An Overview of The Psalms

The book of Psalms is a fixture in many of our lives, as in it, we find comfort, peace, encouragement and even courage to face some of life’s toughest realities. The Psalms give us hope — and the hope we have in Christ is tied to the promises we have from Christ — a very present, loving, just God filled with love, kindness, mercy and grace.

As we study the Psalms over the next 13 weeks, we will ultimately be studying the character of God. We will get to know Him as our Good Shepherd, our Protector, the one in whom we find life and fulfillment, our Savior. We will be able to say with full confidence that He is worthy of all glory and praise.

Know this — as you study the Psalms, you are joining with the Heavens in singing His praise. Psalms are written to be prayed, to be sung and to be done. They are not merely written to be read, so don’t stop there.

By using the RAMP Method, you will find yourself overwhelmed by His good nature and filled with His promises. Can you imagine anything better?!

The Psalms reveal truths about God and include instructions for our emotions to respond to these truths. Don’t shy away from this, but don’t manufacture an emotional response, either. We will learn how to submit our emotions to God and allow our lives to respond to His word.

Many of you are very in tune with your emotions — they are a natural part of your life and you are comfortable with them. Others of us have a hard time finding our emotions, much less letting them have a voice in our lives. And as believers, we definitely can have a hard time submitting them to the Lord along with our mind, soul and strength. Why? John Piper says “the hardest commands are not the ones to serve, abstain or forgive, but the commands to feel.” I find that statement to be painfully true in my life. As a logic-driven, analytical type, I typically decide how I feel about everything. Logic drives my feelings. But as a daughter of the King, and as a follower of Jesus, I want my life to be lived in response to His loving kindness in my life. I can logically understand how it is important for my emotions, my feelings, to be unfiltered and free in the presence of my God — however, I cannot will myself to that point! Thankfully, as with all of my quirks and issues, there is grace.

I did a little digging on how to truly allow our hearts and our emotions to be engaged in our response to God and I want to share a few practical steps with you, in hopes it will become a prayer as we dive into the scriptures together. The content below was inspired by John Piper and his very helpful tool Look at The Book (https://www.desiringgod.org/scripture/psalms/100/labs).

Start with the truth

As I said, the Psalms reveal truths about God. As we follow the RAMP Method each week, we will never lack in responses to the very first question to analyze: What does this say about God? As we see God come to life in the scriptures (all throughout scripture, not just Psalms), we can always start there.

The psalmists will always give us truthful reasons for each commanded emotion, so start with the truth. And when you don’t feel the emotions laid out in the passage, remind yourself of the truths.

What even is truth?! You may be asking yourself that question. In your day-to-day life in 2019, truth is a tough thing to explain and put a finger on. Trust is hard for us right now as a society, and it’s hard for Jesus followers. In order to trust, there must be a foundation of truth. Let me get a little preach-y here for just a sec.

Jesus = Truth. God’s word = Truth. It’s absolute. A core distinction for Jesus followers is that we base our theology (our beliefs about God) on the TRUTH of His word. We believe His word (the Bible) is the absolute Truth, it is without error, fully true. Therefore, when we read scripture, we can rest in knowing it is true.

As you read through Psalms, the truth about who God is is literally found inside the scriptures. As you answer the first analyze question about God, you are finding, acknowledging and documenting TRUTH.

Find the feeling

What is the Psalmist feeling? Identify the feelings and take a second to check your heart.

Let’s take Psalm 100 as an example. Below are the commands of emotion:

• Make noise with joy

• Serve with gladness

• Come with singing

• Enter with thanksgiving

• Enter with praise and admiration

Having a hard time with the emotions of joy, gladness, singing, thanksgiving, praise and admiration? I am. It feels like a lofty expectation and quite frankly, it’s “not my personality.” But when do I ever have permission to clarify the commands of God through the lens of my personality?! Never. We can never default to using our ‘personality’ as an excuse for not obeying the commands of God. When growing to look more and more like Jesus, we will constantly be faced with challenges that do not feel natural or that make us feel uncomfortable. When the Lord brings you to a moment like this, TRUST HIM! Trust He is growing and stretching you — to look more like Him.

Ask for it. Ask God to give you the emotion commanded in scripture.

We know whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name is ours for the having. Humble yourself to acknowledge what you lack. In surrender, ask God for it. How can we do that? Go back to the truth (always) — He is God, the Creator who made us. He is the Good Shepherd. He is love and faithfulness forever. I will ask God to give me the emotions in response to the truths which I cannot deny. Because He is Good, loving and faithful, I will respond with joy, gladness, singing, thankfulness, praise and adoration.

What I cannot do is manufacture those emotions. Instead, I surrender my heart to the One who can transform my heart and bring forth emotions in response to Him.

Be patient as God deepens the truth in your life so deeply that the emotions come as a true and Spirit-led response to the truths about Him.