How to Preach the Psalms to God’s Glory and the Church’s Good

The words of the apostle Paul to his younger protege, Timothy, have lasting effects on the preacher of God’s Word, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It looms over his study reminding him of the importance of his role.

Recently, I preached from the book of Psalms for the first time. I was already a student of Sidney Greidanus’ Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method, so I grabbed his more focused treatment of the Psalms entitled, Preaching Christ from Psalms: Foundations for Expository Sermons in the Christian Year. Both were informative, and I commend them to you. 

We were preaching a short series during November for scheduling purposes and decided to focus on gratitude. The series was called “Psalms of Thanksgiving.” Fortunately, the playing field was wide open, so I chose Psalm 100, titled the “Psalm of Giving Thanks.” Since it was my first time, I wanted to be sure I preached effectively and in a way that would honor the Lord. This is what I learned.

Three Marks of Poetry

I’m sure you already know this: preaching poetry differs from preaching pros. Hebrew poetry is marked by three major characteristics that guide the crafting of sermons: terseness, imagery, and parallelism. 

First, they are marked by brevity. Sermons are not terse since they explain the message of the Bible, requiring more words. Preachers can mimic the psalm’s terseness using short sentences and vivid pictures.

Second, they are marked by imagery. Pictures will play the most important role in preaching psalms. Jeffrey Arthurs explains, “Poetry uses concrete nouns and verbs to create a picture of abstract ideas.” He says that the word “anger” does not necessarily form images in our minds like the words “kindle” and “burns,” for example. Vivid imagery sparks imagination, fosters identification, and aids memory. Preachers should be prepared to interpret these pictures while transferring them to their hearers for the best effect.

Third, they are marked by parallelism. Parallels will help the preacher interpret the psalm and guide the sermon’s structure in the exposition. Arthurs notes that parallelism can help the preacher develop a point by repeating and intensifying the point. However, he should still acknowledge that parallelism plays a more vital role in the psalm than in the sermon itself. It is not necessary to replay it in the exposition per se.

These three characteristics contribute to a psalm’s emotional appeal. That is to say, they were written to evoke a feeling more than an intellectual argument. In other words, psalms are intended to prompt a response that goes beyond a mere cognitive comprehension of facts. But it doesn’t end there.

After identifying the emotion, the preacher should seek to reproduce the impact on the hearers without manipulation and with moderation since it is not the primary goal. The preacher’s audience must learn from the biblical text, not merely feel. The preacher’s goal is to help his hearers delight “in the law of the Lord” so they will meditate on the truth, not the feeling it produces (Ps. 1:2).

Preparing the Sermon

Since each of the chapters in the book of Psalms is complete, it is most useful for the preacher to choose an entire psalm to preach. In some cases, he might preach through a more lengthy psalm (like Psalm 119) over time, but the sermons should have some form of connection, like links in a single chain. This is necessary because each psalm has a theme and goal to accomplish.

Theme. Determining the theme of the psalm is critical. It is the point the psalmist seeks to make and is usually his message for Israel. The preacher would benefit from formulating a short sentence stating the theme to help set boundaries for the study and the sermon. 

Goal. This theme will also lead the preacher to the goal of the psalm—what the psalmist intends to accomplish. It is helpful to identify the type of psalm, such as hymn, lament, thanksgiving, or wisdom, based on the historical context. It was written for a specific time in Israel’s history to produce a particular response. The goal for the original audience will be the goal for the contemporary audience.

Need. The psalmist’s goal reveals the need, which will ultimately be the need for the sermon hearers. Greidanus illustrates this point by pointing to the opposite poles of a battery. The goal is the positive, while the need is the negative. When the two are connected, the current of truth flows. Understanding the need will help you develop the progress of the sermon. It can also serve as a great way to introduce the sermon, causing interest and anticipation in the audience.

Structure. When preaching expositionally, the psalm structure usually forms the sermon’s structure. Psalms are divided into stanzas, which are exposed in most English translations of the Bible. These stanzas, often containing repetitions and parallels, will provide the preacher with his major points. At the same time, because the Psalms have “emotional outlines,” made up of valleys and peaks, instead of “logical outlines,” made up of linear progression, the preacher might reorder the structure to be more suitable for his audience.

Application. The goal will determine the application of the sermon. It can be tempting for the preacher to overthink this since the psalms are generally simple, even basic, in their goals. It might be that the hearers should praise the Lord, give God thanks, or even weep over loss. Regardless, the preacher should help his hearers connect with the hope of Israel to appreciate the application fully. The need of Israel is the need of today—in a contemporary context.

Christ. Every sermon, regardless of the biblical text, is to preach Christ. A thorough explanation of this is better suited for another time, but the preacher must bring some form of the Gospel into the sermon that rightly arises from the psalm (2 Cor. 4:5-7). If we do not preach Christ, we haven’t preached (1 Cor. 9:16).

A Case Study

During our “Psalm of Thanksgiving” series, I preached from Psalm 100. The psalm’s theme, put succinctly, is to sing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord. The goal is to produce this kind of song in the hearers’ hearts. How the psalmist nuances this theme and goal helps us understand how songs of thanksgiving are to be sung. 

Furthermore, the context gives insight. It was likely that the psalm was written for Israel to sing during their journey to corporate worship and during their corporate worship. Therefore, the need is simple: the Israelites were not the right way. Based on the imperatives in the psalm, they were likely quiet, desolate, unenergetic, thankless, and spiritually absent. Psalm 100 is meant to turn that around.

The stanzas are easily identifiable. There are four stanzas with three lines in each stanza. The first two stanzas (Ps. 100:1-3) contain three calls to give thanks through worship, followed by three reasons. The second two stanzas (Ps. 100:4-5) parallel the first. Therefore, we might preach the “emotional outline” (how-why, how-why) or the “logical outline” (how-how, why-why).

Now, we are ready to develop the sermon, depending on our choice of structure. I chose the logical structure because it was more my style and comfort. It also helps with speed and timing since there is less to bridge—six points on how, followed by six points on why.

There is one caveat in the psalm that can steer the sermon in one way or another. The phrase “all the earth” in the first verse bends the point of the psalm to an evangelistic lean. I chose not to emphasize this as much as the larger content but brought it into the application. Although the psalm is directed to Israel, it was meant as an evangelistic cry for all people, including those outside of Israel, to join in the song of thanksgiving. With this in mind, we can apply the psalm to the church, highlighting that our weekly gathering and exuberant songs of thanksgiving summon the world to join us in worshipping the Father through the righteousness of the Son.

Preaching the Psalms is a wonderful experience. I hope that all preachers will give themselves to it. And maybe this will help you along the way.

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