My six-month-old daughter recently came back from a five-day retreat at her Granny and Grandpa’s house (my mom and dad). For the first time since “self-quarantine” became widely adopted in our area, I understood the boredom my friends were describing through Instagram and Facebook posts. By the first full day of reprieve, Michelle and I both realized how quickly we had adopted a new routine with the changes to our lives. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to normal.
Our church staff has been encouraging everyone to consider using being homebound as a catalyst for strengthening or implementing a daily Bible Reading and study plan. Over the next couple of weeks, I aim to provide some resources to make that possible. As I considered where to direct our study, I wanted to offer something practical for the diverse emotional responses to quarantine.
When I’ve been asked for “a place to start” in developing a healthy daily Bible Reading, I almost always point people to the Psalms. I usually try to mimic the habit of Billy Graham, who read five Psalms and a Proverb every day. If you follow this plan, you’ll finish both books every month! Sometimes, that is the limit of my daily reading. Sometimes, not even that. There is just something special about poetry that lends itself to invoking a passionate curiosity that hungers for more Scripture (after all, the book of Psalms is quoted by Jesus in the Gospels more than any other Old Testament book).
Why Study Psalms
The craft and artfulness of lyrical poetry inspire delight in studying Scripture instead of duty. On the days that I find myself in a spiritual valley, it is my responsibility to my church to be in the scriptures consistently that motivates me to open up the Word. My downfall is that even outside of spiritual slumps, I tend to cling to routine. To complete the task for the hour and move on to the next. However, this is not what our Savior had in mind when he put Himself on a cross to restore our broken relationship on our behalf. The truth is, it shouldn’t be a task to complete a daily bible reading. It should be a high point for us. Reading from the Psalms provides a reoccurring refreshing reminder of the joy that comes from reading Scripture.
On top of that, the Psalms teach us how to talk with God and have a relationship with Him. From anger to jubilation, every emotion I can think of pops up throughout the five books that we call Psalms. And each one is more insightful to how our relationship with God can look than the last. You see, it isn’t enough for me to just be reminded of the beauty or mastery of language to enjoy my time in Scripture, I need reliable day-to-day application. The Psalms provide insight into how I can dissolve the spiritual facade that comes from “spiritual” practices to interact with God from laments to sheer amazement at His work.
How to Study the Psalms
Treat it as Scripture
As you open up to the Psalter, in addition to realizing that you’re reading the inspired and breathed-out Word of God, recognize that you are, in fact, dealing with poetry. We have to approach it differently than we would a letter or a narrative to appreciate everything that it contains in addition to following our essential guide for how to study Scripture.
As a reminder, the first step is prayer, asking God to reveal His truths to you (Psalm 119:18). The second step is to ask, “what does this mean?” By making some observations and remembering that Scripture cannot mean what it never meant, we’re able to ask then, “what does this mean to me?” or “how am I lead to respond to this?”.
Treat it like Poetry
Because this is poetry (and more specifically Hebrew poetry), you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for phrases that are parallel or complement one another in some way. Parallelism is hands-down, the most critical feature of Hebrew poetry, and it shows up a couple of different ways all of which are expressive. Watching for this one poetical element will help to illuminate the point of the Psalms we’ll study.
- Lines repeating themselves clarify or emphasizes a point (Symmetrical Parallelism).
- Lines with opposite ideas highlight attributes of their subject (Antithetical Parallelism).
- Lines that continue where the previous one left off to add to an idea round out concepts (Synthetic Parallelism).
However, let me caution you against turning this into Literature homework. This isn’t a task, this is an exercise that will enrich your day. Allow yourself to be delighted in your time of study.
Since we’re talking about poetry that was originally intended to be sung, you may find it useful to read out loud so that you can experience hearing the phrasing and cadence (even if it isn’t in Hebrew). You might feel awkward if this is your first time doing this, but I assure you it is worth it.
Meditate all day long
Finally, just like Psalm 1 gives us insight into the life of a blessed man so that we may replicate what we observe, we should spend time meditating all day long on what we read each day. The word translated to “meditate” in most English translations of the Bible comes from the Hebrew word hagah (הָגָה). The word is defined as moaning, growling, uttering, musing, or muttering. In other words, to meditate on the Word is to repeat it back to ourselves repeatedly throughout the course of our day so that it can speak into our lives.
Week 1 Psalm Reading Plan
Here is a link to a daily Psalm reading plan that you may use as we Develop our routines. We have included five days of focused study with a discussion question you can use as a journal response, or to start a conversation at lunchtime with your family. If you’re up for the challenge, we’ve planned out finishing the book of Psalms in this six-week study with some additional reading that sticks to each week’s theme.
If you don’t use Google Docs, here’s a PDF Downloadable
Exploring-the-Psalms-Week-1