He writes that biblical men and women were no different than
men and women of any generation, saying, “If we are really to
understand the Bible record, we must enter into our study of it
on the assumption that the experiences recorded there are
basically of the same type as ours would have been if we had
been there. Those who lived through those experiences felt
very much as we would have if we had been in their place.
Unless this comes home to us, the things that happened to the
people in the Bible will remain unreal to us. We will not
genuinely be able to believe the Bible or find its contents to be
real, because it will have no experiential substance for us.” 1
Give it a try. Put yourself within the mix of the writers of the
psalms as their friends or family members were mocking them or
their employers were hunting them down to destroy them. Can
you relate to their struggles? Do you have similar needs or
concerns? As you read the following passages, do they inspire
you to direct these words toward the living, loving God or to
make them your own?
Psalm 138, verse 3 says, “As soon as I pray, you answer me; you
encourage me by giving me strength” (NLT).
Psalm 25, verse 14 says, “The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.”Psalm 119:34, 38 says, “Give me understanding... reassure me of
your promise” (NLT).One hundred and fifty psalms contain the written
conversations of those who knew God talked to them directly.
This belief is evidenced by the way they poured out their
hearts to Him, as if to say, “Talk to me!” Packed with verbal
expressions of need, hope, and inquiry, the psalmists