Verse: ‘For God has willed to make Himself known to us in the mystery of the Psalms’, (Praying with the Psalms, Thomas Merton).
The Psalms, the collection of which is commonly referred to as the Psalter, are widely prayed by Christians and Jews alike throughout the world. These beautiful poems and hymns are considered to be a book of worship given to God’s people to use in their lives. Praying the Psalms helps us as followers of God to draw closer to Him. They, in the words of Thomas Merton, ‘make Himself known to us’; and draw us closer they certainly do. Since the start of Christianity, the Psalms have been used by devotees in their daily prayers. In some periods of time Psalters were so widely possessed that they were even used to help teach children to read.
The Book of Psalms can often be neglected by readers as it is tucked away in the depths of the Hebrew Bible, this is a great shame as many Christian denominations and traditions throughout history have placed a great deal of importance on it for good reason. Within the Cistercian tradition, for example, all 150 psalms are sung or recited every one or two weeks depending on the structure of worship. Within Orthodoxy and Protestantism there is a similar pattern of devotion centred around the Book of Psalms. These practices are not just for the monastic or members of the priesthood; the Book of Psalms was given to us all to use in walking our path with God. A practice which is my personal favourite is to pray all 150 psalms each month (depending on the number of days).
If we split up the Psalms into 30 days then 5 psalms must be recited or sung each day. To do this multiple the date by 5, for example the 13th day of a month would be: 13 x 5 = 65. So, you would end that day’s reading on Psalm 65. Then go back by five psalms which would give you psalms 161-165 so you know where to begin. Already this is much more manageable than it may at first have seemed. With this method the daily psalm readings will always conclude with a number ending in 0 or 5.
I personally split this number into two in my morning prayer and three in my evening/night prayer. For months where there are less than 30 days, such as February with 28, simply stop on that day’s number and go back to Psalm 1 on the 1st March instead. For months with 31 days repeat the psalms for day 30, which would be psalms 146-150. In this manner it is possible for devotees to pray the Psalms twelve times each year! A number which at first seems so impossible and daunting to some is really so simple to put into practice. There is something incredibly beautiful and unifying in praying the same psalms which have been recited by the faithful for thousands of years.