A Beginner's Guide to the Psalms
Never read the Psalms before? Here is how to start, what to expect, and where to begin.
If you have never read the Psalms, you are in for a gift. They are the most accessible book in the Bible—poetry written to God, covering every human experience. You do not need special knowledge to begin; you only need honesty.
Start small. Choose a short psalm—Psalm 23, 100, or 121 are excellent first reads. Read it slowly, perhaps aloud. Notice what feeling it expresses and what it says about God. Then turn one line into your own prayer.
Expect variety. Some psalms praise, some lament, some give thanks, some teach. Do not be thrown off by the angry or sad ones; they are part of the whole and show that God welcomes all of who we are.
A simple plan is to read one psalm a day, in order from Psalm 1. Over five months you will have prayed the whole book. By then, the Psalms will have begun to pray in you, and you will have found a companion for the rest of your life.
Related Psalms
Psalm 1
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
Two paths, two destinies: the righteous rooted like a tree by streams, the wicked blown away like chaff.
Read morePsalm 23
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
The beloved shepherd psalm: provision, guidance, comfort, and eternal dwelling.
Read more