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THE PSALMS SPEAK

The Bible is a living book. It is the Word of God that lives forever, and it's alive because God is alive. The Spirit of Truth uses the Word of God.

We are turning our attention in our study of Scripture to this most powerful and beautiful book, one of the most deeply spiritual and profoundly practical books in the whole Bible, and that is the Psalms. Here's what I've come to believe about the Psalms: they speak.

Now certainly God speaks to us through the Psalms. We hear God's voice through His words.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (II Timothy 3:16)

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4)

“Every word of God is pure:” (Proverbs 30:5)

I believe that every word of Scripture comes from God and is essential for us. But when I say the Psalms speak, I mean literally. God intended that we take them and verbalize them, use them. They were written down so that we could use them in every generation.

The book of Psalms, of course, was a sacred songbook for the nation of Israel. The old-time Hebrews used them in their temple worship. The Christians of the New Testament times sang them, as evidenced by James 5:13. The Jews today still use them in the synagogues.

It is a hymnbook. It is a worship book if you will, and its words are to be used by us. These songs are full of promises and principles, prayers and praises. You're going to find something in every psalm that will minister to you right where you are.

But before we launch out into that, I want to show you the first time the word “psalms” is found in the Bible. It's back in I Chronicles 16.

David, who is known in scripture as the sweet psalmist of Israel, is the most well-known writer of the Psalms. He wrote 73 of them, more than anyone else, and was mightily used by God. David is the first one to have the word “psalms” connected to him.

And it is a beautiful little word. The idea here is praise, leading us into the presence of God. It comes from a word that is literally a poem, something to be sung to a stringed instrument. It's lyric poetry. So David is a divinely inspired poet.

In this instance, he is rejoicing. His heart is full as he brings the ark of God back in and worship continues. The Bible says in I Chronicles 16:7-9, “Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, Make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, Talk ye of all his wondrous works.”

I think it's very appropriate that the first time we find the word “psalms,” it is connected to both David and Asaph because those two people would be greatly used by God in the book of Psalms.

The Psalms help you to speak to God.

Did you notice the direction of the psalm? Certainly, the people heard it. Many people were there. But it was first directed to God himself. It always goes up first.

The book of Psalms will help you in both your prayer life and your praise life, by helping you talk to God. Do you ever feel like your prayer life is stuck in a rut? I think it was Vance Havner who said, “A rut is just a grave — with both ends knocked out.” It's death.

Do you ever feel like you're just going through the motions, saying the same words over and over again? Let me challenge you to use the Psalms as your prayer book, as your praise book, to make it your own, to pray your way verse by verse through it, to take the words of these great praises and make them your own and say them to God from your heart.

Isn't that the way God intended all of His Word to be used? He speaks to us. We respond to him. He talks to us through his Word. And when we meet with him, we talk to God about what He is talking to us about.

So we begin by giving him thanks, by singing praise to him for his goodness in our life. But that's not the only way the Psalms speak.

The Psalms help you speak to yourself.

Notice Ephesians 5:18-19, ”And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

Do you ever talk to yourself? It's OK as long as you're talking about something good — and there's nothing better to talk about than the Lord. The Psalms will help you speak to yourself, and you're going to need to be able to do that through the day, through the journey of life, through the difficulties that you're going to face. You're going to need to learn to encourage yourself in the Lord.

David understood this. At Ziklag when the city was burned, his family was gone and the men talked about stoning him, he “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (I Samuel 30:6).

Friend, if you're the kind of person who somebody else has to pick up all the time and you've got to depend on somebody else to keep you encouraged, you're going to live a very discouraged life. No, you have to learn how to encourage yourself in the Lord, and the Psalms will help you do it.

Memorize great psalms. Take a verse from each psalm each day. Hide it in your heart. It'll help you not to sin against God. It'll help you to meditate on that for the day, to rehearse it, and to remember the goodness of God.

The Psalms shouldn't just speak to you when you read them. You should carry them with you. They should be a resource you can draw from all through the journey.

The Psalms help you speak to others.

Listen to Colossians 3:16. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

You can use the Psalms to encourage those around you.

Did you know that everybody's having a hard time with something, that every person you meet has some burden and they need some word from God? When people are hurting, we don't always know what to say, do we? Sometimes we feel like we're speechless. And sometimes it's best not to say anything. Someone said years ago that when you don't know what to say, say nothing at all. That's very good counsel.

But as a Christian, you do have a message. When you don't have the words, just give them God’s Word. It turns their attention away from themselves and even away from you, to the only person who can help them — our great God.

The Psalms are going to speak to you. But you should use them to speak to God, to speak to yourself, and to speak to others. This is an intensely practical book.

Don't just read them and take notes. Take the actual songs and incorporate them into your communication and conversation throughout the day. In every relationship you have and every response you have, let the Psalms help you say what you ought to say. Let the Psalms speak.