Psalm-O-Matic

A follow-up post

So, I have finished a quick look at the Psalms, and I wanted to give you an update. Maybe when I have some time, I will do a wordcloud.

If you recall, I was skimming Psalms, looking for the places where the Psalms tell us about God: His nature, character, and attributes.

I have 34 pages of scribbled notes just jotting down what the Psalms tell us about God. This has been very refreshing to me, as I have mostly focused on the Psalms as prayers. Looking at them for biblical data on the doctrine of God has been really instructive.

It seems to me there are about 5 basic things that are coming thru.

God is righteous and just

He shows steadfast love

He is a refuge

He is/gives salvation

And still, far and away the most consistent, He hears and answers prayer.

My reflections on this right now is that the Psalms are a relentless assault on an unholy trinity of doubt and worry: God doesn’t know what is going on, God can’t do anything about what is going on, God doesn’t care what is going on.

The Psalms are so insistent that God hears and answers prayer because God knows, in our tragic circumstances, we might doubt He answers prayer. The Psalms are so insistent that God hears and answers prayer so that, if you believe the Word of God, your doubts and fears must fall.

If God does not know what is going on and/or He can’t do anything about it, then He is not God in any sense of the word. If He does not care about what sufferings and trouble we face, more specifically, He is not the God of the Old Testament (nor the New, but we are talking about the Psalms.)

Be amazed at how often and consistently, among the many things that the Psalms teach us about God, that He answers prayer is foremost.