The Psalms – Week 16

Psalms are prayers that have been prayed by the people of God for millennia, and as such, we ought to continue in that tradition. One of the most unique aspects of being human is our ability to use tools. And “prayers are tools.” But there’s one important clarification: “Prayers are not tools for doing or getting [as we’re used to in our Western culture], but for being and becoming… At the center of the whole enterprise of being human, prayers are the primary technology. Prayers are tools that that God uses to work his will in our bodies and souls. Prayers are tools that we use to collaborate in his work with us.” (Eugene Peterson — ‘Answering God’).

“The unity of God’s people brings opposites together, symbolized by tall Hermon in the rural north and the little hill of Zion in the urban south (verse 3). For Hermon’s dew to fall on Zion would be a miracle—and so is the supernatural bond that brings people far divergent in culture, race, and class together in the Lord. The unity and love he gives us is like precious oil in ancient times (verse 2), making people fragrant and attractive to us who otherwise we would dismiss or reject. So “be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2–3).” — Tim Keller in ‘The Songs of Jesus’

Check out the sermon below.

Resources:

• The Bible Project — The Psalms

• Answering God by Eugene Peterson

• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

• The Songs of Jesus by Tim Keller

• What Is the Mercy Seat? by Stephen Nichols