Preach The (whole) Book Of Psalms

Our church’s pastors are currently preaching through all 150 psalms, and we’ve surpassed 100 sermons. Some godly preachers have expressed concern that preaching all the psalms might be too repetitive or take too long. But I haven’t found this to be the case.

After preaching most of this sermon series, I’m not tired of Psalms at all. Here’s why I’ve found preaching through the entire Psalter rewarding.

1. Psalms is God-centered.

Every sermon, every study, every reflection on Psalms draws our congregation deeper into God’s majesty and glory. Psalms is rich with themes that showcase God’s attributes—his holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, and love. It’s far from dull to explore and proclaim the grandeur of God’s majesty, to unfold the beauty and glory of his covenant faithfulness. The God-centered content refreshes me and helps me to nurture a deep, abiding faith in my congregation.

2. Psalms counteracts our culture’s expressive individualism.

A few weeks ago, I told a group of pastors that I’m preaching through the entire Psalter and thoroughly enjoying the experience. One pastor asked why I was enjoying it so much. My immediate response was that the psalms uproot the weeds of expressive individualism and replace those weeds with God’s words and actions, and with clear instructions for how to express ourselves in corporate prayer and worship.

It’s far from dull to explore and proclaim the grandeur of God’s majesty, to unfold the beauty and glory of his covenant faithfulness.

Psalms shifts us from exclusively expressing ourselves from the inside out; it instead cultivates emotions shaped from the outside in. It offers a profound antidote to the individualism and isolation that plague our age. When I shared this with that fellow pastor, he immediately said, “I’m sold; you don’t need to tell me any more reasons.”

3. Psalms is full of vivid imagery.

Psalms’ rich poetry offers more powerful imagery and illustrations than I could ever craft. When I stay closely anchored to the Psalter’s text, my preaching is naturally elevated. Psalms is captivating and beautiful; the vivid and poetic expressions of emotion capture the depth of the human heart in ways simple prose can’t. This adds a unique intensity and resonance to each message.

If you want to improve your preaching, preach through Psalms. You’ll provide your church with some of the best word pictures available anywhere.

4. Psalms is a five-book symphony.

Psalms isn’t a random collection of poems. It’s a sensational symphony, a transcendent tapestry, a masterful mosaic that tell of King David’s rise, fall, and future glory.

I haven’t always read Psalms this way. I vaguely remember hearing this idea in seminary, and I found it intriguing. But I remained skeptical and thought of the literature on Psalms’ editorial arrangement as an example of Bible scholars with too much time on their hands.

When I stay closely anchored to the Psalter’s text, my preaching is naturally elevated.

All that changed when I studied Psalms for our current sermon series. I started recognizing the patterns, macrostructure, and movements. I’ve let go of my skepticism and fully embraced the conviction that the Holy Spirit has guided the Psalter’s organization.

Even when I can’t share all my observations and insights from the pulpit, I’m in awe of the Bible’s beauty and wonder. Week after week, I’ve experienced fresh joy and worship.

5. Psalms’s arrangement provides natural breaks.

Another benefit of the Psalter’s structure is that it provides natural breaks. I’ve strategically paused after preaching through Books 1, 2, and 3. After each, our church has turned to the New Testament for a short series on an epistle (Philippians, 1 Peter, and 1 John).

This rotation has been helpful and encouraging for both me and the congregation. It’s provided variety and prevented a sense of monotony. It ensures our congregation is fed from a broad spectrum of biblical teaching, from the whole counsel of God. If you plan to preach through the entire book of Psalms, I recommend you study its arrangement and then break it down into smaller series.

6. Psalms offers unique opportunities for shared preaching.

I haven’t done all the preaching myself. Because each psalm can stand on its own, preaching through the book provides a church a unique opportunity to hear from different pastors, elders, and other men training for ministry. Two years ago, when I went away on a summer sabbatical, our church invited several guest preachers to carry on our Psalms series.

Sharing the teaching load provides variety and fresh perspectives for the congregation, and it highlights that God’s Word is sufficient to build his church regardless of the servant delivering the message.

7. Psalms makes preaching Christ as easy as hitting a softball.

Psalms is one of the easiest books in the Old Testament in which to find Christ. Even if you only look at instances directly quoted in the New Testament, you’ll have no shortage of opportunities to preach Christ from Psalms. The New Testament explicitly quotes the Psalter and with reference to Christ dozens of times. For instance, consider the following:

• Jesus is identified as God’s Son (Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:5; 5:5).
• Jesus is the One who was made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor (Ps. 8:5; Heb. 2:6–9).
• Jesus is the reason there’s praise among the Gentiles (Ps. 18:49; Rom. 15:9).
• Jesus is the suffering and forsaken Son of David (Ps. 22:1; Matt. 27:46).
• Jesus isn’t ashamed to call sinners like us his own brothers (Ps. 22:22; Heb. 2:12).

This short list barely scratches the surface!

Charles Simeon described the three great aims of his preaching ministry: “To humble the sinner, to exalt the Savior, and to promote holiness.” These three aims are low-hanging fruit when you preach Psalms. The abundant, Christ-centered richness of the Psalter will not only enhance your preaching but also profoundly bless your congregation.