The Reason We Sing Psalms
Quotes from the introduction of The Book of Psalms for Worship by Rev. Dr. G. Duncan Lowe
Why do we sing Psalms during Lauds?
“The Psalms, recognizing the nature of this world, always speak from an underlying assurance of faith, but not necessarily from conditions of peace. The world is not a safe place, but a person can, nevertheless, find protection, meaning and fulfillment by trusting in the promises of the true and living God.”
“The Psalms do not make our emotions and hopes their starting place. What they do for us is offer a way, through Spirit-given words, by which the worshiper can join himself both with the hopes and feelings of Israel’s flawed but great king David, and also with those of David’s divinely-great successor, the Messiah Jesus.”
“The Psalms call us to faith and to work—to the work of prayer and self-discipline, of repentance and rededication—if we really want to see the goodness and beauty of God manifested. They also offer us a real experience of the presence of God along the way.”
“Although the world is dangerous, the Psalms are not teaching us to be afraid of the world but rather alert in it. The fear that the Psalms do point us to is not fear of the world but an appropriate fear of God—not the kind of fear that keeps us away from God, but the kind that draws us to Him.”
