Lord willing (a phrase we’re using more and more these days), we will resume our book-by-book walk through the Old Testament in our Sunday classes in July, starting with a lesson on Psalms.

How fitting for summer 2020! Psalms is a book about the ups and downs of life, a collection of music and poetry for every emotion and circumstance, and a book full to the brim with praise for our great God.

In the Lord’s sovereignty, many Community Groups also studied Psalms together this year, and we read some excerpts from it during our reading plan back in the spring (Ps. 1, 2, 19, 42, 43, 110, 149, & 150), giving us a good sampling of its different genres and themes. But since we never got to study Psalms as classes, we’ll circle back to it in our new reading plan in July, as a review during our first lesson together (Psalms 89 and 106).

So, with all this Psalm-studying, what is God teaching us? What can we learn from a book of ancient poems? Let’s look at two key lessons for our chaotic days:

Tell God about your troubles.

Have you ever struggled with what to pray about? Have your prayers ever seemed repetitive, boring, and stale? Well, there’s a whole book of the Bible dedicated to showing us how to pray. With 150 different Psalms, we see how different authors in different circumstances facing different emotions and issues approached God.

That’s the beautiful thing about Psalms – it’s a collection of poetry for each moment of life:

• Are you angry about a friend who stabbed you in the back? There’s a psalm for that (55).
• Are you frustrated by political upheaval? There’s a psalm for that (2).
• Are you scared by death? There’s a psalm for that (90).
• Are you living in a pandemic? There’s a psalm for that (91).
• Are you trying to generate more love for the Word? There’s a psalm for that (119).
• Are you jealous of others? Psalm 37.
• Are you frustrated by injustice? Psalm 82.
• Are you feeling guilty? Psalm 32, 51.
• Are you doubting God’s goodness? Psalm 77.

Sometimes we wrestle with some of these that seem vengeful (137) or too dark (88). But at the end of the day, what makes the difference is that the psalmists are taking these things to God. They are not just complaining.

This is not a Facebook feed where psalmists post their frustrations, hoping for people to like and comment. It’s actually the opposite . Instead of ranting about their sorrows to the whole earth, they’re raising them up to Heaven. They’re communing with the only One who can help!

In other words, they are living their lives moment by moment, trial by trial, frustration by frustration, in the presence of God. As Pastor Andrew has been challenging us, they live CORAM DEO (“living before the face of God”).

So when they encounter injustice, political turmoil, deception, a frustrating coworker, a lonely boring day, or their own sin, they go right into God’s presence with it. And through God’s Spirit, these prayers were recorded and passed down to us and to the whole community of believers, not so we would feel sorry for the psalmist, but so that when we are struggling and are having a hard time finding words, we can have a resource for taking our troubles to God.

The difference between worry and prayer is not found so much in the words, but in the heart direction.

Yes, we have problems. But the Psalms teach us to take those directly to God and ask for His help, not to mull over them with complaints, worry, or bitterness.

Tell truth about God to our troubles.

But the Psalms are not merely “sessions” with God where we vent our feelings and then feel better. No, over and over again, the Counselor gets up and speaks!

Consider Psalm 77. In the first 9 verses, the psalmist pours out his trouble, and it’s very raw and honest. He’s asking God if He’s forgotten to be gracious!

But then he transitions in verse 13 to remind himself that, no matter what he feels, God is holy and great. He moves on from there to remind himself of what God has done in the past, including at the Red Sea.

If you are working on your biography of God, the book of Psalms is crucial. If you are on a quest to get to know God better, Psalms is like a coffee shop where you can sit down together and spend hours and hours with Him.

Your Summer in the Psalms

So here’s the challenge –

• Do you want to grow in your prayer life? Read the Psalms.
• Do you want to learn how a Christian should handle their emotions? Here’s the Psalms.
• Do you feel angry or discouraged after watching or reading the news? The Psalms!
• Do you want to know what confession and forgiveness look like? Psalms.
• Do you want to read a book Christ quoted over and over again – even when He was on the cross – and that He said was all about Him (Luke 24:44)? Read the Psalms.

Consider using the Psalms in your prayer time or your family devotions this summer. Consider memorizing a psalm that is meaningful to you. Use this incredible, inspired resource to tune your heart to who God is and what He has done.

What’s coming next in 2020? Who knows! I’ve heard everything from a civil war to an alien invasion! But whatever comes and however we feel in response to it, the Psalms will have an answer for us – not a quick fix, but a great God!