It's a very rough estimate.....and could be off by a number of years.....but it's the best that I can recall....for the first fifteen years or so of my Chrisitan walk.....I pretty much ignored the Psalms in my reading of God's Word. There were memory verses.....and of course the 23rd Psalm.....but as for the rest.....it was just a little bit too syrupy for me. Oh I loved God....all you had to do was ask me.....but there were so many other areas of scripture that were genuinely exciting.....prophesy for one! Then I discovered the 16th century Reformation.....somewhere around 1990....give or take a couple of years.
I saw this book on the bookstore shelf. The bright neon orange cover caught my eye.....and the little man in a robe on the spine. Hmm....William Gurnall.....never hard of him.....The Christian In Complete Armour.....Volume 1. I checked out the blurbs on the back cover.....which has always been my habit.....C. H. Spurgeon....I was kinda familiar with him.....and David Wilkerson......now we're talking. I bought the book.
I would imagine that The Banner Of Truth Trust publishers still today wonder how pentecostal David Wilkerson has a blurb on one of their books.....but Wilkerson was more Puritan than pentecostal. I have a hundred of his sermons in our basement.....they came as a set....I know This David Wilkerson of The Cross and The Switchblade fame.
So I was now....'in the Reformation'....and therefore the Psalms had to be important to me....or that's the impression that I got anyway. A number of years passed....and I did become more interested. I have to digress a little bit here.....please bear with me....I have this sytem where I color-code God's Word.....red highlighter means one thing.....green another.....yellow another.....blue another.....and verses that I highlight orange.....have some prophetic significance to them. Well I just did a little tallying.....and I have.....as of now.....orange highlighting in 62 of the 150 Psalms. So my interest in the Psalms increased.....because of the prophesy in them.....but I was still dragging my feet.
A few more years passed....and it had been a whirlwind....as the Psalms come to dominate my Bible reading....and not because of prophesy....but because they speak out praises to God.....and invite me to join in....and it is never-ending....new every morning....and new every evening! It's like imbibing wine. Off I go.....apparently along with everyone else who no longer finds the Psalms syrupy. They bring joy....and encouagement....and they render....and warn....and lift up....and prostrate. I can move from the Old Testament to the New Testament on a regular basis....but I cannot put the Psalms into this schedule.
Here is why I bring this up in this post. I was listening to John Piper's sermon of the day....which I do everyday.....along with Spurgeon sermons.....and others.....men from the past....and men who preach like men from the past....and today's message is called....Songs That Shape The Heart And Mind....the 'songs' here.....are of course the Psalms. It's a wonderful and much needed message on the Psalms....so much more beneficial than my pitiful efforts here.....if you will only but take the time to listen....particualarly if you are one who might find the Psalms....a little too syrupy. You can just Google the title along with....'John Piper'....or you can navigate your way around his ministry at.....desiringgod.org.
