Psalms: Prayer in Every Key
The church's first hymnal is mostly complaint. Four weeks through the five books of the Psalter, learning to pray the parts of it that polite religion tends to skip.
Syllabus
One week at a time. Tick a week when you have done the reading and answered the question in writing.
- Week 1
The two roads
Reading: Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1 promises that the righteous flourish, and Psalm 73 says the opposite happened to the author. Which psalm is telling the truth?
- Week 2
Lament and thirst
Reading: Psalms 42–72
The psalmists argue with God in public worship. What does that permit you to say in prayer that you have not said?
- Week 3
Anger in the sanctuary
Reading: Psalms 73–89
Some psalms ask God to break teeth. Do you read them as Scripture, as history, or as a problem to be explained away?
- Week 4
Praise that has been through something
Reading: Psalms 90–150
The Psalter ends in unbroken praise. Why does that ending land differently after eighty-nine psalms of trouble?