Finding Insights in the Psalms

I read a book this last year entitled "For Times of Trouble" (Spiritual Solace from the Psalms) by Jeffrey R. Holland.  I was so taken by the many insights Elder Holland found in these scriptures.  I realized I needed to spend more time looking for passages that would have meaning for me.    

He begins the book with these words: "One of the unfailing facts of mortal life is the recurring presence of trouble, the recurring challenge of difficulty and pain.  so often we find ourselves swimming against the tide in what Hamlet called "a sea of troubles."  Someone once reasoned that confronting problems is apparently the common denominator of the living - the great bond between the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the believer and the skeptic.  It is very clear that anyone, including the righteous, who enters the chaotic currents of life is going to face trials and tribulations along the way. "

He further states, ". . . the Psalms have been among the most personally applicable and the most privately embraced scriptures in the entire canon.  In that canon, this book is unique in its intense longing for deliverance, solace, and safety. . . pleas to a compassionate God, to the healer of broken hearts, to the Savior of the downtrodden and destitute."

As I began my sincere search of these psalms, I found exactly what Elder Holland said.  They are so personal and so easy to identify with.  

I also did a google search to see what others have said about the Psalms.  

“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.”  ― C.S. Lewis

“The more deeply we grow into the psalms and the more often we pray them as our own, the more simple and rich will our prayer become.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Whenever I read the psalms, I feel like I am eavesdropping on a saint having a personal conversation with God.” ― R.C. Sproul

“When we read the Psalms, we are meant to learn things about God and about human nature and about how life is to be lived. Some poetry makes no claim to instruct the mind. The Psalms do. They are meant to be instructive about God and man and life.” ― John Piper

I probably identify mostly with the quote by C.S. Lewis although I feel the delight more in song and as you will see I find myself turning to the hymnbook quite often as I read because the thoughts lead me to favorite hymns.  

This is my journal for this year; a scripture journal wherein I stop to ponder with each reading what the psalmist is telling us.  Have I learned that same thing in my life?  How do his words affect me?  Where do my thoughts go as I ponder what each psalm is saying?  

I am no Jeffrey Holland.  His literary skills surpass mine by ions.  But I have years of living that have given me my own personal set of experiences and outlook on life and on the gospel - different than anyone else.  Maybe I will see something meaningful to me as I read and journal.