The Psalms

This week of my life revolves around one thing...the Psalms. I am taking an intensive seminary class on the book of Psalms. I have been eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping Psalms (at least that is what we all joke about in the class, including the professor). So far the class has been really cool. It is taught by a man that is extremely qualified to teach the class. In fact, he is known around the world as an expert scholar in many of the Old Testament books, although he would never tell you that because he is an extremely humble man.

The overall point of the class is that life does not always make sense. There are often times bad things that happen to good people, and good things that happen to bad people. In the Psalms we hear of many of these bad things happening and the writer will often cry out to God in anger, or fear, or frustration, or sadness. The bluntness and honesty of the Psalms is really cool and it should be an example to all of us in life. When hard things in life happen they should drive us to God, because for some crazy reason he has allowed those things to happen. It doesn't mean that he made them happen, or even that he wanted them to happen, but that he allowed them to happen. But, here is the kicker, in spite of all the complaining and anger and emotion in the Psalms they almost all end the same way… in praise.

That is what I have been learning. No matter what is going on in our life, no matter how bad things seem to be out of control, no matter how bad things seem to suck! There is one constant, and that is that God deserves praise. No matter whether we understand him, no matter whether we like what is happening in our lives, we must keep praising God. It takes our eyes off of ourselves and puts them on the only true thing that matters in the universe and that is God.

I will close with one of my favorite examples of this Psalm 13.

1 How long, O LORD Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him, "and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.