Psalms
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Ps 119:105)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. (Ps 139:13)
The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. (Ps 23:1)
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. (Ps 8:3)
What do you know about the Psalms?
Psalms are the sacred songs of our history as people of God. They are important to the Jewish faith just as they are to the Christian faith. Yet, it seems that in our tradition (be it Lutheran, St. Stephen’s, and Christianity in general) we have relegated these sacred texts to side notes. Texts that can be ripped out of our regular Sunday worship to simply save time or out of fear they may not necessarily fit perfectly into the rest of the service. They are, however, sacred just as all our texts are. They are tools that not only teach us, but help us to explore every human emotion.
Happy: Psalm 98 encourages us to make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sad: Psalm 31 laments, I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
Angry: Psalm 137 asks, how can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.
In the introduction to a lecture that I delivered to Wartburg Seminary and the Book of Faith Initiative I wrote:
"In his review of the book On the Book of Psalms, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics from the Pacific School of Religion Robert McAfee Brown says:
'The psalms speak to every aspect of the human condition, and are as timely today as when they were first written.'
To lament, praise, thank, and bless God through the Psalms is a timeless tradition that not only gives us a window to peer from into our past, but gives us a still relevant window to look into our contemporary world. Whether we lament the violence in the streets of Chicago, praise the humanitarian efforts to bring Syrian refugees to safety, thank God in our worship services, or bless our communities as we aspire to live into the Gospels of Jesus Christ, we can look to the psalms for inspiration, context, and examples of how our past is still ever alive in our 21st century world."
Would you like to learn more about these wonderful treasures?
The Psalms are going to be part of our Wednesday Bible Study at Lincoln Towers for the coming weeks. The group will begin this journey into the Psalms as part of their regular Bible Study, and I encourage you to join us for this wonderful chance to have the Book of Psalms opened for you in a way that will help rejuvenate your soul and allow you to take a step into our past and learn, pray and hopefully find some encouragement for the future.
Where: Lincoln Towers on 1800 North DuPont Street
When: We meet Eleanor Turner in the lobby at 10:45 am on Wednesday and finish by noon
Come for all the sessions or some of the sessions.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jason
