Eugene Peterson says, “These Psalms that teach us to pray are, all of them, prayers of people gathered in community before God in worship. Some of them most certainly originated in solitude . . . but in the form they come to us . . . they are the prayers of a community before God in worship.”

 Ancient Israel chanted and sang these Psalms together in worship. Jesus recited the Psalms with his family and friends as he walked up the steps to the temple in Jerusalem. The early church sang the Psalms as hymns when they met in homes.

Before the printing press made it possible to have a Bible in every home, most people learned the Bible by gathering to hear it read. It was read systematically so the congregation would hear all of it and eventually know what the whole Bible said.

Although we don’t meet in person here on the One Year Chronological Bible Study page, we are reading the Bible together systematically which makes us a virtual congregation. One reason we keep coming back here is that there are other people doing this with us.

Reading systematically means that we read whatever is presented to us each day whether we like it or not. Sometimes it is very interesting reading, sometimes it’s boring or confusing, but all of it is instructive. And we read it because we want to know what the whole Bible says.

So we are systematically reading through the Psalms of David right now and I think that can be challenging. The Psalms are so charged with emotion that if we don’t “feel” them on a given day, they can sound a bit dissonant. It’s like going to church and hearing music that we don’t relate to. It doesn’t feel right.

However, the Word of God wasn’t written to cater to our moods. The only way to learn what it says is to read what is before us, wrestle with it, and give it respect. So read these Psalms and learn what they say. If they don’t match your current mood or life experience, you will at least know where they are when you need them someday.

And maybe today is the perfect day to read Psalms 22 through 26.

Psalm 22

This is one of the Psalms that Jesus quoted from the cross. It is so closely identified with him that we forget that David wrote it a thousand years before Jesus was born. Why do you think David wrote, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” Psalm 22:1

We have just finished reading the entire life of David. He always seemed to have lots of people around who admired and loved him. At what point did he say that he felt like he was a worm and not a man? When did everyone who saw him hurl insults at him and say, “He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord rescue him”? Psalm 22:6-8

A loyal army and good friends always seemed to surround David.  Yet he felt alone even in the midst of all the victories, acclaim, and success that filled his life. This Psalm shows us that we can never really know what goes on in the heart of another person.

Whatever caused David to write these soul-wrenching words, they were perfect for Jesus a thousand years later. He memorized them. Maybe Psalm 22 helped him as he struggled in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified. We know it was on his mind as he died because he quoted it.

If Psalm 22 prophesied the agony of Jesus on the cross, it also described what awaited him after his resurrection.

“The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.  All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him — those who cannot keep themselves alive.  Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!” Psalm 22:26-31

Jesus did it! He completed the mission. He went to the cross, he died for our sins, and he rose again so that all who seek the Lord can live forever.

Jesus must have loved meditating on Psalm 22.

Read the Psalms Like Jesus

We know Jesus read the Psalms and most likely memorized all of them as a young Jewish scholar. So it might be interesting to read the Psalms the way he read them.

Jesus grew up in a rural area in northern Israel and many of his parables were derived from raising crops and caring for animals. We know he even referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. What do you think went through his mind when he read Psalm 23?

You might assume that he identified with being the shepherd who cares for the sheep. He was certainly thinking that way by the time he became a rabbi.

But what if Jesus identified with being the sheep the first thirty years of his life? After all, he started life as a little child who needed care and attention. Then he grew into a young man who needed his heavenly Father to guide him along the right paths in life.

Jesus certainly encountered the mystery of death growing up in Nazareth. Do you think it comforted his young heart to read, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”? Psalm 23:4

Eventually he came to understand what it meant to have enemies and he must have been reassured when he read, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” (Psalm 23:5) Imagine Jesus going through the last day of his life, remembering that his Father had prepared this table for him — in the presence of his enemies.

Sometimes it’s helpful to take ourselves out of the middle of these Psalms and put Jesus in the middle instead. Jesus understood how much we need Psalm 23 because he needed it, too.

Read the Psalms Aloud

Another way to get a fresh perspective on the Psalms is to read them aloud. They were meant to be spoken by human voices, and reading aloud lets us emphasize the feelings behind the words.

You can read Psalm 24 as loudly as you like because it is a bold proclamation about God. Imagine that you are in a city square calling out to people. Tell them exactly who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord. Then tell the gates of the city to lift up their heads because the King of Glory is coming in!

On the other hand, Psalm 25 is a quiet Psalm. It would be good to go slowly and meditatively through this one, and speak softly. This is an intimate Psalm; you can keep it just between you and God. But it’s also a good one to read aloud with a friend who is also seeking to know God.

Psalm 26 seems rather audacious the first time you read it because David claims to have lived a blameless life! He invites God to test him and examine his heart and mind – and he’s sure he will pass every test. This Psalm is worth studying closely to see why David felt so confident before the Lord. What practices in his life made him able to say “my feet stand on level ground” ?

It takes time to read the Psalms well and get their meaning. If reading so many at one time overwhelms you, choose one and concentrate on it today. Ask the Lord to help you discover something new and you will see what a gift reading the Psalms can be.