100 Sermons Through the Psalms (Pt. 3)
The 3rd of 7 Reasons Why I am Not Tired of Preaching the Psalms
Today's newsletter is the third installment in a series of short articles exploring the seven reasons why I am not tired of preaching the Psalms.
If you missed the last two articles, I previously pointed out that the God-centeredness of the Psalms not only encourages our souls but also serves as a potent antidote to the pervasive ills of expressive individualism.
In this article, I want to suggest that the poetic imagery of the Psalms improves the illustrations of the expositional preacher and enhances the listening experience for our church members.
Reason #3: The Psalms Enhance Preaching with Vivid Imagery and Illustrations
The poetry of the Psalms often provides better illustrations and word pictures than I am capable of creating on my own.
By simply expositing God’s word and closely sticking to the text of the Psalms, I believe it naturally enhances the beauty of my preaching and results in more captivating sermons.
While there are a variety of Bible passages that command us to pray and pour out our hearts to God, the Psalms not only command us to pray but also teach us how to pray.
As it has often been observed, the Psalms are the one book in the Bible that are not only God's word speaking to us but also our words that we speak back to God.
For instance, consider how King David prays to God and expresses his deep sorrow in Psalm 6:6-7:
"I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes."
This vivid depiction captures the intensity of his anguish in a way that simple prose cannot. It allows the congregation to feel the weight of his sorrow and see their own experiences reflected in the words of Scripture.
Let's look at another example from Psalm 102:3-7, which is this Sunday's sermon text (the bold statements in parenthesis are my added comments).
3 For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace. — (He has a burning fever and aching bones)
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; — (He has no motivation)
I forget to eat my bread. — (He has no appetite)
5 Because of my loud groaning — (He is speechless and groans loudly)
my bones cling to my flesh. — (He is emaciated, weak and impoverished)
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places; — (He is lonely and isolated)
7 I lie awake; — (He cannot sleep)
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. — (All he can do is sit and wait)
I hope it is easy for you to understand why descriptions like these in God’s word are profitable instruction for both those who are suffering and for everyone else who is not presently dealing with suffering.
As Derek Kidner poignantly states:
Like other laments, too, [Psalm 102] gives words not only to sufferers themselves, but to their joint-petitioners. The vivid evocations of fever, frailty, wasting, pain, sleeplessness, melancholy, rejection, and despair, offer the healthy and the happily placed the means of sharing part of a burden which is otherwise hard to grasp. The psalm is for use, and use by no minority.1
I cannot begin to count the number of times I have heard someone share their own struggles and sorrows with me, and at some point in our conversation they end up saying, “Really? Other Christians feel this way too? I thought I was the only one!'"
Not only do some people feel this way; our all-wise and merciful God inspired the Psalms to provide an eternal testimony that God’s people do feel “this way” too.2
Walking through the colorful and powerful words of the Psalms will not only deeply connect with all the members of the congregation, but it also enhances the preacher's ability to convey the profound truths of Scripture in a compelling and creative manner.
In my next article, I want to tackle one of the biggest misconceptions regarding the book of Psalms, namely, that this book of the Bible is a random collection of disorganized poems that will not work well as a verse-by-verse sermon series.
Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 393.
As John Calvin observed, “The Psalms are the anatomy of all the parts of the soul. There is no human emotion that anyone finds in himself whose image is not reflected in this mirror. All our griefs, sorrows, fears, misgivings, hopes, cares, anxieties.” John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms (Baker Books: 2003), pp. 36-37.