Bible: 5 Poetic Books

Lesson 1: Backgrounder

The Book of Psalms: Backgrounder

PRAISE GOD! How often have we heard people toss out those words carelessly? Praise God there was a sale at Walmart! Praise God I passed my exam! In these situations, we aren't really praising God at all. We're expressing relief that a situation has turned out to our liking.

Now Psalms is a book of PRAISE! Praise for God, for his creations, for his grace and generosity in allowing us to enter into a relationship with him. It’s about seeing the beauty in God’s creations. Seeing the value of a network of friends and family with God at the center. It’s a love-fest directed at the one to whom we owe everything. And in praising Him, we find ourselves at ease, knowing that we have the most powerful one on our side in times of trouble.

Typically, this is how we stereotype the book of Psalms. When people are seeking comfort, we tell them to pick up Psalms to find it. Some of the most peaceful and beautiful poetry can be found here, as well as some of the most uplifting praise for God and for what He does.

But there is another side to Psalms. A side that we often skip lightly over. There are Psalms of anger, of accusation, of ordering God to do this or do that, of questioning His motives and actions. Hardly uplifting. Hardly actions to emulate. Is it any wonder that these don't usually get mentioned in the Sunday sermon?

And why are they here? Perhaps to show that in any relationship (even the close one David had with God), there are bound to be "moments". Put any group of people in the same household for awhile, and there are bound to be disagreements, jealousy, and even hatred in addition to the love. Reality shows on television understand that fact, and they exploit it to the ultimate—unfortunately, not to educate but to entertain. When we come across these more surprising, emotional passages in the Bible, we must focus on “What’s the lesson to be learned here?” instead of “What’s the dirt?”

Psalms includes this wide range to show the full spectrum of human emotion, to show we can feel comfortable talking to God and expressing our feelings to Him, asking for His guidance in all things.

Praying to God doesn't have to be some long-winded prayer full of "thees" and "thous". Praying to God is talking to God. Of course He is an elder of ours, so we must show him due respect, but otherwise, it's like talking to a buddy of ours. We can express whatever emotions we're experiencing, both good and bad, around Him. He's our friend. He understands. He wants to help.

While this section will focus on the positives, we'll take a fairly good look at feelings and ideas that are a part of most relationships--and we won't pull any punches. For those with a sensitive side, start your studies with Psalms...

Lesson three, for the positives--Praise! Lesson four, for the OTHER feelings!

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