Psalms ~ Desiring God

Seven Weeks In The Book Of Psalms

As Karen mentioned yesterday, Pastor Frank started a seven week series this past Sunday on the Psalms. It doesn't matter how many times I've read through the Psalms, I still find something new each time I read them again. No matter what any of us are going through or dealing with in our personal lives today, there is a Psalm that can minister to us. This is because David spoke from the depths of his heart and soul out of what he was experiencing at the moment. His words prove to us that he was just as human as each one of us. He sinned. He felt lonely. He felt betrayed. He felt abandoned. He felt forgotten. He felt forgiveness. He felt relief. He felt overwhelming joy. You get the point. No matter what we feel, there is a Psalm we can relate to.

John Calvin said it like this:

Psalms are an anatomy of all the parts of the soul. For no one will find in himself a single feeling of which the image is not reflected in this mirror.

I encourage you to join with us in reading through the Psalms over the next 7 weeks by reading a Psalm or two each day. If you read three Psalms a day you will make it through the book of Psalms in just over seven weeks. The other option is to read through the same Psalm each day for the week prior to Pastor Frank preaching on it. I personally like this option. I am looking forward to meditating on one chapter all week to see what God speaks to me personally, and then hearing Pastor Frank preach about it the following Sunday. (You can click here to listen online and subscribe to these messages.)

Week One ~ Psalm 63

1 O God, you are my God;

I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you;

my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land

where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory.

3 Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself;

how I praise you!

4 I will honor you as long as I live,

lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

5 You satisfy me more than the richest of foods.

I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,

meditating on you through the night.

7 I think how much you have helped me;

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

8 I follow close behind you;

your strong right hand holds me securely.

9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.

They will go down into the depths of the earth.

10 They will die by the sword

and become the food of jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God.

All who trust in him will praise him,

while liars will be silenced.

(New Living Translation)

Prayer is the breath of my relationship with God. It is what brings life to that relationship. This morning the words from verse 1 jump off the page at me. "I earnestly search for you." Webster's Dictionary defines 'earnestly' as: "characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind." Today I am challenged to come to God, not just in casual prayer, but to come with an intensity; to come with a seriousness, calling on the name of the Lord. To come not just as one coming for a quick little drink at the brook, but to come as one who's very soul is thirsty. To come into His presence as one who is serious about meeting with my God. And to come as one who depends on God to sustain me.

Lord, today I search earnestly for you ~ I thirst for you ~ I long for you ~ I honor you ~ I think about you ~ I praise you ~ I follow close behind you.

We'd love to hear feedback from you. Leave us a comment and let us know what it is that God is speaking to you as we read through the Psalms together.