A Jot from John
It is said that some of the most influential men in Christendom since the days of the apostles have been particular admirers of two of the books of the Bible above all others. Certainly, in the case of Augustine and Luther, whose admiration for the books of Psalms and Romans is a matter of historical fact, this is particularly true. Much has already been said about the wonderful sublimity of thought and expression Paul demonstrates in his letter to the Romans.
But about the book of Psalms less, perhaps, has been said. Somehow, I have always entertained the suspicion that, of all the books of the canon, the Psalms are probably the least read. If anything, the Psalms are probably less read among our brotherhood than among other religious people. Our emphasis on the New Testament has, no doubt, contributed to our neglect of Psalms as well as the other Old Testament literature. But, as I said, the idea that we neglect the book of Psalms is just a suspicion to me, and, frankly, I have no real way of knowing whether it is so or not.
Nowadays people read so little from the Bible that it is positively unfair to pick out any one book and say that it is neglected above all others. I think that of all our weaknesses by far the worst is our criminal negligence of our professed creed, the Bible. Mere preaching cannot and will not substitute for individual Bible reading. Also, there is another thing which contributes to the brotherhood neglect of Psalms: Our generation has such an exceedingly low spiritual tone that the book of Psalms, which was written largely by a man on an exceptionally high spiritual level, is neither understood nor appreciated by a brotherhood more accustomed, perhaps to fighting one another than to praising God. This is not because the book of Psalms is difficult of understanding. Hardly any book requires less historical background for its proper understanding than Psalms. To understand this book one primarily needs a love for God. That is why the book is little read.
At this point we are faced with a marvelous coincidence. David, the only man known to have been called by God “a man after my own heart” – this same David, dead now for over 3000 years, has left us not merely a factual, historical biography of his life, second in interest only to that of Jesus of Nazareth, our God, but also, from his own pen, a record of his secret devotions to his God, a record of his innermost thoughts and feelings, a record of his fears and hopes, a record of his incredible trust in God’s power and willingness to deliver him, a record of his saddest moments and, likewise, of his happiest moments. In short, in the Psalms we have a veritable x-ray into David’s heart – hardly a thought or emotion of the great king being hidden from our view. READ IT – STUDY IT – APPLY IT!
Onward Rejoicing John B. Daniels, Associate Minister
