Reading the Psalms

There is probably no section of the Scripture that is read more often the book of Psalms.  Many of us remember the 23rd Psalm as the first one we memorized.  Along the way we have likely learned a few others, but no Psalm is more often quoted.  There are some folks who have memorized not just the 23rd Psalm, but the entire collection.  In spiritual conclaves such as monasteries the Psalms are read or experienced by the community every day in its worship.    

As we think back over the years of own spiritual journey, we know that God has spoken to us in numerous ways through these ancient writings.  In times of trouble we have found solace, in times of grief and mourning we have found the way forward, and in times of joyful thanksgiving we have found ways to express the gratitude and praise which comes rising up from within us.  They are expressions of the experiences of our humanity written by a man who was a lover of God as a boy who tended sheep and as a man who led his nation.   

Of course, what we know is that the Spirit used an imperfect and flawed man to write these words which have transformed the lives of so many.  The fact that they came from one who desired the ways of God even though flawed resonates with our own spiritual journey.  Like David we are flawed.  Like David we are hungry for God.  Life David we seek to walk beyond where we are able to walk alone and in our strength.  Like David we need the help and the deliverance of the Lord to reach the end of the journey in faithfulness.   And like David we have discovered what it is to walk in the paths God has set before us.