Proclaimer Blog
The King’s songbook
Preaching the psalms is harder than it looks. I’m pretty convinced about that every time I pick up a psalm to preach or, as is the recent case, a few psalms to write study notes on. They’re rooted in the Old Testament, like (say) OT narrative and therefore we have to apply some of the same rules and guidelines we apply there. They’re poetry, like the prophets, and therefore we have to apply some of the same rules and guidelines we apply there. But they’re also heart songs and therefore sermons that reduce them down to logical truths expressed in cold language are hardly doing justice to the text; in which case that’s hardly expository preaching.
No, they’re a tough nut. Ironically, we often say to new preachers or those with little experience – “just choose a psalm and preach on that.” That’s a difficult gig for someone starting out and we ought to be more thoughtful.
Of course, when we get them right, the results are immensely rewarding. Take Psalm 127, for example. I think this is an example of where getting it wrong could actually be pastorally damaging. If we tell the childless couple that children are a reward from him, what are we actually saying? But what if, instead, we realise this is a covenant song sung by a covenant king, Solomon. What if it’s about him rather than us, in the first instance? What if it’s about The King, rather than us, in the second?
Then your first stanza (1-2) would be something like “the king and his city prosper when the Lord builds” and the second stanza would be something like “the king and his family increase when the Lord rewards” (3-5). These points could then unpack the richness and depth and colour of the poetry whilst being rooted in the real covenant meaning – with obvious, encouraging, challenging and helpful lines of application. Altogether better, I would suggest.