Theology is
all good and all but sometimes you just feel all the feelings about
your life and about God and you need a way to express those feelings. Well my friend, you have come to the right place! God
has not just shown us his love for us in sending us His son but he
shows his love for us in that he desires to hear from us; his beloved
children (Luke 11:11-12). So he gave us the Psalms which are a
collection of the many times God’s people have cried out to him in times
of trouble and in times of peace (but mostly trouble lets 
be honest).
The Psalms are 150 poems gathered by God’s people over their history and arranged in [probably] the time of their exile in Babylon. It’s not the entire collection of Hebrew poetry but a select few edited and arranged in a poetic way to also tell a story—they are many poems within a giant poem!!! See also Bible Project You-Tube video.
The overarching poem takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride from the introductory two psalms which echo the themes of Solomon’s collections of proverbs (true wisdom is found in seeking after the Lord, through mostly feelings of despair/lament) to more feelings of praise, hope and thankfulness to the Lord, to the conclusion that the Lord is over all creation and worthy to be praised for his goodness to his people and his ultimate justice toward sin. Much like our own spiritual journeys really… lamenting this broken world and taking it to the Lord, then praising Him for his faithfulness to us in his love and forgiveness and the fact that one day he will make everything right once again. His Love Endures Forever!
This
journey of faith reminds me of Hebrews 11, that God’s people often don’t
see God working in this world and many times it seems like God is not
powerful and evil is winning but when we fix our eyes on the cross and
God’s promise of his eternal kingdom we are able to see beyond our
current sorrows to the hope we have in Him. Our faith is hope in works
of God we cannot see now, but hope to see in the future; even if that
future comes about after our deaths.
I love that there are several Psalms which tell the history of God's people (36, 78, 105, 106, 119) simply because important things are always easier to remember when set to poetry and better yet, songs. See Colin Buchanan's catalog of scriptures to song if you want to nail some bible verses in your head for life!
The Psalmists use many images and symbols to talk about the Lord, many of which are repeated in the New Testament. Jesus and John are two stand out users of the imagery from the Psalms so keep an eye out for them in the Gospel writings and the book of Revelation. Some examples: Psalm 2:12 and Luke 12:57-59, the final two Psalms and Revelation 21. Romans 8:18-27 speaks of creation groaning as we do…
Some examples of the imagery of God which jump out to me:
God on his throne: Psalm 11, 102, 111 and the book of Revelation
The Mount of the Lord: Psalms 24, 99, 125
God as a Rock: Psalm 62
God’s people as plants (vines, trees, a harvest): Psalms 1, 80, 92, 128 and Romans 11
People as chaff and fire as judgement: Psalm 83 and Luke 3
God as living water, a spring: Psalm 23, 84 and Revelation 22, John 4
God as a house/gates/refuge/sanctuary: Psalms 24, 100, 118, 127
The poor loved by God: Psalms 82, 112, 113 and the beatitudes Luke 6
God as shepherd: Psalms 23, 28 and 1 Peter 5, Matthew 2:6
Takeaway: It is a true
gift of
God that no matter how sad, angry or frustrated we are God wants us to
pour it all out to him. He shows us in these poems that is has always
been a valid practice of God’s people to cry out to him and also to
remind him of his promises to his people in prayer. Our doubts, snotty noses and despair do not shock him but rather are treasured prayers in his sight “Cast all your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7
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