Monday, June 20, 2011

Psalms study summary

We did it!  We have spent 171 days in the study and meditation of God's word in the Psalms! 

The Psalms are poetry and the Psalms are prayer. What else did we learn in our Psalms quest?

I.  Psalms is the inspired “prayer guide” for God’s people.  They show us that it’s impossible to live a godly life apart from prayer.  
 It has been said that we don't learn the Psalms until we are praying them.
Prayer is ordained by God to draw us to Him that we can experience His presence, power, and transformation. 


Throughout the Psalms, we have seen a display of every human emotion.  Inter-Varsity Press describes them like this:
We use the Psalms to present ourselves before God as honestly and thoroughly as we are able. 

Everything that anyone can feel or experience in relation to God is in these prayers. You will find them the best place in Scripture to explore all the parts of your life and then to say who you are and what is in you—guilt, anger, salvation, praise—to the God who loves, judges and saves you in Jesus Christ.
Yet, in the end, there was always TRUST in God.  Trust for REDEMPTION and SALVATION. 

II.  The Psalms challenge us to live a GODLY LIFE.  They show the benefits of knowing and obeying God, while at the same time reminding us of the consequence of a wicked lifestyle. 


In a debased culture that has lost its way and everyone is doing “what is right in their own eyes,” it can be difficult to see the emptiness and destructiveness of a wicked life. 

The Psalms show us that a life lived apart from God is a tragedy not only today but for all eternity.  Psalms teaches us again and again that there are only TWO ways – the way of the godly and the way of the ungodly.  A person must make a choice.  He must decide – God’s way or his own way.


In understanding this, did you see how David became a man after God's own heart?  Paul answers this question for us in Acts 13:22:
"And when He had removed him (Saul), He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said,
'I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart,
who will do all My will."

 "He will do everything I want him to do." Wow, how simple is that and yet how hard for us to emulate? David was willing to do whatever God asked him to do. As we have seen, David had his faults but God knew his heart. He knew that David loved Him and would do whatever He asked him to do.

If we really want to be men and women after God's own heart, we need to start doing what He asks us to do. It is not always easy, it is not always fun and it is often without human reward or recognition, but we must choose this day whom we will serve - God or man? 






3 comments:

  1. Hi i’m Heather! I have a question for you! Please email me :)
    HeatherVonSJ[at]gmail[dot]com

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  2. For several years, I've worked on breaking down the 23rd Psalm into what it means for my life. In doing so, I found your blog and am excited to begin my own study of the Psalms, using your blog as a guide. I pray that your life since finishing this project has been rich and fulfilled. Thank you for your insight into God's Word.

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  3. Rita, thank you so much for your response & your kind words! This Psalm study has truly been one of my favorites and I've gained such an intimate knowledge & uinderstanding of God through it. My prayer is that you would do the same - blessings to you!

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