Why Psalms?

The Psalms as a Map of our Lives

I love the Psalms because they are the map of the Bible. The Psalms take us on a journey that begins in childhood and ends at our final destination—heaven. They begin by pointing out the two roads that one can take in life—much like the two trees in the Garden of Eden—one leads to life and the other leads to death. Book 1 teaches the child who God is, who man is, and what their relationship means. It builds the child’s confidence in God’s care for his creation and for the child in particular before he is hit with the major crises of life. 

    In Book 2 we begin to see the disturbances of adolescence—there is strife, enmity, betrayal, and lots of emotional upheaval—and yet the Psalmist shows the value of commitment to God’s kingdom and staying the course.

Book 3—the central book—guides us through every conceivable crisis we can face in this life. It shows us how to navigate our way through discouragement, depression, severe illness, profound loss, injustice, slander, abuse, betrayal, abandonment, and outright despair. There will be times in the life of every Christian that despite our Bible reading and prayer and close fellowship with God, it will feel like the doors of heaven have been slammed shut in our face and God’s utter silence will make us feel like he has abandoned us. This is where Christians will get derailed if they don’t have the map. It is these tests of life that will make or break a person’s faith.

Book 4 brings us the comfort of God’s faithfulness and immutability, and Book 5 gives us the amazing Psalms of Ascent which are a microcosm of the entire book—focusing on the journey of life itself. The last 5 Psalms are an explosion of pure praise—like the fireworks finale on the 4th of July. No more sadness, no more tears, no more crises. The destination has been reached. 

In the history of the Christian church, small children have been taught to memorize the Psalms in order to get the map in their heads to prepare them for the trials of life. We no longer have the original music scores of the OT Israelites, but in the Reformed tradition the Psalms have been set to music and sung in our worship services since their revival during the Protestant Reformation. They infiltrate every part of our worship service as they teach us how to worship God in every circumstance. 
       A very wise person once told me to read 5 Psalms every single day. I did it and I think it would be a good idea for you to do it too. If you do, you will have the map of life in your pretty little heads and when all the tests and trials of life come your way, and you undergo severe suffering, you will not get derailed and lose your faith.