The Psalms – Week 3
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’).
This Week we started our trek through the ‘Songs of Ascent.’ There’s SO MUCH depth to Psalm 120 — So much in fact, that we didn’t even get through all of it. You can find the Sermon notes here! The bottom line: We, like the Psalmist, must reject the lies of the world. It is in our utter dissatisfaction, disenfranchisement, and dismay with the world’s narrative of events that we ultimately take up the path of a ‘long obedience in the same direction!’ This is not to say that we leave the world (Paul has something to say about this in 1 Corinthians 5), but rather we recognize we are people of God and therefore see things through his infallible lens. When we do, we not only experience his love, peace, grace, and kindness but can also lead others to do the same.
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