayer, and to proclaim God’s greatness to a world that desperately needs to hear.

My prayer for you is that you will grow in your ability to relate to God in joy and sorrow. That you will grow in your sense of wonder at God’s faithfulness, grace, and justice. That you will be inspired to express gratitude to God for what He has done. And that you would long for the return of the Lord Jesus when we will be able to worship together in God’s presence.