The Beauty of the Psalms 

   There is wisdom and knowledge in all of the psalms. They give us comfort and hope in our life.  In the psalms we find great praise and thanksgiving for the many blessings of God.  One of the things I love about praying the Divine Offices, the Liturgy of the Hours, is that they bring the psalms to me.  When using the Monastic Diurnal and some earlier versions of the Roman Breviary, I read all of the psalms on a weekly basis.  That may sound like a lot, but remember, the early desert fathers recited all 150 of them each day, mostly from memory.

   My favorite psalms are psalm 139 and psalm 119.  Psalm 139 praises the all-knowing, all present God who is in our lives.  Everything we are or will become is know to Him.  He created us, He has a plan for us.  If we will follow that plan He has a heavenly kingdom prepared for us.  Meditating upon this psalm will give us a better understand of God’s presence in our life and all that exists, helping us to more fully trust in His ways.

   With 176 verses, psalm 119 is the longest of the psalms.  It speaks to the glory of God’s word, giving Him all praise and glory for the torah.  It prays for the protection of sinners who would attack those faithful to the law.  It speaks of the delights and consolations of God’s law and laments for those who would disobey it.  It begs for the wisdom to understand the law and for the rewards of remaining true to it.  Contemplating on this psalm, a few verses at a time, will bring a greater knowledge and desire to follow the will of God.

   There is tremendous help for us in the psalms.  Spending some time each day studying and reflecting on them is a wonderful way to grow closer and closer to God.