Welcome to Week 7 of Psalms!  This week we finish our trek through the psalter.  Along the way we've encountered psalms of praise, royal psalms, history psalms, psalms of ascent, psalms of lament, and more!  One of the beauties of the psalter is that these psalms give voice to many of the things we are experiencing but cannot put into words ourselves.  Oftentimes the words of the psalms can become our prayers before God. Our readings begin with the last 6 psalms of ascent, the songs sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to worship in Jerusalem.  Psalms 136-137 create a contrast through the repeated phrase of "His love endures forever" in Psalm 136 to the lament of "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept..." in Psalm 137.  Why are those two psalms placed next to each other? As the psalter ends, the last 7 psalms begin with words of praise to God (all but one start with "Praise the LORD").  The climax of that praise is in Psalm 150 when God receives praise from every part of creation.  Now that we've made it through the psalms, let's go back to Psalm 1.  That psalm pronounces a blessing on those who delight in the Lord, who meditate on his law day and night.  Psalm 150 begins with the words, "Praise the LORD!"  Those who delight in the Lord and meditate on his law are led to loud shouts of praise to God.  May it be so that all of us shout that praise to God, not just in our reading, but in our everyday living. As you read these Psalms this week, look for how the Psalms point to Christ.  Enjoy this week's journey through the psalms; praying that they provide a blessing to you as you read. We enter our rhythm of LEARN-READ-INTERACT.

From How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens, Michael Williams makes these points about Psalms:

Phrase: Lament and Praise
Theme: God the Great King provides the words of lament and praise that are appropriate responses to him.
Christ-Focus: Christ is the embodiment and means for our appropriate response to the Great King (Colossians 1:15-18).
Implications: We can talk to God about everything as we grow in teh unbreakable relationship with the Father that Jesus has secured for us (Philippians 4:6-7).
Questions: Is your faith strong enough for you to be honest with God?  Is there room in your faith community for you to express these feelings?  What is your motivation for prayer?

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