Faith in the Psalms

The psalms teach us a great deal about the nature of the God Israel worshipped and whom we also worship. They also teach us much about our own nature - our sinfulness and our need of God's gracious forgiveness. They show us that we must approach him in faith - believing that he really exists and that he listens to the cries of his creatures. The Psalms tell us much about what God required of His ancient people and of what he demands from all mankind.The Psalms have always had a prominent place in Christian thinking and Christian worship. Because they figured frequently in the thinking and the teaching of our Lord and the apostles, the psalms have, down the centuries, been regarded as providing models we can use to give expression to our prayers and to our devotion to the Lord. The Book of Psalms is, then, a most important body of devotional literature. It has been used widely in Christian worship and, when read devotionally, has the capacity of actually stimulating our worship. Who could, for example, carefully read and absorb Psalm 8 or Psalm 19 without realising something of the wonders of creation and of the one who created the universe. When we consider God's heavens, the moon and the stars that he has set in place, we realise our own puny insignificance and ask, What is man that you, O Lord, even deigned to think of him?" And, because he did think of man and make him just a little lower than the angels, we too bow in awe and wonder and say, "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth."