What's in a Psalm?

So, what is in a Psalm?
Words? Yes.
Verses? Yes.
Your mum? No. She's not that old.

Let's throw some e's into the mix:
Emotion
Endeavour
Experience

And now let's have a look at them some more.
When you get to the end of this, why not spend some time reading those psalms I mention, as a way at looking at a quick spectrum of the book?

Emotion - full of it! There's some very happy psalms - packed with joy and praise. But they're the easy ones to understand, as I hope we all associate happy feelings with God. Or at least know what it is to be happy.
There's some very angry ones in there too - Psalms 88 or 109 are prime examples. Anger towards the world is especially common - if you can, take yourself away somewhere and read these Psalms out loud. Then SHOUT THEM OUT! That's the really good way to get the true feeling behind them.
For the more melancholy moments, you've got the laments - most of the fifties come under this. Try whispering these for a good appreciation of their power.

Can you identify with these emotions?

Endeavour - this means to try, to work at something. To me, it doesn't suggest success - it says 'I had a go, messed up a bit, and the only reason it came good is the grace of God'. Try Psalm 32 for a spot of salvation.
The Psalms tell a tale of people having a go and coming up short.
The Psalms tell a tale of people thinking they can achieve things in their own strength, but realising that only through God can they success.
The Psalms tell a tale of people.

Can you identify with this?

Experience - ever been told you can't do something because of a lack of experience? Not tall enough to go on a ride at the fair, or not old enough to do what your older sibling is doing?
More importantly, have you ever completely mucked something up, because you didn't know what you were doing? I feel like that a lot.
Psalms offers us a wealth of experience, and not just of things being hunky-dorey - so much of the Psalms is about dealing with the cruddy times, the mistakes made, the trials and temptations of everyday life.
Psalm 63 (coupled with Psalm 3, written at the same time) was written by David when he was on the run from Absalom (remember that, from 2 Samuel 16-18?) - his own son, and usurper of the throne. Times were desperate, and David had certainly made mistakes in life, most particularly in letting himself drift from God - this Psalm speaks of recognising it and coming back to God.

Could you benefit from some Godly wisdom?

Hopefully you'll see there's something in it for you all.
Don't be afraid to flick around, and to follow links to the Old Testament stories and laws you've read about over the past few weeks - they'll help you ground the Psalms in real life.

Let us know what you've read and what you think...