So the Book of Psalms, it's this very multifaceted book that really expresses this heart that's vulnerable and honest before God on this journey of life with him. And you see the Psalms, it didn't start out as a complete book. It was actually this rich collection of Psalms and poems and prayers from multiple authors, like David, Solomon, Moses, and other worship leaders over many generations. And the word Psalms in Hebrew literally means songs of praise so many of the Psalms early on were set to music and sung back to God as songs and others were poems that Israel would be reminded of their rich history walking with God and others were prayers that they would use to meditate on the magnitude majesty and beauty of God. And you see the collection of Psalms was later organized into five books, but today in the scriptures it's been put together in one book where the beginning of the first two chapters is really this introduction by the Psalmist to encourage us like take time to meditate on the word of God.

And then chapters three through 150, we see really three big themes emerge throughout it, which are pain, praise, and prayer. So let's highlight each one of those for a moment. And the first one is pain, or the authors may say laments, where they're really just crying out to God, asking him for relief in their life, from things like physical suffering, or maybe working through despair or dealing with the pressures in hard circumstances in life. Psalm 23 is a great example where the author talks about walking through a dark valley in that season. And the second one is praise, where the Psalmist would express this joy and celebration, thanking God for his goodness and faithfulness in their lives. And you see many Psalms where they'll talk about the all and wonders and majesty of God in his creation with his power, his character, and ultimately, his great love for them.

And there's a high praise moment in Psalm 100 we love that talks about that we get to enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise. And the third major theme we see is prayer. See many of the Psalms were really a model to show us what it looks like to have these conversations with God, really how to approach him both humbly and honestly in all areas of life. And the early church use these prayers to really speak out daily or to meditate on. And really in all of this, the Psalms, they're really a dynamic mosaic of these heartfelt writings, where we get insight from the Psalm, so what it looks like to make space, to reflect, to meditate and have expressions for what matters most, a genuine relationship with God. So as you read through the Book of Psalms, may your heart find God in a fresh way through your pain, praises, and prayers in your life.