Tag Archives: Praying the psalms

July 24, 2020 · 9:51 am

Psalm 42: Prayers for help

Hello, Friends,

     I know I am way behind sharing with you, but these past months have greatly altered our daily lives.  After I started working with the local UMC, my time use has shifted.  Anyway, I will continue to share whenever I can, and today is the sermon I gave on July 19.  Hope you are all well and know you are in my prayers even when I do not connect every week.

                                                      Susan

Summer with the Psalms:

Psalm 42–Prayers for help

     Growing up in the 1960s, music seemed to fill my world.  Mom and Dad sang in the church choir, so my brother and I sang in the choirs throughout our school years.  We wore those little white robes, too.  

     We also took piano lessons from Mrs. Updyke, who lived in Wellsville.  My cousins and I would even carpool from our Buell farms and have to sit on the front porch while we would wait through the half hour lessons one at a time.

     This was the time when the world seemed filled with strife–Vietnam and race riots filled the evening news.  And we farmed, so we had the typical ups and downs of drought, Army worms, weeds, and the flies that seemed to swarm the cattle constantly.

     Troubles are simply part of our life and music seemed to soothe the days.  And music changed a great deal during those years between World War II and the 1970s:  from big band music to the advent of rock and roll, from steel guitars of country to electric guitars of heavy metal.

     What did I pick?  Even though my very first cassette was Jimi Hendrix, I quickly settled into easy listening; and Simon & Garfunkel rose to the top of my listening.  Music lifts our spirits and are our prayers for help.  The psalms, with which we are spending our summer, are the ancient hymns filled with praise and prayers.  Please join me in prayer: 

Dear God, 

     When time gets tough and we seem lost,

     You are there.  

     When we feel alone, 

     You are there.  

     Open our hearts to your words,

    Knowing you are always there.  –Amen

                  Spending the summer with the psalms is spending the summer with music.  If there was ever a time we need to sing, it is now–and ironically that is one of the very things we are asked not to do during public worship for fear of spreading COVID-19.  That puts us in a bit of a predicament as the psalms were the earliest hymns of the Israelites, but we read them today and can ‘hear’ the lyrics in our minds.

     Therefore, since we can’t even reach out and pick up a hymnal while sitting in our pews, let me share words from one of its introductory pages which lists the directions for singing written by John Wesley in 1761.  The first one reads, “Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.” 

     That line reflects what we know about Jesus and his knowledge of the psalms.  Even as a pre-teen, when he stayed behind in the temple “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.”  (Luke 2:46) 

     Jesus learned and used the psalms in his ministry.  We need to follow his example and know the psalms well enough that we can turn to them when we face difficult times.  As Pastor Peter began this sermon series, he provided the daily scripture readings aligned to the six themes found in the psalms.

     Our first week focused on the wisdom psalms and the second week centered on the hymns of praise.  This week’s theme is prayers for help.  The human condition, as explained through various sources, simply means dealing with the positives and the negatives which are experienced throughout one’s life.  Knowing the psalms, provides us the words we need to manage the positives and negatives that pop up in our lives.  

     Just like when we were kids and we fell and scraped our knees, we turn to our parents for comfort, for wiping away the tears, for cleaning up the torn skin, and for assurance that we are going to be ok.  Turning to the psalms is going to our Father for comfort.  

As a deer longs for flowing streams,

     so my soul longs for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

    for the living God. (Psalm 42:1-2)

Words comfort us and for me these first two verses make my heart sing, because I am immediately taken back to my childhood on the farm.  The words trigger connections to my mom who loved the deer, the birds, the trees, the wildflowers and all nature.  These are my comfort images, so to speak.

     Throughout history, psalms have provided God’s people the words to express what ails them.  Psalm 42 was transformed into a hymn that is now included in numerous hymnals of various denominations including the Faith We Sing hymnal usually found in our pews–number 2025 to be exact.

     Marty Nystrom, a music graduate from Oral Roberts University, transformed this psalm in 1984 into the modern hymn we now use.  The opening words:

                  As the deer pants for the water

                  So my soul longs after You

                  You alone are my heart’s desire

                  And I long to worship You . . . 

This hymn and Psalm 42 have become connected to my own spiritual life because it takes me close to my own family experiences and Mom’s passion for the deer.  I see deer, and I hear these opening words of the psalm and the hymn.  I know the meaning of God’s presence in my life just like the deer turn to water for their sustenance.

      We must deal with the reality of life and it can exhaust us, physically and mentally.  Using the psalms can direct our energies to stay focused on God, to talk with God, and to trust God.  Psalm 3 tells us this:  

                  But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,

     My glory, and the one who lifts up my head. . . 

                  I lie down and sleep;

      I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.

When we are challenged with an ongoing issue, the days can be drained of any joy that we typically experience.  The sunshine can be clouded when we are facing a long-term problem.

     On the farm, there is always the looming concern of a drought.  The days, the weeks, and the months without rain can drain a farmer’s resolve and even love for nature.  Watching the crops struggle, wither, and fail makes an entire lifestyle difficult as it effects the land, the livestock, and even the soil itself. 

     Getting up each morning, knowing that there is nothing one can do to effect a positive change can destroy not just the farmer, but his entire family and even a community.  Trusting God is the shield. Does not that trigger another familiar hymn?  

“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.” ( UMH #467) 

Trusting God makes it possible to lie down, sleep and wake again happy.

     Turning to the psalms guides us to find comfort and assurance in challenging times.  Even as a drought looms ahead of us even today, we know that the cycles of life continue.  The dry days may seem to last forever, but rain will once again soften the soil:

                  O God, you are my God, I seek you,

                       My soul thirsts for you;

                  My flesh faints for you,

                        As in a dry and wary land where

there is no water.

                  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

                       Beholding your power and glory.

                  Because your steadfast love is better than life,

                       My lips will praise you.

                  . . . for you have been my help,

                       And in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.  

[Psalm 63:1, 3 & 7]

These are the words David wrote while in the wilderness.  The trials of the ancient world are the same as those today.  The words build us up, give us confidence as we continue to manage the daily challenges.  

     In more recent history, but not specifically the last century, the challenges of the American slaves reflects how the psalms provided them the spiritual prayers and the comfort of a relationship with God.  Do you recognize these words?  

                  Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen;

                  Nobody knows but Jesus.

                  Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen; 

                  Glory hallelujah.

                  Sometimes I’m up; sometimes I’m down;

                  Oh yes, Lord.

                  Sometimes I’m almost to the ground; 

                  Oh yes, Lord.

                  Although You see me goin’ along,

                  Oh yes, Lord.

                  I have my troubles here below;

                  Oh yes, Lord.

                  What makes old Satan hate me so?

                  Oh yes, Lord.

                  He got me once and let me go;

                  Oh yes, Lord.

                  Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen;

                  Nobody knows but Jesus.

                  Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen; 

                  Glory hallelujah.

How many times have you thought the very same thing?  How many times have you turned to this hymn in your soul and sang it out loud?

     Turning to Psalm 34, we hear David teach us how to use the psalms and even how to teach the psalms as a way to deliver or to keep us from trouble

                  Come, O children, listen to me;

                       I will teach you the fear [respect] of the Lord.

                  Which of you desires life,

                       and covers many days to enjoy good?

                  Keep your tongue from evil,

                       and your lips from speaking deceit.

                  Depart from evil, and do good;

                       seek peace, and pursue it. (Psalms 34:11-14)

The psalms we study are filled hymns of praise and prayers for deliverance.  We are the 2020 version of humanity and there is the common reality of the human condition that exists since the beginning of humanity.  We experience the positives and the negatives of our earthly experience, and we can rely on these ancient words to keep us grounded in faith.

     Just as the American slaves lived through trying times, we all live through trying times.  Rely on the words of the psalms to guide us.  Rely on the lyrics of the hymns to deliver us from troubles and from our enemies.  David knew how difficult it is to defend one’s self:  

                  How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?

                       How long will you hide your face from me?

                  How long must I bear pain in my soul,

                       And have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?  

(Psalm 13:1-2)

Yet his words continue to show that remaining faithful will lead to triumph over the troubles and even over one’s enemies:  [

                  But I trusted in your steadfast love;

                       my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

                  I will sing to the Lord,

                       Because he has dealt bountifully with me. 

(Psalm 13:5-6)

     Spend time with the psalms, look up your favorite hymns, and listen to the music of our times knowing that we are never alone.  This is the final direction for singing that Wesley shared

Above all sing spiritually.  Have an eye to God in every word you sing.  Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature.  In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven. (UMH p. vii)

Today our troubles and our enemies are looming all around us.  Spending time with the psalms and with our hymns lifts us up and keeps us grounded.

     In closing, I cannot ignore another set of lyrics that surface

                  When you’re weary, feeling small

                  When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all, all

                  I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough

                  And friends just can’t be found

                  Like a bridge over troubled water

                  I will lay me down. . . 

                  I will comfort you.

These words from Simon and Garfunkel may never have been written in our ancient psalms or be found in our pew hymnals, but the lyrics are a prayer and God will be our bridge over troubled waters.  We long for God, especially when we are down and out, when we are on the street, when darkness closes in on us.

     As we close today, let us return to Psalm 42, but this time from Eugene Peterson’s 

                  A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;

                  I want to drink God, deep draughts of God.

                  I’m thirsty for God alive. . . . 

                  “Why am I walking around in tears,

                       harassed by enemies?”  

                  They’re out for the kill, these

                       tormentors with their obscenities,

                  Taunting day after day,

                       “Where is this God of yours?”

                  Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?

                       Why are you crying the blues?

                  Fix my eyes on God–

                       Soon I’ll be praising again.

                  He puts a smile on my face.

                       He’s my God.

Let us close with this as our prayer:

                  Dear Lord, our God,

                  Thank you for the words of the psalms

                  Thank you for the words of the hymns

                       we sing today.

                  Thank you for these bridges

                      that carry us over troubled waters.

                  Let us sing out loud,

                       fixing our eyes on you.

                  Let our words be your words

                       so others may hear you speak.  –Amen.

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September 12, 2019 · 10:41 am

Praying the Psalms VII + final: Throughout it all, praise the Lord

The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and what echoes in my ears:

     This is the day that the Lord has made;
         let us rejoice and be glad in it. (NRSV)

These words come from Psalm 118:24 and have been part of my life as long as I can remember, whether it was from my mom’s mouth or from a pastor’s, these words seem to express the joy I feel for the world which surrounds me.

As I finished reading and studying the Psalms this past week, I found that my thoughts and my mood just seemed to soar as I read through the final ones.  I cannot imagine ending these weeks of study and not want to express myself in a joyful manner.

Turns out according to the Wesley Study Bible, the final (of five) books in Psalms are filled with psalms of praise.  That piece of information made me stop to think. So much of the Old Testament seems filled with despair, and yet in the hymnal of the ancient Israelites, the emphasis is on praising God.

Placing this into the 21stcentury world, I think we need to remember this too.  Despite everything that circulates in the media and all the horrendous news that seems to open each newscast (and just an aside, my first degree is in journalism, BJ’76 from MU) so I tend to be a “newsaholic.”  Still, I delight on the day the Lord has made.For me, praying the psalms includes always praising God for some element of the day whether it is a personal relationship that brings me joy, whether it is the love from my pets, whether it is a warm embrace, or something 

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September 2, 2019 · 12:02 pm

Praying the Psalms VI: Remember those camp songs?

Growing up I was in 4-H and UMYF.  In both of these groups, we learned camp songs.  Interestingly these songs were basically the same.  

You may remember them:  

  • John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,
  • Tell Me Why
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  • Kookaburra
  • He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
  • Kumbaya

And I know there are so many more.

We sang these when we were in fellowship with others.  They were feel good songs, and we sang them loudly.  We did not care if we were in tune or not. We just joined together without any reserve.

The psalms I assigned for the past several days were ““Songs of Ascent”” and some of them were very short, only a few lines long.  These songs were sung by the pilgrims, the faithful while they journeyed to the temple up Mount Zion.

The “Songs of Ascent” are Psalms 120-134.  The songs are full of praise, and many share a sense of unity in the deliverance from enemies and hardships.  

But as I read them I can certainly ‘hear’ the people joining in singing robustly as they make the trip together just like a group of youngster sitting around a campfire.

The two images of groups singing popular songs once again points out that the words in the Bible are just as timely today as they were in ancient times.  We are no different.  We need to join together in praise and worship.  We need God in our lives just as much now as ever.

My argument, then, is to read the “Songs of Ascent” and consider how the same gongs apply to our lives today.  For me, I found these psalms uplifting and all too often we forget that our prayers can be thankful and joyful.  Prayers do not always have to be repentance and supplication.

As I look back over these psalms that I have just completed studying, I can identify some of the key verses that speak to me.  Praying the psalms includes sharing these words:

  • Ps. 120: Deliver me, O Lord,

                                    from lying lips,

                                    from deceitful tongue.  . . . 

                            I am for peace;

                                    but when I speak,

                                    they are for war.

  • Ps. 121: I lift up my eyes to the hills—

                                    From where will my help come?

                            My help comes from the Lord,

                                    who made heaven and earth.  . . . 

                            The Lord will keep

                                    your going out and your coming in

                                    from this time on and forevermore.

  • Ps.122: For the sake of my relatives and friends

                                    I will say, “Peace be within you.”

  • Ps. 123: Our help is in the name of the Lord,

                                    Who made heaven and earth.

  • Ps. 130: But there is forgiveness with you,

                                    So that you may be revered.

                             I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

                                    And in his word I hope  . . .

                             . . . hope in the Lord!

                                    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

                                    and with him is great power to redeem.

  • Ps. 131: . . . hope in the Lord  . . .
  • Ps. 133: How very good and pleasant it is

                                    When kindred live together in unity!

In closing the “Songs of Ascent” discussion, there are two thoughts. One is that Psalm 132 seems more prophetic as it includes the prophecy that God promised that a king or anointed one will lead the Jewish, i.e. faithful people.  This is a prophecy of Jesus Christ.  I find the words interesting in relation to the story we now know and is shared in the New Testament, but it does not read like the other “Songs of Ascent.”

To close the discussion there is one more thought.  The excepts shared in this posting can be separate prayers, but they can also be inspirational statements.  One final psalm is Psalm 134, and as short as it is, it can be used as a prayer of benediction.  Please join me:

Ps. 134:  Praise in the Night

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,

    Who stand by night in the house of the Lord!

Lift up your hands to the holy place

    And bless the Lord.

May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,

    Bless you from Zion.

And as you move through the coming days, let your heart be filled with gladness and may the camp songs of your memory fill you with joy.

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August 22, 2019 · 7:59 pm

Praying the Psalms IV: Or at least I had hoped . . .

For two weeks I have failed to finish a blog posting and feel frustrated. Due to my husband’s truck wreck, I have found myself managing time differently.  And I have not been able to sit down in quiet and gather my thoughts.

Yet, I have worked hard to keep up with my daily Bible study and the psalms are still being read.  In fact today I read Psalms 111-113, and I find myself still thinking how these psalms fit into our lives yet today.

What I wanted to share these past two weeks is that the psalms speak to us even when we struggle over and over again.  Psalm 88 is a prime example of how we can talk to God when we feel at the very brink of sanity due to all the troubles we face:

Lord, you are the God who saves me;
    day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
    and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am like one without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d]
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9     my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands to you.


10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness in Destruction[e]?  
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
    and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors and am in despair.


16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend. [NIV]

Read through this psalm and consider the times in your life when you were at a low spot—or a valley as in Psalm 23.  Look at verse 3.  How many times do we say that in our lives?  Yet, God never wears out on us.

I apologize for not writing the past two weeks.  I am managing the troubles in our household the best I can without losing focus.  I have not forgotten any of you and want you to know that I am keeping you in prayer. 

Please, too, keep my husband in prayer.  The healing process is lengthy for the type of injuries he incurred, but he survived the accident, which is a miracle.  In fact, whenever we have to review the accident with yet another specialist, they, too, are in awe that he survived as well as he has.  In these conversations, we are reminded that God rode right along with him during this accident and for that I read and pray the psalms of praise.

Please join me in a prayer taken from Psalms 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

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August 6, 2019 · 8:58 am

Praying the psalms III: . . . no such thing as a coincidence

Mom said, “There is no such thing as a coincidence, it is a Godincidence.”

Sadly today, I do not remember the exact circumstance when my mom told me this, but these words have echoed in my mind time and time again. These words have guided me in times that others would just toss off as a coincidence.

Just to make sure we are all on the same page (pardon the cliché), look at the definition of coincidence:

From Dictionary.com:  a striking occurrence of two or more events at 

one time apparently by mere chance

From Merriam-Wesbster.com:

the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

From Google search engine:

the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

From urbandictionary.com

1.  Noteworthy event of having the exact change during small cash transactions.

2.  A compartmentalized serendipity formed by an underlying synchronicity. 

3.  Something that arises from two or more original ideas being related

I apologize.  I am fascinated by the variety of options available when googling a term or topic on line.  The Urban Dictionary, of course, popped up something surprising in the first definition, but the other two add different perceptions to the word coincidencethat may flavor this particular essay.

Here is what happened this week that has lead to this consideration of Godincidenceversus coincidence.  On the way to have my husband’s MRI after a serious dump truck accident, I grabbed a book to read:  Debbie Macomber’s If Not for You.

I first read one of Macomber’s books a few weeks ago and enjoyed it.  I knew she was known for knitting and writing, what I thought were romance novels, but then I discovered this year that she is a contributor for Guidepostswhich is my nightly quick devotional I have used for years.

I decided to give her a read and see if it offered me light, enjoyable, recreational reading.  Soon I was binge reading the book.  I could not stop reading it and I felt refreshed when it was finished.

Therefore, sitting and waiting, I opened up the second book.  In no time, I was hooked.  But more than that, I was hearing Mom’s words in my head—there is no such thing as a coincidence, it is a Godincidence.

Reading the prologue, something I learned while attending the Course of Study, I discovered that the book’s premise or setting begins almost immediately with a terrible accident.

Interesting.  Here I was sitting and waiting for a diagnostic procedure due to an accident. Even more so, the accident was eerily similar—except the one we were dealing with was a truck not a car accident.

So I read on.  Almost immediately I was binge reading again, and then I hit Chapter 6.  While the main female character is in the hospital, she asks the male character to pick up her Bible and read her something from Psalms.

To make the story shorter, he had no idea even where Psalms was in the Bible, but she directed him with the age old directions, “Open the book to the middle and you should be in Psalms.”  (p. 63)

And so begins Sam’s introduction to the Bible.  He lands on Psalms 5 which I am inserting from BibleGateway.com from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message:

Psalm 5: A David psalm

1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.

4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
    or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
    you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
    Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
    it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
    prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
    to get me safely through enemy lines.

9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
    their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
    their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.

11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
    when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
    Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
    for decking us out in delight.

                                                      —The Message

Beth, the main character, finds relief from her pain and falls asleep. Meanwhile, Sam starts exploring the Bible. 

Godincidence 1:  Psalm 5 had a descriptor which seemed to connect that particular psalm to the situation at hand:  Give heed to my words, O Lord, Consider my groaning.  Remember, she was in extreme pain.

How many times do we face a life challenge and have no idea where to turn? We may seek professional help as an accident forces us to do with the injuries that occur.  We may be struggling with a crisis at work and we look for specialists to help fix it.

Life is like that.  One challenge after another.  For those with a strong faith system, the tendency is to shrug our shoulders, attack the problem, and push through it.  We sometimes forget to include God through prayer.

“Praying the psalms” is again a technique that is often overlooked. Even Macomber included “praying the psalms” in her story and introduced Sam to the Bible while healing Beth lying in pain.

Godincidence 2:  Here my husband’s own confronted me groaning resulting from the accident and the book I picked spoke to me.  Was this not a message that I should be praying the psalms, too?

Life is filled with godincidencesand we often overlook them.  Is this not the Holy Spirit speaking to us?  

Please join in praying Psalm 5 with me (these are the NLT version of the first and last stanza)1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
    pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
    for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.

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July 30, 2019 · 3:55 pm

Praying the psalms II: Looking at Ps 51 through 2019 eyes

Personal note: Some weeks are crazier than others as we all know. Today’s post is a short thought with scripture passages added in. I trust that you understand how the ideas are wrapped in scripture.

Last week I shared about the phrase, “Praying the psalms.”  Thinking about how to take ancient literature into a 21stcentury has kept me focused on this phrase.  

Today, reading Psalms 51, I also had to read the story of David and Bathsheba again because a study note mentioned that this particular psalm is the result of the story in 2 Samuel 12.  

The story is when King David saw Bathsheba and desired her so much that he arranged for the death of her husband so he could take her as a wife.  In order for you to know the story, I am inserting 2 Samuel 12 here:

Nathan Rebukes David

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows?The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.[c]

26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel.27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it.30 David took the crown from their king’s[d] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent[e] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.[f] David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.  [NIV]

I realize that is quite a bit of reading, but when reading Psalm 51, there is a reference to Nathan’s prophecy.  Here is Ps.51:

Psalm 51[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.  [NIV]

The context of the two scriptures are connected and that reminds us that the psalms were written over a period of times and are not aligned chronologically.  The key is the themes and the purposes of the psalms. There really is a psalm for many of the issues that all of humanity deals with at some time or another. 

Praying the psalms can be done over and over.  Locating a particular psalm that fits one’s immediate need is possible, but today, I want to share how to modify a psalm to fit the need.

After I completed my reading and study of Ps. 51, I realized there were certain verses or couplets that made a stand-alone prayer for me to use at various times, not necessarily for the theme King David wrote this one.

Consider these verses as a prayer and join me in closing with them today (using the NLT):

Have mercy on me, O God,

          According to your steadfast love.  [v.1]

     Create in me a clean heart, O God,

          And put a new and right spirit within me.       [v.10]

     Restore to me the joy of your salvation 

         And sustain in me a willing spirit.  [v.12]

     The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken          spirit;

          A broken and contrite love, O God, 

         you will not despise. [v.17] Amen.

P.S.  Read on into 2 Samuel 13 and discover how King David suffered, grieved, repented and then continued forward remaining faithful to God who did forgive him of his sins.  We all need to remember that when we repent, God hears.

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July 24, 2019 · 8:36 am

“Praying the Psalms”: Heard about the phrase. Read, studied the psalms. Finally I understand why.

Over the past decade, I have heard the phrase “praying the psalms, but it never seemed like something I needed to understand. Then I began the year of rest and renewal.  

The first thing I did was start reading—not church related prep material, but fun reading.  Oddly enough I picked up the novel series of the Yada Yada Prayer Group, written by Neta Jackson.  The characters in this series were encouraged to ‘pray the psalms.’  

And I began to sort out the significance of that phrase:  pray the psalms.  

The problem I have long had is how to make psalms fit into today’s culture.  How does the language work?  How does the ancient problems fit or match today’s?  How can the language be used when language changes?

Then I began the year-long Bible study and moved into the psalms this month and I started to understand why the phrase continues to surface as a method of prayer for God’s faithful today as much as in ancient times.

Maybe one of the key tools I have that helped open up my understanding of how to pray the psalms is theWesley Study Bible.  I have a wide range of Bibles and several with study notes, but the subtitles and descriptors that are provided for the psalms, clearly states the purpose of each one.  

Why in the world did I never understand the topic of the various psalms or even the structure of the entire book itself?

I guess that is not really an issue at this point.  The issue is that I have finally unlocked the psalms as prayers that are as appropriate today as they were in ancient times or any time:  past, present and future.

For example, the first section of psalms are considered Book 1 of the Psalter and include Psalms 1-41.  As one begins the study of these psalms, there are clear subtitles for almost each one:

  • Psalm 3:  Trust in God under Adversity
  • Psalm 4:  Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies
  • Psalm 6: Prayer for Recovery from Grave Illness
  • Psalm 12:  Plea for Help in Evil Times
  • Psalm 22:  Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility

These are simply the ones I have already studied within the first book.  There are four other books:  Psalms 42-72, Psalms 73-89, Psalms 90-106, and Psalms 107-150.  Looking ahead at how the Wesley Study Bible prints these, one can tell that the subtitles continue to identify the purpose of each psalm.

Praying the psalms may not be a habit that faithful Christians are using, but at times finding words to put one’s thoughts into a logical prayer leaves us in a mental block.  By stopping and scanning through the psalms in a Bible that can guide the reader, such as the Wesley Study Bible,removes that block.

Finding the right source is so important for anybody wanting to understand scripture, but to ‘pray the psalms’ a version that provides subtitles or study notes to guide the reader to find a psalm that matches his/her own need at the time.

While considering how to discuss the idea of ‘praying the psalms,’ I googled the phrase.  What I was unprepared for the number of hits that came up:  about 11,800,000 results!  

And then I began scrolling.  The websites on the first page provided a range of blogs and theologies, but I opened up The Upper Roombecause it was familiar to my Methodist background.

Check out the site: https://www.upperroom.org/resources/praying-the-psalms

Again, identifying the purpose of the psalm can guide one in how to pray the psalms.  On the Upper Room site, there is an explanation of the concept, then a list of topics aligned to an appropriate psalm is included.  And this is just one of the first website I opened.

A caution needs to be added at this point. When doing a web search, make sure to identify the source of the site.  Make sure to understand the theology or the philosophy from which the author speaks/writes.  Some of those 11 million plus websites may not be solid in theology or may be using an entirely different definition of psalm which would be anti-Christian, anti-faithful.

Because the ancient cultures did not have the law or the hymns in print and readily available, the teaching of scripture was done through singing as it was easier to memorize.  The practice has not been maintained, so praying the psalms is not part of our educational process in most cases.  We do not know the psalms—at least not 150 of them.

Therefore, as one begins reading the psalms and re-reading them, the words become familiar and when needed might surface into conscious thought –if we allow ourselves to pray the psalms.

When stress settles in and the mind freezes up, turning to the familiar psalms can unlock the communication channel to God. Certainly he knows what our issues are, but as we seek to work through the stress, turning to the ancient words used throughout the millenniums can reconnect us with God.

And, maybe it is not stress that we need to pray about; maybe we find joy or success or health and we lift our words of praise to God for those experiences, too.  The psalms are not singularly for stressful circumstances; they are for the celebrations, too.  

God is a moment-by-moment presence in our lives and we live in prayer when we remain faithful.  We remain faithful by praying or communicating with God at all times. 

Praying the psalms is a method of communicating with God; and if one has read them repeatedly, the words are familiar.  The words will surface in our minds when we face stress.  Those are the times God is speaking to us through the Holy Spirit.

Please join in prayer:

Using the words from Psalms 34:11-14 (NRSV)

Lord we pray. . . 

Come, O children, listen to me;

     I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Which of you desires life,

     and covets many days to enjoy good?

Keep your tongue from evil,

     and your lips from speaking deceit.

Depart from evil, and do good;

     seek peace, and pursue it.  –Amen.

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