This morning, in our daily You are Invited post, we considered Psalm 150 after about eighteen months of studying the Psalms together. What a journey it has taken us on! How we have encountered God in these ancient words!

Two things have struck me as I have considered the verses that have been included in this study.

The first is the relevance of the Old Testament and the vulnerability of the poets (David and others perhaps) who first wrote them. They were just like we are! And yet the words they wrote were included in living Scripture. Their problems and doubts, their questions and worries are the same as those we experience today. Humanity may have become more sophisticated (in our own eyes) and have found answers scientifically to some of David’s questions. But God has not changed. He is still as faithful and loving, as caring and almighty as He always has been. He is our Creator. And He loves us.

Secondly is the number of times I have encountered Jesus in these poems. Jesus, who was born a thousand years after David’s reign, is central to many of the psalms. When we spend time in these beautiful words, Jesus is there. His presence weaves its way through the words and causes us to sing praise to Him with a new song.

The Psalms are not out of date or obsolete. They are not ancient literature. They pulse with life and love; they sing of God’s existence and power; they dance through creation. They are alive! They are the written word of God. They provide us with ways and words to pray when we don’t know how to verbalise what we are feeling, thinking experiencing, grieving, worshipping.

Remember the Psalms. They are relevant. They are glorious. They often say what we feel we cannot. They are music and song, praise and lament. They are God’s word.

And they are beautiful.