Editor's note: Enjoy this devotion from Encountering God’s Love from Genesis to Revelation by Randy & Rozanne Frazee.
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The Story of Israel — Psalms
Read the Story | Follow this reading guide if you want to pace yourself this week:
Day 4: Psalm 22; 69; 110 (Prophetic)
Day 5: Psalm 73; 136 (But God...)
A View from the Lower Story
Our shepherd boy transformed to king was not only a great leader and a man after God’s own heart but a prolific poet/songwriter as well. The book of Psalms gives testimony to this fact. Of the one hundred fifty poems or songs recorded in this book, the primary writer is none other than David. When David was still young, King Saul was perplexed by an evil spirit, and he called David to play the lyre for him. When David played, the evil spirit left Saul alone (1 Samuel 16:23). David wrote eighty-nine of the one hundred fifty psalms while the remaining sixty-one are spread over several other writers — one of whom was David’s son Solomon. Apparently, he inherited his dad’s love for God and music.
Some of these songs are hymns of praise for who God is and what He has done, while others are laments, or expressions of deep sorrow, suffering, or sadness. We can learn much from this book about God from the praise psalms, besides garnering the benefits of trusting God during human suffering that brings peace from a God who created and is in control of everything. Other psalms are prophetic in nature, describing Jesus’ coming, death, and resurrection.
While we find much praise of God for who He is and what He has done in creation in the Psalms, we also see psalms of confession and requests for forgiveness. We can also see God responding to the hymns of lament with a gracious hand moving to guard, guide, and comfort.
This book is a great book of instruction on how our Lower Story, imperfect lives can be taught to align with God’s perfect Upper Story.
Many times, as we read the stories in the Bible, we see the plot heading toward insurmountable circumstances that will overwhelmingly destroy God’s people. Just when the plot thickens and the future looks grim, we see a “But God” moment, a moment when God steps in and brings the outcome He wants and/or has promised from the Upper Story far beyond what human strength and determination could have afforded. These “But God” moments abound in the Psalms.
A View from the Upper Story
Through the Psalms we see a God who loved His creation, man and woman, so much He created a lavish world for them to live in. Psalm 8 asks the question,
What is mankind that You are mindful of them? — verse 4
How could such a creative, great, and powerful God be interested in creatures who mess up and choose another plan than He has in mind? But God... does. He continues throughout His grand story to show us that love.
So many of the psalms of lament end in “But God... ”
- But God… You hear the plea of my heart.
- But God… You are still in control.
- But God… You get the victory.
- But God… You keep Your promises.
Even in the prophetic psalms we see “But God” moments. For example, it appears God has turned His face away from Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:46). But Psalm 22, which is a prophetic psalm regarding the crucifixion of Jesus, tells us otherwise. In verse 24, David explicitly declares,
[But God] has not hidden His face from Him but has listened to His cry for help.
From the Upper Story, God the Father walked with His Son every step of the way through this horrific but necessary event. A good father would never turn his face from his son in his hour of need.
He will never turn His face from us when we need Him.
Spending time in the Psalms teaches us to have bold faith, to trust in God, to find peace in our aching souls. They also show us a merciful and loving God who allows us to approach Him with our praise, thanksgiving, sorrow, regrets, and fears.
In our Lower Story in the here and now, God is still intervening with, “But God” moments.
His love endures forever! (Psalm 136)
God’s Story… My Story
- After reading several of the psalms this week, is there a new freedom you find to go before God with your petitions and prayers?
- A prevailing concept in the Psalms is that God is the ruling and reigning King forever. How does this shape your concept of creation, history, and your future?
- Why do you think the evil spirit left Saul when David played the lyre for him? Does worship music play a part in lifting your spirit?
Excerpted with permission from Encountering God’s Love from Genesis to Revelation by Randy & Rozanne Frazee, copyright Randy Frazee and Rozanne Frazee.
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Your Turn
Do you have a “But God” story in your life? Do you have a favorite psalm that brings peace to your heart or joy to your soul? Remember that He will never turn His face from us when we need Him. ~ Devotionals Daily