Blogging Through the Bible in 90 Days

Speed Psalter

It is said that the desert Fathers read the psalter every single day. Catholics do it in a week... Anglicans in a month. Our schedule is in something like 4 days and I am loving every bit of it. I am surprised, actually, that it has so much nuance and meaning in such a quick reading. But I think reading the psalms in their actual context, which I have never done before, is revealing unexpected nuances.

Before, all the war stuff was so uncomfortable and seemingly out of context that the only way I could cope with it was to make into a kind of metaphor for my own struggle with sin. The enemy, then, became my own 'jerk nature'. It was, indeed, helpful to read it that way. But now, having read the history of King David and the struggles of the Judeans and the Israelites, the war stuff actually takes on a completely different and literal meaning. And that enhances the meaning of these songs, rather than diminishes them. You can really hear David's anguish, triumph, joy and thanksgiving. It is remarkable.

I LOVE the psalms.

And talk about it a bit more at The Big Dunk.

posted by Rachel Nguyen @ 3:13 PM