The Psalms

Paul says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

How come the psalms get so little singing time in worship these days? There is so much good stuff in the psalms! I love the raw honesty. They have so much heart, and dare I say it, emotion. You find yourself wrestling with God, dealing with despair and skepticism, fallen-ness and sin; but you also share in joy, reverence, peace, awe, beauty, mercy and deliverance. It's down to earth but also accompanied with the grace of heaven.

Sure there are psalms sung in church every once in a while by way of vague references, but it's always the flowery psalms that get cherry picked. There is so much more than that. The psalms reveal Christ. They reveal Christ even in the darkest moments, especially in the darkest moments. Whenever I read the psalms I can't even tell if it's about David or the Messiah. I like that. It just shows how close Jesus is with us, sharing in our humanity, trials and temptations.

Why is it that we skimp out on the psalms? Is it our attempts to be relevant and seeker sensitive? Maybe that's part of it. But I think Christianity at large has become pretty comfortable. I think we have become blind to what surrounds us. When was the last time you sang about anguish, terror of death, fear and trembling, and being overwhelmed with horror? Or when was the last time you simply asked God for mercy? And when you look at that, you see how comforting the gospel actually is. How relevant it is. It's comforting but it's not comfortable. It's this word of Christ that dwells in us richly.

That said, I really like this introit. It's a substantial chunk of scripture distilled from Psalm 55. I'm also a sucker for responsive chant and harmony.



I call to God and he hears my voice
He redeems my soul in safety
Cast your burden on the Lord
And he will sustain you.
Give ear to my prayer O God
And hide not yourself from my plea for mercy
My heart is in anguish within me
The terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me
And horror overwhelms me.
But I call to God
And the Lord will save me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning
Is now, and will be forever
Amen.

I call to God and he hears my voice
He redeems my soul in safety
Cast your burden on the Lord
And he will sustain you.