On the reading of the Psalms

Little Gidding, Cambridgeshire, England

The following was written by a dear friend of ours and his sending it to Philip and me was something of a New Year’s gift. I know that you’ll all be glad that he gave me permission to share it with you:

Are you a Psalm skimmer?  I confess that I am.  I often find myself skimming through a psalm until I get to one of those familiar nugget verses, land there a little bit, and then keep skimming.  This is NOT how one should read the Psalms.  Every word is to be chewed and savored.  Time must be allowed for this.  Giving the Psalms (and all of Scripture) a quick glance like one would do to a blog or email is the quickest way to divorce God’s word from God’s Spirit.  We have taken something sacred and made it common.  As a result, we no longer experience the presence of God when we read.  God will not be rushed.  He will not be treated like a Facebook friend.

Maybe this is just a symptom of the times.  “Face time” is no longer required for relationships.  We’ve actually digressed in our interpersonal skills.  Think about it.  People used to walk next door and sit down and talk with their neighbor.  With the invention of the phone we could call them and listen to their voice.  With the invention of email, we could just write.  With the invention of texting, we could reduce our relationship to short little abbreviations.  At times I feel like we are becoming the ghosts of C.S. Lewis’s Great Divorce.  There is little physical substance to our relationships.  Is this really progress?  Face time is too rare.  It is rare because it requires two things – “face” plus “time”.

I fear that this new way we now relate to one another has spilled into our relationship with God.  This is not just dangerous, it is spiritual death.   Our relationship with God requires face time.  Scripture cannot be merely scanned in order to get the gist of its meaning.  Waiting for God cannot be like opening a slow webpage – “God you’ve got a few seconds before I move on.”  God is never in a hurry and we cannot rush him.  The Psalms remind us of this.  They are full of patient waiting, worshipful meditation, and adoration.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. – Psalm 130.

During this new year, take time to take time before the LORD.  Ask God to reveal to you the things that drown out his voice.  Ask Him to show you the things that are controlling your day.  Ask Him to show you how to change and to give you the strength to do so.  This might be occasionally turning off your phone, or leaving your computer at work, or driving without listening to the radio, or killing your TV. Is there something in your life that you cannot turn off?

Our relationship with God requires quiet moments, patience, and passionate pursuit.  He is our Rest, our Joy, and our Treasure.

In Your presence there is fullness of joy – Psalm 16.

On the cross, Jesus endured the absence of his Father, so that we might enjoy His presence.  What a gift!  Take time this year to receive it.

written by Rev. Joel Brooks,  Redeemer Community Church

photography credit, Philip Ivester