12 Ways to meditate on the Psalms

These are some of the practices that I have found helpful in meditating on the Psalms. Try them out and see what works best for you. There are many genres of psalms, so some of these techniques work better than others with certain types of psalms. 

Remember that the root meaning of the word meditate (it’s hagah in Hebrew) is to murmur or mumble. The implication then is that meditation involves making some sort of audible sound. With that in mind, I’ve found it helpful to speak aloud while practicing many of these techniques. Speaking the text aloud engages our bodies as well as our minds. Not only is this important for encoding the text in our memory, but it helps to keep us alert and focused, preventing mental drift.

1. Write a paraphrase of what you have read. 

Put the psalm in your own words, elaborate on it. The psalmist wrote that the word of God was sweeter than honey from the honeycomb (19:10). However, who eats honey from the comb these days? We understand the metaphor, but we can’t really experience it. However, what if we wrote a paraphrase of this line like this: God’s words are sweeter than the finest chocolate, richer than the thickest vanilla custard, more deeply satisfying than a caramel latte? You get the idea. Reword the text in a way that makes it meaningful to you and your experience. Keep this in a journal for future reflection. 

2. Pray a passage. 

Years ago I learned an acronym for structuring my prayers that has stuck with me: ACTSS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication, Submission). As you read the psalm, begin with worship and adoration. Look for the attributes of God that compel worship. These may not be stated explicitly but they fill every verse of scripture. Respond to the text by speaking statements of adoration back to God. Of course, fixing our thoughts on the perfection of God reminds us of our own imperfections, failings, and falls. Pray the psalm a second time by asking God to reveal those things and turn to confession and repentance for specific sinful thoughts and actions that the Spirit brings to mind. Confession in turn leads to gratitude for God’s gracious forgiveness. Ask yourself what you can be thankful for in the light of this truth of the psalm. Get specific and “forget not all his benefits” (103:2) as you list your many blessings. Next, the words of the text will lead you to make requests that God might supply a need. This time of supplication may be for your own needs or for those of others. You’ll find this time of intercession is enriched because the text provides specific blessings we can ask for on behalf of others, moving from local to international focus. The final movement of prayer is submission or surrender. It is the prayer of Mary upon hearing that she is going to bear a son even though it will totally upend her life. She prays, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). An encounter with God should always move us to trust and surrender. Pray that God would help you to accept and apply the truth you’ve heard from Him. 

3. Emphasize different words or phrases.

Try reading the text aloud and emphasize a different word each time, taking time to think about each one. Focus on one word at a time and chew on it for all it’s worth. One time I was reading Psalm 4:1, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!”  For the first time, I happened to notice the exclamation point at the end, and I wondered what tone of voice the psalmist might have been using. Was it a plaintive, “Answer me (pretty please)”, or was it an angry, “Answer me!!!”? -- as if God were home but not answering his phone; or worse, He was standing right in front of you but remaining silent. Was the psalmist weeping or yelling? Was he humbly begging or asserting his rights with a great deal of frustration? We can’t be sure, but either are possible. You can see the difference the accent makes. Placing the accent on a different word in the sentence can give us slightly different nuances of meaning and application and yield some surprising insights. Resist the urge to read the text the way you always have. There may be something there that you’ve missed simply because you’ve placed the accent in the wrong place. 

4. Cross reference

Think of other passages with similar themes, and use the cross references in your Bible. This is where a good study Bible can come in handy. You’ll find cross references for practically every verse. These will take you to other passages in the Bible with similar wording and themes. The Book of Psalms is the most quoted book by writers of the New Testament so follow the links to the New Testament and see how the apostolic writers understood and applied the text. In the process you’ll gain a new appreciation for the remarkable unity of the scriptures. Over forty authors writing over 1,500 year with one coherent message containing countless details -- the Bible is itself a testimony to its own truthfulness. The more you know the Bible, the more these connections become automatic and the sweeping story of the Bible becomes more clear. 

5. Think about the writer

Very often the superscription before the psalm will provide us with the name of the author. This in turn gives us an approximate date and historical context. The text of the psalm itself often holds clues to the possible situation in which the psalmist finds himself. Using this, picture the author actually writing or reciting the psalm. David wrote in caves, on the battlefield, on a bed of sickness, and under the star-spangled arc of the Milky Way Galaxy. Use a sanctified and informed imagination to place the scene in your mind and watch what happens. Read through the narrative of David’s life in 1 and 2 Samuel to familiarize yourself with his real life adventures and misadventures. If the author is one of the Sons of Korah or Asaph, picture him playing the tune on a harp or singing in a levitical choir. Imagine the ancient worshipers in procession toward the temple singing these words loudly with the accompaniment of all types of instruments. Imagine what the song might have sounded like. Did it have a minor key? Was it happy? Sad? Angry? What range of emotions does the psalmist experience? Place yourself in that ancient audience of pilgrims who’ve made their one in a lifetime journey to Jerusalem for the feast, and listen to the song afresh. 

6. Use all five senses to experience a story.

Psalm 34:8 says “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” It occurred to me that there are four other senses through which we can experience the LORD, and so I read Psalm 34 looking for all five of them. They’re all there! (OK, technically there’s no reference to the sense of smell in Psalm 34 but it is physiologically linked to taste. Also, there are lions in the psalm, and I’m sure they smelled!). Read each psalm five times, each time focusing on a different sense. I promise you will become aware of things you never have before. Experiencing a psalm through our senses makes them come alive. The psalms speak to other senses as well such as hunger, thirst, and satisfaction (63:1,5). Enter into the experience of the psalmist. Feel their pain, frustration and joy. The psalms are very sensuous (in the general sense of that word). 

7. Assume the role of a character in the psalm.

While the psalms are generally not narratives, many of them do have multiple characters: enemies and traitors, friends and family, the poor and the powerful. To the best of your ability, try to get inside the heads and hearts of every character alluded to in the psalm. The author is the most obvious character of course, but don’t forget about the others. Ask: What are they thinking? What are they feeling/ What is motivating them? What would I do if I were in their situation? Would I feel and act the same way? Human beings are incredibly complex so it can be an interesting exercise to muse about their interactions and motivations. For example, Psalm 45 is a description of a royal wedding. From what you know of weddings, ask yourself, “What is the groom thinking and feeling?” What about the bride? The attendants? The audience? They are all mentioned in the text. Again, this can make the psalm come alive. 

8. Read the passage from another translation.

Poetry can be difficult to translate, and scholars will come to different and occasionally opposite conclusions on how to interpret the text. Don’t stick with one translation when reading the psalms. It’s easy these days to use online Bible tools that allow you to quickly compare verses across multiple translations. I’ll never forget when Eugene Peterson’s Message translation of the Psalms was published. I loved his paraphrase of the New Testament, and so I rushed to read through his translation of the poetry of the Old Testament, relishing his fresh and modern paraphrases of dusty ancient metaphors. I read his Psalm 19:6 translation: “The morning sun’s a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed!” (MSG). Most translations use the term bridegroom here, but there was something about seeing the sun as a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed that stirred my imagination in a new direction. The image came alive as I saw for the first time the sun rising in the morning from underneath its cloud blankets (its honeymoon bed), strong and life-giving, in the same way that the new husband begins the first day of married life confident, strong, optimistic, and life-giving. Just as the new husband and his bride have created life and unity through the nighttime act of intercourse in the honeymoon bed, after disappearing in privacy through the night, the sun also rises every morning to create and sustain life on the earth. It was an insight from a paraphrase that I had never seen before, even though I had read this text hundreds of times.  

9. Personalize it.  

Many of the psalms are written in first person, so this isn’t difficult to do. Pray the psalm aloud with all the passion that it requires. When the psalmist cried, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” (22:1) what tone of voice do you think he used? Was it spoken out of frustration, disappointment, anger, doubt, fear? Speak the words of the psalm as if you were actually saying them in your situation. When the psalm says, “Shout aloud to the Rock of your salvation” (95:1) do you actually shout? You should try it! Do you smile a bit while you recite these prayers of celebration? Do you speak with confidence when you say, “The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” (27:1)? Say it like you mean it. Make the words your own. 

10. Write a poem or song from the truths you have learned.

There’s no better way to forever plant a psalm in your memory than to set it to music. It doesn’t have to become the next big worship tune. If you think it does, your heart is in the wrong place. In fact, no one needs to hear your song but God. If you have basic guitar or piano skills, try your hand and setting the words of a psalm to music. Graham Kendrick practices what he calls Psalm Surfing. He selects a psalm at random and simply begins to sing it. The congregation repeats back whatever melody he sings. It is completely spontaneous. It requires a bit of musical skill to lead a congregation in this, but anyone can do it on their own if they’re not worried about anyone else hearing them! It doesn’t even have to be musical. Write a poem, essay, or short story in response to the psalm. Write your own psalm and keep a journal of your creative prayers. 

11. Memorize the passage.

This may be the most important strategy for meditating on a text. Committing a verse or an entire psalm to memory allows you to take it with you wherever you go. You can recall it throughout the day, incorporate it into your prayers, and share it with others who need to hear a word from God. The purposeful repetition of the words of God is probably what biblical mediation was originally all about. Until only recently in human history have we had the ability to read for ourselves the word of God. Previous to the invention of the printing press and widespread literacy, the majority of people experienced the word of God entirely by listening to it. It was memorized by rote and recited in worship and song. Since you couldn’t take the Bible with you as a book, your only option was to carry it in your mind through memorization. Fast forward to today where we have easy access to the scriptures through our mobile devices, but we have less of it memorized. As a result, we are less motivated to memorize it since we can recall it so quickly from the palm of our hands. The psalmist said, “your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you” (119:11). There’s no doubt that he had been engaged in intentional memorization of the text, enabling him to recall it at will when tempted. Colossians 3:16 tells us to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. In order for the Word to live in you, you have to plant it in your mind and heart through the discipline of memorization. 

12. HWLW.  

Let His Word be the Last Word in your mind before sleep. You’ve probably had the experience of falling asleep while being anxious about something. Invariably, that anxiety shows up in a restless night’s sleep and even nightmares. It seems that the last things on our minds as we fall asleep often stay with us throughout the night, and we may even wake up in the morning thinking about them. What if the last thing on your mind before drifting off to sleep was the very words of God? The psalmist prayed, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust (143:8). This seems to be a bedtime prayer as he commits his concerns to the LORD. He prays that he will awake to hear the good news of God’s steadfast love. He is going to sleep thinking about God’s faithful love. For a while now I’ve used Psalm 4:8 as my bedtime prayer, particularly when I’m feeling anxious about something over which I have little or no control. Praying it over and over again reminds me of my utter dependence on God, and I’m able to rest secure and awake refreshed. Try praying this every night before you go to sleep: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Let His Word be the Last Word before you go to sleep. WHLW.