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At the heart of the Psalms is the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ is central to the content of each of the 150 Psalms in our Bible. As a worshipper begins to know the Psalms better, that worshipper is getting to know Jesus better, and understand more clearly the relationship that Jesus has with His people.
That’s the content, but the Psalms are written not just to inform but to move. The Psalms are a conduit for worshippers. The Psalms are a path, and the pathway was designed for the soul. So, just as the heart of the content of the Psalms is the gospel, so to the heart of the conduit of the Psalms is the soul.
Tremper Longman III writes, “While the Psalms inform us about God and his relationship with people, they do far more. They arouse our emotions, direct our wills and stimulate our imaginations.”
Our imaginations are both corrected and unlocked by the Psalms. With the constant barrage of images and creative language of the Psalms, our imaginations are carried in the truth of the gospel.
Our wills are shaped by the wisdom, examples, and commands of the Psalms. Psalm 32 motivates our will to confess sin because it lays out the wisdom of being blessed, forgiven, and covered by the righteousness of Jesus. Look how the psalmist provides examples of thankfulness (Psalm 7), trust (Psalm 23), witness (Psalm 51), prayer (Psalm 86), and obedience (Psalm 119:32). As well, our wills are profoundly moved by the very commands of God evident in the Psalms. Especially in regards to worship (Psalms 47, 29, 103), the will of the reader is moved by an encounter with God in the Psalms.
And finally, and perhaps most dramatically, all of human emotion is reflected and deepened by worshipping God through the Psalms.
John Calvin wrote, “There is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated.”
I love that quote, especially the word “wont.” I have found it to be true. My mind is “wont” to be agitated by shame, grief, wonder, doubt, love, desire, fear, expectation, reverence, and anger almost moment by moment. Now, I’m a pretty emotional guy, which isn’t necessarily that cool in our culture. But in the Psalms, in the Bible, I find that I’m actually pretty normal. I feel, in worshipping through the psalter, like I’m known and understood. And my feelings are not just understood, but moved, shaped, redeemed, and healed.
At the heart of the Psalms is the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the heart of the Psalms is the soul that is transformed by the gospel.
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