Jesus and the Psalms

When's the last time you read the Psalms on purpose? Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with those ancient songs - they're born out of a different culture, a different mindset, a different style of music. But the one thing we hold in common with those psalters? Misery is misery, suffering is suffering, pain is pain, disappointment, sadness, frustration, betrayal, despair, sorrow is still the same three thousand years later. It's this connection that keeps us going back to the Psalms, even if we have a hard time filtering out the cultural differences.

Another way we discount the Psalms is in failing to understand how much Jesus valued them. Jesus had them memorized - not for the sake of a contest, but for the sake of love, for the sake of expressing what is most intimate. The Psalms speak in raw language about love and hate, hope and despair, rescue and destruction. What's fascinating is to see how Jesus, in so many ways, lives out the hopes of the Psalms - in his day, and in his way, Jesus brings to life the prayers of the Psalter.

For example, having read the Gospels, and then reading Psalm 103, it is clear that Jesus lived out that song. I wonder if God wants the church - which is the body (the hands, feet, heart) of Jesus to be living out this Psalm in our day, in our way?

1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for mortals, their days are like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children—

18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.